Solving SEO Issues In Google's Post Update World: How To Track Unconfirmed Algorithm Updates By Glenn Gabe

#SMX #31A @glenngabe
Always keep your ear to the ground.
Solving SEO Issues In Google's Post-Update World
How To Track Unconfirmed Algorithm Updates

• Google pushes between 500 and 1,000
changes every year.
• Some are major, some are minor.
• I’m covering major algorithm changes
(big shifts in rankings).
• Google can, and will, roll out multiple
algo updates at one time.
With Google, Change Is Constant

• Unlike Panda(s) of the past…
• And Penguin(s) of the past.
• Phantom 2 in May 2015 was confirmed
(but we were lucky).
• Some are pre-announced like the mobile-
friendly algo and mobile popup algo.
• But MOST are not announced or
confirmed.
Most Algo Updates Are NOT Announced!
Ah, those were the days!

• A mixture of human barometers and technology can help
identify and surface major updates.
The Solution: Data, Chatter, Technology, and Humans

• Your own data and rank tracking.
• Search Engine Roundtable.
• SEOs focused on algo updates (like me).
• Third party search visibility tools.
• Twitter chatter.
• Webmaster forums.
• SEO weather tracking tools.
Keep Your Ear To The Ground
Note, if you see me tweet this gif,
I’m seeing signs of an algo update.

• Core ranking updates.
• Phantom updates.
• Panda.
• Pre-announced algos (mobile-friendly,
mobile popup algo, etc.)
• Dates are important.
• And connections with previous updates.
Know Your Algorithms

• And sometimes more frequently…
• Phantom 2 (May 2015)
• November 2015
• January 2016
• March 2016
• June 2016
• November 2016
• February 7, 2017
• March 7, 2017 (Fred)
Major updates are happening every few months.

• It’s easy! Just ask Gary Illyes and John Mueller on Twitter.
• Thank you. I’ll go catch my flight now… :)
So how do you track these updates?

• Third party data can supplement your own.
• Gather and track data from your own niche.
• Get the right toolset in place AND USE IT.
• Be ready for the next algo update.
• Be proactive, not reactive.
Prepare For Battle (With Data and Tools)

• Select a strong bucket of keywords to
track in your niche.
• Don’t simply track 10 keywords… you
need more than that.
• Track your competition too.
• You want to see movement across an
entire niche, not just your own site.
Rank Tracking

• SEMrush
• STAT
• Moz campaigns
• Rank Ranger
• And others…
Rank Tracking Tools

SEMrush Example:

Moz Example:

• You’ll need a lot of campaigns.
• And a lot of money. :)
• Wouldn’t it be AWESOME if there were tools tracking search
visibility over time for most sites across the web??
But You Can’t Rank-track The Entire Web!

• All three tools are continually tracking many sites.
• And millions of keywords.
• Across many countries.
• All three provide search visibility metrics.
• And can help you pick up algorithm updates.
Tracking Volatility Via SEMrush, Searchmetrics, & Sistrix

SEMrush In Action:

SEMrush Search Visibility Over Time:

SEMrush Position Changes Report:

Searchmetrics In Action:

Searchmetrics Winners and Losers (Keywords):
SearchVisibility
by directory!

• You can quickly check search visibility gains or losses across sites in
your niche.
• You can find movement on specific dates and dig in.
Searchmetrics – Compare Domains

Sistrix In Action:

Sistrix – Compare sites, subdomains, and directories:

Sistrix Ranking Changes:

Sistrix - Desktop vs. Mobile Search Visibility

• There are times Google reverses course algo-wise.
• Or there can be “tremors” based on tweaks to the algo (which can happen
after major updates).
Yes, reversals can happen.

• Google’s mobile popup algorithm launched on 1/10/17.
• Should negatively impact sites using mobile popups and interstitials.
• I’m tracking 70+ sites employing mobile popups or interstitials.
• I’m not seeing widespread movement (at all)…
• It’s officially a dud.
And Sometimes Algos DON’T Work As Expected…
Popups from urls still ranking well
after January 10, 2017!

• There are several tools that track volatility
based on a set of keywords.
• They can help identify algo updates, but
aren’t perfect.
• Small data set.
• Mozcast, Algoroo, Sensor, SERPmetrics,
RankRanger, etc.
Weather Tracking Tools

Google Data

• There’s nothing better than your own
data.
• E.g. GSC data and Google Analytics
trending.
• Also, both GSC and GA have APIs.
• So you can automate certain tasks, which
can help with tracking (more about that
soon).
Google Tools and Your Own Data

• Search Analytics reporting will be your focus.
• Track clicks and impressions over time.
• Average position (although a bit funky) can help identify increases or
decreases in rankings.
Google Search Console (GSC)
Example of a drop during
the 12/18/16 update

• Examples of recovery and drops during the September 2015 Update:

• Another drop during a recent core ranking update:

• Positive impact from the February 7, 2017 update:

• Average position (although a bit funky) can help identify increases or
decreases in rankings.

