Seeing Changes in the Volume of Your Website Traffic?

Google has been very busy this summer, rolling out numerous changes. If you're seeing shifts in the amount of website traffic that you're getting, you're not alone.

To level set, the Google algorithm is the formula Google uses to decide what website users see when they "Google" something. Google makes about six relatively minor changes to its algorithm every day. Every now and then, however, it rolls out bigger changes to its algorithm.

At least three of these major changes are taking place this summer.

Page Experience Update

The first of these algorithm changes is the Page Experience Update. Google began launching this algorithm update in June. Originally scheduled for May, its rollout will be complete at the end of August. It focuses on the user experience, including how quickly your website pages load and whether or not they are secure.

Here are some questions to determine if you'll be affected by this change.

• Is your site mobile friendly? Or do users have to adjust their phones do read your content?

• Do you have an https site? Or the older, less secure http?

• Can users interact with your web pages fairly quickly? Or do pages take a long time to load?

• Is reading your website content a smooth experience? Or does content shift or jump just as users begin to read or look at it?

Google will be using actual field data - not testing tools to determine how your content appears. If two sites similarly answer a user's question, the one with the better page experience will rank higher in search returns.

CORE Updates

A CORE Update is a significant algorithm change that focuses on Google's mission: "To deliver relevant and authoritative content to searchers."

Google wants to show high-quality content that demonstrates E-A-T. Expertise. Authoritativeness. Trustworthiness.

The most recent CORE Update occurred in June. Another is scheduled for July.

Here are just a few of the many key factors that your company should continue to focus on to rank well through CORE Updates:

• Write original content, reporting, research or analysis (not restating what others have shared)

• Offer insightful analysis

• Cover topics in-depth

• Avoid sensational headlines and page titles

• Include references as links

• Make sure you don't have typos and other sloppy errors

• Have an expert or enthusiast author the content

• Ensure content is viewable on a mobile device (are you seeing a theme here?)

• Do all of this better than your competition does

Bottom Line

Website traffic that comes from "Googling" or from other search engines (eg, Bing, Duck Duck Go) is called "organic" traffic. Monitoring your website traffic in Google Analytics and Google Search Console is essential. Ensure you don't get buried deep within the internet's search engine return pages.