On August 1 2018, Google rolled out a new algorithm search update, targeting broad searches across the globe.
This was the third algorithm update of the year, although many professionals in the SEO community have called this the biggest update since Penguin in 2012.
This week we released a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. Our guidance about such updates remains the same as in March, as we covered here: https://t.co/uPlEdSLHoX[1]
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) August 1, 2018[2]
The algorithm update was picked up by all search monitoring tools as we saw a spike around the beginning of August and continued fluctuations for around one week.
SERP metrics
Advanced web rankings
Which sectors were impacted the most?
Research by Sistrix highlighted that the industries affected the most were ‘Your Money or Your Life,’ known as YMYL for short, which relates to the health and finance sectors, followed by eCommerce sites. Companies that saw notable drops included Pandora (-28%) My Protein (-24%) and Wales NHS (-18%).
Which SEO techniques were penalized and rewarded?
Whilst Google has not disclosed much information on the features of this algorithm update, the SEO forums and communities have been exchanging their thoughts and have highlighted the following factors:
- Mobile first-index
- Content and on-site linking
- Site speed.
What you can do to stay on top
Google has responded to queries on twitter by saying that ‘you should not do anything’ if you have been penalized and ‘there is no quick fix.’ But if you have been stung, why suffer from worse search results and