Kathmandu, May 5th, 2020
Google announced it is rolling out a new core update, the May 2020 Core Update. This is the second core update of the year 2020, the 1st one being the January 2020 Core Update.
Whenever Google updates its search ranking algorithms, it means that your site can do better or worse in the search results. Staying alert of these updates can help you understand whether it is the changes you made on your web site or changes Google made with its ranking algorithm.
Google has advised on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. There aren’t specific actions to take to recover, and in fact, a negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages. However, Google is offering a list of questions to consider if you’re site is hit by a core update.
The last update before the May 2020 Core Update:
The last core update was launched in the second week of January, the January 2020 Core Update. This was the time when COVID-19 was not a threat.
The world quickly changed when coronavirus was declared a pandemic, which came with significant shifts in users’ search behavior.
COVID-19 has changed what people need from Google’s search results. Whether it’s seeking information about the virus itself, or places offering remote services, or where to buy much-needed products online.
People are now searching for things that weren’t relevant before. Travel, Tourism, Vacations, etc. – those categories which were highly relevant before aren’t being searched for as much.
Health and Wellness websites have seen massive fluctuations during this time and it is because Google wants to ensure that no fake news goes out to the public through their SERP (Search Engine Result Pages). Therefore, Google is only listing those sites which have high authority regarding COVID-19.
Each time Google updates its algorithm, it’s moving a step forward in making the search experience easy and more relevant to its users.
If you are seeing massive Traffic drop or keyword positions decreasing, the reason for the decline in the organic ranking is not because of your website having SEO issues. Instead, it is because Google is trying to find better results for the search query.
Our suggestion is you not to make a series of changes at this point. Keep doing what you’ve been doing.
The May 2020 Core Update impact on SEOs
During this economic downturn, companies are laying off staff, and clients are pausing their services. There is a huge chance for businesses to shut down and employment opportunities to face challenges as well.
Every time there is a Google Algorithm update, the need for an SEO expert becomes even more important. The more volatile the update, the more valuable those service providers become.
That means SEO experts may soon find themselves in a position where there’s a significant rise in demand for their work.
If you’re staying home right now, you may as well start learning a few SEO skills. The need for SEO experts will probably rise when the May 2020 Core Update fully rolls out.
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