Panic at the SEO: Google algorithm update wreaks havoc for brands
Google's latest algorithm update has resulted in SEO chaos and brands struggling to regain their search rankings.
Google announced at the SXSW conference this week that it will soon be targeting all “bad merchants” with an algorithm that will lower their search rankings.
That means if a retailer shows up in Google search rankings due to poor reviews or complaints, that content will no longer help that merchant stay at the top.
“We have a potential launch later this year, maybe a little bit sooner, looking at the quality of merchants and whether we can do a better job on that, because we don’t want low quality experience merchants to be ranking in the search results,” said Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam.
SEO takes center stage for retailers
Site owners shouldn’t be shocked by this – SEO is becoming a critical element when it comes to purchases, and Google wants to make sure everyone is playing fairly.
In 2010 Google began taking action against merchants that provided an “extremely poor user experience.” Only a small amount of sites were impacted, but this trend signals that Google plans to make search an optimal experience as more and more people are drawn to the web to shop.
Google’s efforts to protect searchers from poor retail experiences reinforces the importance of online customer feedback.
Now is the time to examine both your customer service practices and your digital footprint.