The Shark Tank

Google recently made changes that might have affected your website’s overall performance in rankings. While your website might have been near the top of search results, there is a good chance that is not the case with these new updates. Staying on top of when these changes occur and how they affect your website is crucial for staying competitive in Google rankings.

Google Rankings Increasing Volatility

This past year, the changes in rankings were hard for businesses to keep up with. Volatility significantly increased in both desktop searches and mobile. Volatility in desktop searches increased 26%, with mobile increasing 16%. However, this is not across every industry, with food searches being highly unstable, for example. These skews are due to updates to Google’s ranking algorithm. Previously, big updates were spread throughout the year in order to give businesses time to adjust to them. Now, smaller updates are being pushed more frequently to improve both the accuracy and relevance of search results, which may also lead to more frequent shifts in the rankings.

Difference In Industries

This latest Google ranking update is affecting industries differently. While some industries, such as real estate, are relatively stable in search results, others are experiencing more drastic volatility. Food-related searches, for instance, are fluctuating in searches by more than 50%. Meanwhile, health-related industries are growing more unstable across mobile searches, as seasonal trends and health concerns affect these searches. E-commerce websites, on the other hand, see smaller fluctuations, yet still face these updates as they focus on fine-tuning product listings. Taking note of how these algorithm updates are impacting your industry and your website is key to building an effective SEO strategy to keep up with the algorithm.

Adapting to Rankings Changes

As industries face these high fluctuations in rankings, the ability to be flexible and alter approaches to SEO strategies is crucial for continued success. Here are a few key tips you and your business can use to help you adapt:

• Watch Your Rankings: Being watchful over your own website’s performance amidst the ongoing updates will help you identify areas you need to alter in your approach.
• Prioritize Quality Content: The longer users stay on your page, as well as the more they interact with it, serves to boost your website’s ranking. Ensure your content is relevant and draws in users.
• Consider Mobile Users: Amidst mobile searches having an increasing volatility, prioritizing a user-friendly design with fast load times may help.
• Increase Traffic Sources: Relying solely on web browser searches is only one source of traffic. Expanding your marketing to other areas such as emails, paid ads, and social media can increase the amount of visitors to your website.

By implementing these strategies, you can better navigate ranking fluctuations and maintain a strong online presence.

Keeping Pace With Algorithm Updates

As Google rankings become more volatile into 2025, many industries will face frequent impacts due to the increase in updates in the algorithm. In order to stay competitive, businesses will need to prioritize good content, optimize user experiences for mobile, and increase their traffic sources. Monitoring the performance of your website will help you stay current with your SEO strategies. If you and your business are facing difficulties keeping up with these changes, BluShark Digital is here to help. Contact us today to get started on keeping up with Google’s unpredictable algorithm, so your business can stay on top.