Review: These are Google's biggest SEO updates of 2015

[jrineakter]

The SEO world is constantly changing. Google releases major and minor updates to the various algorithms several times a year, which means we have to keep taking new factors into account to continue to appear high in the search results. 2015 was no exception. In line with its reputation, Google provides enough information to work with, but it remains vague enough to leave questions unanswered and to encourage speculation. What were the major updates of 2015 and what can we expect in 2016?


The introduction of self-learning and real-time systems
Perhaps the biggest update of Google in 2015 is the introduction of RankBrain , which immediately became the third most important ranking factor. This system is based on entities and learns to make connections between these entities. Google has been working this way for a while, but manually. With RankBrain it is attempting to fully automate this process and it is also the intention that the system will become smarter in making connections over time.

RankBrain

The goal is to understand the search intent of queries, rather than focusing on keywords. The idea is that even longer, unclear queries will eventually yield better search guatemala telegram number list results. RankBrain has been live for a few months now and if the system does indeed automatically become smarter, the impact will become visible over time.

The Rise of Penguin
A long awaited update is the new Penguin algorithm refresh from Google. Penguin is Google's system with which they check backlinks. Too many dubious (spam-like) backlinks means a Penguin sanction for your website that you could not easily get rid of in the past. You could remove the negative backlinks but the effects were only visible from the next moment that Penguin 'came by' your website and re-evaluated the website.

Penguin Algorithm

The big difference with the previous Penguin updates is that the upcoming Penguin update will run in real-time. With this, Google is meeting a long-cherished wish of many website administrators. In theory, it will be possible to get rid of Penguin sanctions immediately by removing dubious backlinks or 'disavowing' them (indicating that you do not guarantee the backlink). The expectation was that this update would go live at the end of 2015, but the update has been postponed until the beginning of 2016. However, it could also be that the update is already live and that Google has only postponed the announcement.

The focus is on search intent and quality
The RankBrain and Penguin updates are fully in line with trends that have been evident for a long time: the centralization of search intent and a focus on quality. The most well-known algorithm that Google uses to measure quality is Panda. In July 2015, Google started rolling out Panda 4.2 and in October they confirmed that the rollout was still ongoing. It is likely that this time-consuming process is still ongoing.

Phantom and Panda
And what about the so-called 'Phantom' update? Phantom is a name given by the SEO community to an unannounced update from early May 2015. Due to sudden fluctuations and changes in traffic to websites, it was obvious that an update had taken place, but no one knew exactly what the update did. What is clear is that this Phantom update runs in real-time and is a kind of quality filter.

Phantom has several similarities with Panda: they are both ways in which Google tries to measure quality. One difference with Panda seems to be that Phantom (like Penguin) focuses on individual pages, while Panda focuses on the entire domain.

A brand name is no longer enough
There are real-world examples that show that big brands have been negatively affected by the Phantom update. This suggests that having a big (brand) name is no longer enough for Google to label you as an authority. Smaller websites with high-quality content have a greater (and more honest?) chance of appearing high in the search results.

Ease of use is rewarded
2015 will go down in history as the year in which more searches were done via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets than via 'traditional' computers. Google responded immediately with a new ranking factor, namely whether a website is mobile-friendly or not. At the moment, this only affects searches done via mobile devices; websites that are optimized for mobile use will be given priority.