Tips To Get Your Site Ready For Google's Algorithm Updates

In 2022, Google performed 10 separate algorithm updates!

In this blog post, we’ll discuss 7 critical tips for preparing your site for all Google Search Ranking Algorithm updates so that you can continue to rank high in SERPs(Search Engine Results Pages)

Table of Contents

1. Identify and fix broken links

Broken links are bad news.

Aside from hampering a user’s experience while navigating your website, they can affect how search engines index your page.

When Google notices that certain links on your page lead to nowhere, it will lower your ranking on their algorithmic search engine results.

To avoid such trouble with broken links, you must follow up on them regularly so your site is ready for Google Ranking Algorithm updates.

This means double-checking that all anchor points are directed correctly and checking if all URLs are up and running properly to maintain an engaging user experience that comports with Google’s quality control standards.

All these steps must be taken to ensure clean surfing for bots, crawlers, and users across websites.

What tool can I use to check broken links on my website?

One tool you can use to check broken links on your website is the Broken Link Checker.

This powerful and easy-to-use tool will scan through every page of your website to identify any potential broken links, allowing you to quickly identify and fix them before they cause any issues with your website’s ranking on Google’s algorithm updates.

2. Optimize your page titles and meta descriptions

If you want to make sure your website is ready for Google Ranking Algorithm updates, then optimizing your page titles and meta descriptions must follow the tips.

It’s an often overlooked must-do in optimizing websites for higher rankings.

Page titles should be descriptive and include important keywords for relevance, but too long titles can get truncated.

Meta descriptions must be short and punchy; plus, they must show a good reason to click on them.

How do I know if a title is too long?

To determine if a title is too long, you can use the length of the title as a guideline. Generally, titles should be no longer than 55-60 characters for the best chance of being indexed and showing up on search engine results pages.

Anything longer than that risks getting truncated or ignored by search engines.

Additionally, it’s important to include at least one relevant keyword in the title to ensure relevance.

3. Use keywords strategically throughout the content

When it comes to website content, keywords are essential.

Following certain tips when creating title tags and meta tags will help your site’s pages be found more easily by search engine crawlers and rank higher in SERPs.

Optimizing the right words, phrases, and content for each page must follow whether you’re writing for a blog post or optimizing an e-commerce site — without this, the Google Ranking Algorithm might not rank your content.

Don’t overlook keyword usage; strategically place them throughout headings, URLs, titles, descriptions, and body copy to get the maximum benefit from these small but important pieces of the optimization puzzle.

What is keyword stuffing?

Keyword stuffing is a black hat SEO technique where website owners attempt to manipulate search engine rankings by using excessive and irrelevant keywords which are unrelated to the content of the page.

This technique is considered unethical and can result in penalties from search engines when detected.

I am adding this question here because, although it’s important to include keywords throughout your content, to include the same keywords too often can lead to penalties from Google updates so be careful.

As a general rule, it is recommended to include no more than one keyword per every 200 words within any given page.

4. Increase your site’s loading speed

The loading speed of your website plays a key role in how it performs on search engines.

As Google’s ranking algorithms continue to evolve, it must be a priority to follow tips and tricks so that your site loads fast.

This means cutting down large images, minimizing code, and properly compressing CSS and JavaScript files.

This could make all the difference in getting higher rankings in organic search results.

A great tool to measure website speed is Gtmetrix. Just run a search for your URL on their main page and it will immediately tell you how fast your website is.

You want your speed score to stay on green color or above 80% speed result.

5. Make sure all images have alt text for better accessibility

Alt text often referred to as “alternative text” or “alt attributes”, is a short description of an image on a website.

It provides additional information about the image for users that may have difficulty viewing the image.

Alt text is especially important for people with visual impairments since they rely on screen readers and other assistive technologies to understand what is on the screen.

Adding alt text to images is essential for improving accessibility on any website or page.

Not only does it help those using screen readers to comprehend the content and visuals better, but adhering to this must-follow tip also sets your site up for success with Google’s ranking algorithm updates.

Having alternative descriptive text displayed with each image helps clarify what’s being communicated and adds significantly to a user’s experience when viewing your page or site.

Alt tags are also essential for SEO.

They provide context about the image and help search engines better understand a page’s content, thereby increasing the likelihood of appearing in relevant searches.

For great examples of how to use alt texts, just search for anything in good old Wikipedia.

You will notice that every image has a description or alt text assigned to it. That’s what you want to emulate for your own site.

6. Utilize structured data to improve visibility in search results

Structured data is a method of organizing data and providing additional information about it to search engines.

It allows machines to better interpret what a webpage or website is about.

Structured data is written in the form of code that can be added to the HTML of a webpage, and can include things like the page’s title, description, published date, author, and more.

Taking advantage of structured data is one of the must-follow tips to prepare your website for Google Ranking Algorithm updates.

Structured data helps search engine crawlers better understand the content on your pages, making it easier to find information relevant to your products and services.

This improved visibility can help attract more visitors and potential customers, taking a giant leap toward achieving your online goals.

Implementing structured data can be tricky, so consider reaching out to an experienced SEO expert if you need help.

7. Monitor user engagement metrics to ensure a positive experience

Monitoring user engagement metrics is critical for ensuring your site offers a positive overall experience.

A few simple tips must be followed so that your site is ready for whenever Google’s ranking algorithm updates.

Metrics such as time-on-site, pages per session, and bounce rate can provide higher-level insights into how well users engage with your site’s content, thus allowing you to make informed decisions about the design and user experience.

Focusing on these critical metrics ensures that the value of your website is maximized, allowing it to rank in relevant search queries amongst competitors effectively.