A Look at the Google Algorithm Updates of 2022
With so many websites all competing for a top spot online and so many marketing agencies working to push their clients up the search engine rankings, having certain algorithms in place to weed out the good content from the bad, all with the aim of giving website users access to the best kind of information and the most trusted products, is what Google Algorithms are all about.
Google is a master at creating the sorts of algorithms that promote the best websites.
Initially, when the web started to take off, the websites were very rudimentary and extremely poorly made. While this was understandable, because those making the sites were not all that knowledgeable or experienced, it became impractical as the search engines became more advanced and as website users started to demand better websites, better content, and just a generally better experience.
In order for Google to be able to meet the demands of the search engine users, it started developing an algorithm that was designed to encourage website owners to up their game. Follow the algorithm, and you are rewarded, donât follow it, and your website will just stay in one place or drop off the search engine completely.
As the years have passed, Google has introduced more and more algorithms. Some updates are a lot more complicated than others, and some are small while others are so large that they literally shake the very foundation upon which the website has been built.
2022, like the years before, has seen the introduction of numerous updates, many of which you have probably never heard of, even if you are wise on the SEO industry. As we slowly begin to bow out of this year, hereâs a breakdown of the 7 updates that have affected websites in 2022. We look at the latest google algorithm updates of 2022.
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What is the Latest Google Algorithm Update
The Desktop Page Experience Update â February 22nd
The first of the year, and one that took a whole 9 days to completely roll out, the Desktop Page Experience Update was a simple one that applied all of the signals from the mobile page experience update, but left out criteria related to mobile friendliness.
The 2022 Product Review Update â March 23rd
It took a couple of weeks for this update to be complete and the update builds on the foundation that was laid out with the 2 product review updates that came before this one. Since so many companies are selling via the web these days, the Product Review Update was a most welcome one and it was designed to identify the best quality product reviews and then promote them through better rankings.
The Core Update â May 25th
Core updates are the bigger kinds and this update was a broad update and the first of its kind to be introduced in more than 6 months. It took around 2 weeks for this update to be completely rolled out and with the arrival of this algorithm update, there were a wide variety of changes including some that are quite influential.
The Second Product Review Update â July 27th
This update would be the fourth of its kind and unlike the one that took place earlier in the year, this update was completed in less than 6 days. Instead of introducing a mass of new ranking criteria, this update served as more of a refresher for the last 3 that were introduced. The update was quite a lot smaller than the previous ones, and so it had very little impact on the ranking of existing reviews.
The Helpful Content Update â August 25th
This site wide signal update brought a lot of new changes to the Google space and the changes were mostly focused on rewarding helpful content. With this update, those with websites packed full of content made explicitly to rank sites suffered heavy blows, especially those that brought in too many keywords and which was to written to be too general.
Unlike other updates, Google released a list of 15 questions that website owners could go through to ensure that they had the kind of content that met human needs rather than simply catered to Google. It also gave a warning to those industries that were going to be targeted. The industries included arts and entertainment, shopping, tech, and online education, all of which are considered to be the most popular and prominent at the moment in the online space.
The Second Core Update â September 2022
The second big Google algorithm update for the year came in September 2022. This update took place just 3 days after the helpful update was completed. This particular core update was a lot less significant than the previous ones, and was even less significant than the May Core update.
With this specific core update, Google gave out some advice about how your site could be impacted, and with a few tweaks, those who did suffer a set back with their rankings, were quick to recover their spot.
The Third Product Review Update â September 2022
This is the latest Google algorithm update and it is one that follows on from the previous 2 that have already taken place this year for the webâs product reviews. Generally Google doesnât like to overlap its algorithm changes, but this one was an exception, and it ran alongside the September core update.
With this update, the attention was turned to the product updates written in English, and it rewarded reviews that were helpful to those searching for product reviews. The update took just 6 days to complete.
As a rule, and especially in the past, Google would not give you a warning about an update and they would not give you an indication about what the changes would be or how you could adapt your website to be in a better position to handle the algorithm changes. These days, they are a little bit kinder and in some cases, especially if you have a big update coming your way, they do release a bit of information to help you out.
The year is not yet over, and we might see one or two more tweaks to the algorithm before we usher in 2023. The best thing that you can do for your website is to keep up with the latest Google news.
If you liked this article you might also be interested in, how to create the best backlink strategy, and, the importance of finding quality backlinks for SEO.
