Summary: Why does Google have algorithm updates? What are the myths and realities behind Google's Core Updates (starting with Medic), does E-A-T matter, and what can you do to recover your site traffic if you were hit with this update. NOTE: SOME SLIDES CENSORED for Public View. Ungagged conference sessions can only be shared by the permission of the speaker. Most of this slide deck can be viewed publicly, but a few slides are not for public viewing and items, in part or in whole, have been redacted. ____________________ This slide deck was presented at the Ungagged LA Conference Nov 2019.

1. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Core Updates: Google’s New Spam
Kristine@SitesWithoutWalls.com

2. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Why Does Google Have Algorithm Updates?

3. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Today in 2019 …
Roughly half of the world's population or
3.8 billion people use the internet every day.

4. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Google
processes
TRILLIONS
of queries a
year & has
indexed
BILLIONS
of Websites.

5. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
TODAY, THERE WERE ALREADY OVER
3,567,977,254 Google searches.http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/

6. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
In ONE SECOND today, there were
http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/
http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/

7. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

8. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Google’s product is NOT the Search Results,
but the sites they serve to users in those results.

9. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Original Algorithm Focus: WebSpam

10. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
November 16, 2003

11. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
First Significant Google Update
“FLORIDA”
During the Christmas Season

12. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

13. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• Florida Update Devastation
Original Webspam Algorithms.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/florida-update/#close

14. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

15. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Why?

16. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

17. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
Original Webspam Algorithms.

18. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
SPAM = “Sites Positioned Above Mine”

19. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Google’s product is NOT the Search Results,
but the sites they serve to users in those results.

20. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Original Webspam Algorithms.

21. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• Algorithms for Violations of Webmaster Guidelines
• Examples
• Jagger (pre-Penguin)
• Penguin (pre-realtime) (not just links)
• Pirate
• Panda
• Manual Actions for Violators
Original Webspam Algorithms.

22. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Google Algorithm Updates – Usability
ALL ABOUT SPAM.

23. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Google Algorithm Updates – Usability
ALL ABOUT SPAM.

24. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Move to Usability.

25. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• Usability Focus starts around 2012
• Examples
• Top Heavy (Ads)
• Page Layout
• Page Speed
• Mobile Friendly
• Interstitials
Move to Usability.
https://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-algorithm-updates

26. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Instead of strictly creating algorithms to filter out spam, now Google
creates algorithms to filter out bad User Experience.

27. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• Google’s product is the sites it serves
• Resources Google needs to crawl and index sites
• Ads, Ads, Ads and other abuses
Why Usability?
https://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-algorithm-updates

28. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Move to Authority and Trust.

29. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Enter 2018 and “MEDIC”.

30. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

31. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

32. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

33. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
“MEDIC”

34. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
https://www.sistrix.com/blog/google-algorithm-change-hints-of-medic-rollback/
MEDIC
https://www.sistrix.com/blog/google-algorithm-change-hints-of-medic-rollback/

35. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Google’s product is NOT the Search Results,
but the sites they serve to users in those results.

36. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Medic is a misnomer. Sites most hit fall under a Quality Raters
Guideline called “Your Money or Your Life” sites.

37. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
“YMYL”

38. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
What are CORE UPDATES?

39. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
What?

40. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
NOMercola.com

41. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
NO

42. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Is it about
E-A-T?

43. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

44. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• E-A-T
• “Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust”
• IS MOSTLY
• Inbound Links
• Inbound Citations
E-A-T (kind of)

45. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• CORE UPDATES ARE
• “Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust”
• PER GARY ILLYES E-A-T is comprised of
• Inbound Links
• Inbound Citations
• PLUS Core Updates are about
(According to John Mueller)
• Query Relevance
• Site Quality
E-A-T (kind of)

46. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
This is what the
CORE UPDATES
are ABOUT

47. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
• Accuracy of Content
• Authorship
• Credentials of Authors
• Linking Out
• Bios
• Links to Certifications
• Known Brands
• Reviews
• And … and .. and
What Media or the CORE UPDATES are NOT.

48. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
How do you recover?

49. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

50. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
https://www.sistrix.com/blog/google-algorithm-change-hints-of-medic-rollback/
MEDIC
https://www.sistrix.com/blog/google-algorithm-change-hints-of-medic-rollback/

51. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
How to Fix Core Updates.
• Overall Site Quality
• Technical
• Links
• Content Quality

52. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
How to Fix Core Updates.
• Query Relevance
• Check Google Search Console for Query Drops
• Many sites drop on just a few terms
• Are you pages relevant to entity search

53. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Examine.com

54. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• Examine.com
• Fixed 800 redirect loops
• Removed a unsupported script causing large load times
• Reduced load times from 25-30s+ to under 12s on avg.
How to Fix Core Updates.

55. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• Examine.com
How to Fix Core Updates.

56. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger

57. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Takeaways.
• https://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-algorithm-updates
• https://blog.google/products/search/our-latest-quality-improvements-search/
• https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf
• https://www.kevin-indig.com/my-notes-from-the-gary-illes-qa-bay-area-search/#E-A-T
Resources.

58. #Ungagged #LA @schachin Kristine Schachinger
Core Updates: Google’s New Spam
Kristine@SitesWithoutWalls.com