How Will The Latest Google Brackets Update Impact Your Business?

Anyone in the SEO industry will have heard about the Google Fred update back in 2017. Essentially the focus of this algorithm update has been on producing high-quality content and offering a fantastic user experience to customers on your website.

But, this month we had news of Google rolling out a new update in its algorithm called the Google ‘Brackets’ update. It’s important to keep up to date with the latest changes to know how it may be impacting your website’s performance and what you can do to counter the algorithm updates as we move forward.

What was the Google ‘Brackets’ Update?

This update is focused heavily on content quality, which we know is an important factor for Google as we move forward. With so much content being produced, customers need to be served the right content to help with their search, whether that be educational or transactional.

Google’s statement mentions this update is “benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded.” They also stated that there is no fix other than building great content.

We don’t know exactly what Google have changed within the algorithm. Industry experts confirm this is their refinement on the Google Fred, and it does seem to have influenced higher quality sites surfacing to the top and supporting their rich snippets as a result.

There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) March 12, 2018

How will the Google ‘Brackets’ update affect my website performance?

The main impact of this update is how it impacts which sites are appearing in the rich snippets. Mid-March we saw the display and rankings of these rich snippets more volatile than they have been before as this new algorithm update was rolled out.

Rich snippets are known for having a higher click-through with more quality information being displayed on SERPs, so for many businesses who had managed to implement these, the loss can greatly impact traffic to their websites.

How do I get my rich snippets to display again?

We know there are no easy fixes here. Ultimately it can take weeks to months to regain progress. But, if you have creative search marketing at the heart of your activity then you should see your hard work you put into your content production pay off as you regain those top spots.

Some solutions for creating that high-quality content could be:

• Answer questions your audience are actively searching for to become the go-to source of information.
• Get expert comments and interviews from industry gurus to be seen as a credible site within your industry.
• Create high-quality content that other sites want to link to and reference on their sites. This could be through including increased data sources in your content for example.
• Prioritise outreach activity to attract backlinks and gain authority as part of your overall marketing plan.
• Create real marketing messages that are bespoke to your target audience, whilst avoiding the more disruptive ones.
• Ensure a good user experience onsite in terms of navigation, usability and digestible content.
• Implement real quality reviews on your website to show transparency and trust.

Why does Google roll out these algorithm updates?

Actually, most updates go un-noticed. Google roll out daily updates to change and improve the results and the way we interact with SERPs.

However, where there are broader updates that happen a couple of times a year. This is when the rankings of websites become volatile with a more noticeable impact on websites globally.

Want to keep on top of the latest Google updates? Here are some of the most important updates in 2019! March’s algorithm update saw some broad, unspecific changes with a focus on ‘creating great content’ as per usual. May’s announcement of mobile-first indexing showed the ever growing shift to mobile. And June 2019 saw Google’s first ever pre-announced broad core update!

Need support creating top quality content?

Here at iThinkMedia, we have an in-house team of content specialists who can support you in the research, strategy or production of your website content. From commercial pages to creative blog posts, we enjoy getting involved in the data to find opportunities.

Whether you’re a smaller local brand or a large national or international business, we apply the same approach to get the best results for you. Get in touch to have a chat with our in-house team and make the first steps in creating your high-quality content that engages your audience.