Google update, March 2019: algorithm change

After penguins, pandas and pigeons, you would expect Google’s new update to have an equally catchy name. At best, though, we are heading back to the beach in Florida, hoping the new Google indexing algorithm will be as friendly to websites as the Miami sun.

But let’s not jump to conclusions. Even though it is not yet clear how websites will be affected by the new Google change, there may be some surprises. Let’s see what these changes involve.

March 2019 Broad Core Algorithm Update

or

Florida 2 Update

?

To avoid confusion, let’s start with the name of this update. Google stated on its official Twitter account that the only name we will see associated with these changes is

March 2019 Broad Core Algorithm Update

. So where does the name

Florida 2

, circulating online, come from?

The first update called

Florida

took place in 2003 and got its name from Brett Tabke, owner of the forum

WebmasterWorld

. The name comes from the PubCon conference Tabke held in Florida when Google’s 2003 update was released. This year, Tabke held another PubCon conference a week before the new Google algorithm was released in March 2019, so he named this update

Florida 2

, even though the two have nothing in common. To avoid any confusion about a possible link between the two updates, Google officially announced on Twitter that the name

Florida 2

will not be used for this algorithm. So, although it would have been nice to have another memorable name, we will refer to these changes as the

March 2019 Broad Core Algorithm Update

or, in plain words,

the March 2019 core algorithm update

.

What is changing?

As Google’s official name suggests, the new changes do not focus on a particular niche, as the August 2018 update did with the medical field. So we will see the effects of these changes across all websites. What changes can we expect to see? Google has not given details on this and most likely never will. What we know for sure is that a core algorithm update is usually aimed at improving user satisfaction, with websites that are more relevant to their searches, including the new version of search results in which users already see a

snippet

with the answer to a question.

What can we do if we notice changes for the worse?

Google’s official answer is: nothing. There is no way to “fix” what this algorithm has changed about your website’s position in search engines. In other words, don’t look for shortcuts: no extra link or one link fewer, no longer or shorter meta description will solve the problem. So what can we do? Google’s answer is simple: quality content on your website. There is nothing new about this answer. For years now, Google has put

the emphasis on users

and on the fact that all algorithm changes aim to improve their experience. After all, a search engine serves certain needs: getting fast, relevant answers. So think about who your website’s users are and what they need. Try to put yourself in their shoes and imagine how they would like their journey through the site to go and what content they would like to see. As Google analyst John Mueller said in 2017:

awesome content is the answer.

We all want quick and easy fixes, but in SEO there are only good solutions if you want reliable results. So the best weapon against Google’s algorithm changes is

creating quality content on your website.

Add to that

branding

. Another old discussion, which has gained momentum since last year, brought to the fore

branding

and all the activities through which you earn the trust of users and customers. We will come back with an article on this topic in the future, but until then the discussion can be summed up like this: SEO +

branding

= very good results, SEO without

branding

= good results.

And yet… what changed with the new update?

Even though there is no official statement from Google, people in digital marketing have noticed certain

patterns in the impact of this update

. But be careful: none of these patterns has been confirmed by Google. The first change mentioned is that many of the websites penalized by previous updates, such as the August 2018 one or

Penguin

, recovered overnight. This would point to a possible fix for some unwanted effects of Google’s previous updates. The second change observed relates to

exact match links

, something noticed since last year. Many experts in the field have seen a drop for websites with links placed on anchor texts that contain exactly the words in the URL. For example, a website with “women’s shoes” in its URL sees a dramatic drop in its Google positions for “women’s shoes”. The third change mentioned comes from SEMrush, which noticed in its statistics that some niches seem to be affected more than others, namely: automotive, health and medical, and pets. It remains to be seen whether these changes are statistically confirmed in the coming months. For now, it could just be a temporary trend unrelated to the update.

What can we do as soon as possible?

The first thing to do is wait and monitor how websites evolve. It is too early to draw conclusions, and too early to get impatient. So for 1-2 weeks we need to keep a close eye on everything reported in the industry. Most likely not all websites will be affected in the same way, which means constant monitoring is the only solution for now if we want to identify where things are heading. In conclusion, the new Google update will affect a good part of the online visibility of most websites. This could mean a very fast rise or fall, but it is still too early to tell what it will mean in concrete terms. So the only viable strategy remains: quality content on your website.