Is your small business experiencing a drop in website traffic lately?
Google just released an update for their browser algorithm, and it could affect your website traffic. The update is called the August 2024 Core Update, and it aims to make some adjustments to the 2023 Helpful Content Update. Both of these updates radically shift the way Google ranks your website in searches. So if you are seeing a drop in traffic, it is important to do an assessment of your content to find out what you can improve.
Google’s 2023 Helpful Content update and this 2024 update attempt to make the search experience better for users. The way they do that is by using AI to give the websites with the best and most helpful information the highest spots in a search. In the past, Search Engine Optimization was based on location information, keywords and content bulk. Now, it is factoring in real, helpful content as a big determiner of rankings.
What does that mean for marketing?
Google wants real writers, not AI. They reward original content, not information that has been copied and pasted from other websites. And while keywords and location information can still be helpful, the search engine can detect content that is just a vessel for keywords, and will probably not reward it with high search status.
What can you do if your traffic is dropping?
Take a look at your website and consider which areas of the website are getting the most traffic. What do your most popular pages have in common? What do your least viewed pages have in common? Use this information as a starting point, and then begin adding and removing content according to what you find.
While this type of content requires a lot more work than it used to, we love the idea. We are passionate about authenticity in our company. We want your brand to shine and your expertise to be at the forefront of your website.
Octane can help you increase the high quality content on your website. Yes, you can hire a marketing company to help you with your content and still remain authentic. We love when our customers provide input and personalize their content. If you need help assessing your website, contact us!