• You can also compare timeframes.
• And sort by loss of clicks or impressions.
• But be aware of the UI limitation of 1K
rows per report.
• That’s frustrating… but there are
workarounds.
Google Search Console

• You can isolate areas of your site by filtering the Pages group.
• Or isolate keywords by filtering the Queries group.
• And then view trending based on filtered data!
• No regex, but you can export the data to analyze further.
Google Search Console – Slice and dice.

• Analytics Edge is my tool of choice for bulk exporting data from GSC.
• I published two blog posts about this (links below).
• For example, exporting queries and landing pages well beyond the 1,000
row limit in the UI.
• Then use the power of Excel to dig in further.
Quick Tip:
I exported 48,129
in less than 2 minutes
http://glennga.be/analytics-edge-gsc
http://glennga.be/analytics-edge-queries

• Rich snippets can be impacted during major core ranking updates.
• I’ve seen this several times since Phantom 2 in May of 2015.
• Use the Search Appearance group to filter by “Rich results”.
Rich Snippets – GSC

• You can also check the SERP Features widget in SEMrush to see if rich
snippets have been impacted.
• It will show you the % of times reviews are showing up for the domain.
• And the keywords triggering those reviews.
Quick Tip: Rich Snippets & SEMrush

Google Analytics

• Make sure you are isolating Google organic traffic!
• You can also check organic search channel reporting for unsampled data
(although it includes all search engines).
Google Analytics – Organic Search Trending

• Surge during February 7, 2017 core ranking update.
• Major Panda 4.0 hit.
Panda 4.0
February 2017
Update

• Big Phantom 2 hit.

• February 7, 2017 hit:

• Panda 4.1 recovery and surge during the 10/24/14 update.
Panda 4.1
10/24/14
Panda Update

• You should dimension by landing page.
• Check trending.
• Then compare against previous timeframe.
Google Analytics – Digging Deeper By Page

• And you can do this by directory (or via page type).
• Regular expressions are supported in GA.
Google Analytics – Filtering is key.

• After getting hit by a major algorithm update, it’s
smart to check the landing pages from organic
search that dropped.
• You can often find glaring problems on those
pages…
• I wrote a tutorial for running a Panda report in GA
and Excel (provided below).
• You can use it for any algo update or traffic drop.
Panda Report - Good Time To Bring This Up!
http://glennga.be/panda-report

Quick Case Study

• Big Panda hit (lost ~65% of Google traffic overnight).
• Clearly identified the hit via GSC, GA, and third party
tools.
• Ran a Panda report to gauge the loss of traffic by
landing page.
• Performed a thorough crawl of the site to surface
potential problems.
• Fixed A LOT of quality problems.
• Set up rank tracking to monitor recovery of core terms.
• Site recovered during next Panda update and has
increased more during subsequent core ranking
updates.
Case Study – Panda Hit, Recovery, & Phantom Approval

• The company versus its top competitor since the initial algo hit.
• My client = red, the other site is blue.

• Check other search engines to verify an algo hit!
• If Bing drops, as well as Google, it could signal technical SEO problems
versus an algorithm update.
• Make sure it’s truly Google organic that dropped.
• Confirm with GSC as well.
Check Other Search Engines:
Bing
Google

• Are your mobile pages the problem?
• Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm.
• Google’s mobile popup algorithm.
• Soon-to-be-released mobile-first index.
• You can check both GA and GSC.
• And you can check third party tools as
well.
Checking Mobile SERPs and Traffic

• Use the devices group to check clicks and impressions from mobile
devices.
• Compare to desktop to see the differences.
• Including average position!
Mobile Reporting in GSC:

• Use a segment for mobile to view all
reporting through a mobile lens.
• Then use my recommendations from
earlier for gauging the impact.
• You might find that mobile pages
dropped more than desktop.
• Then dig in to find out why…
Google Analytics

• Major algorithm update on 3/7/17.
• Some sites surged, while others tanked.
• Volatility was easy to see via the tools I
mentioned in this presentation.
• SEMrush, Searchmetrics, & Sistrix.
• Google Analytics.
• Google Search Console.
I Couldn’t Present This Topic Without Mentioning FRED!

Some volatility examples due to Fred: SEMrush

Some volatility examples due to Fred: GA & GSC

Some volatility examples due to Fred:
SEMrush Position Changes

• Be proactive, not reactive.
• Use a multi-faceted approach for tracking algorithm updates.
• Set up rank tracking.
• Monitor search visibility across your niche.
• Track and ping human barometers.
• Monitor industry chatter.
• Leverage the full power of Google tools (GSC and GA).
• Surface quality problems, fix them, and improve quality overall.
• Drive forward and wait for the next update (could be months).
Final tips and recommendations:

LEARN MORE: UPCOMING @SMX EVENTS
THANK YOU!
SEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX

Solving SEO Issues In Google's Post Update World: How To Track Unconfirmed Algorithm Updates By Glenn Gabe

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Solving SEO Issues In Google's Post Update World: How To Track Unconfirmed Algorithm Updates By Glenn Gabe