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Everything You Need to Know About the Google Algorithm Update 2019

Everything You Need to Know About the Google Algorithm Update 2019

Last month, it was announced that Google had rolled out a significant Algorithm update, which also happened to be its first update of 2019. The algorithm update had quite the impact on News websites and blogs that belonged to different niches. Some have even called this the “Newsgate Algorithm Update.”  

On 16th January 2019, Google released a new document that provided advice and tips for news publishers to receive success through the rest of the year. The update rolled out during the second week of January, and it affected the news sites that tended to rewrite content or collect content from other sites. The latest document by Google included two sections that were titled “Ways to succeed in Google News,” it recommends that News publishers stay away from putting up rewritten content. 

Here’s what the Google document states:

Block content that is scraped: Scraping means collecting material that is published on other sites, often automated. Sites that have scraped content must block scraped content from Google News. 

Rewritten content should be blocked: Rewriting is taking material from another site and then spinning it so that it is not the same as the original. Websites that follow this must prevent the rewritten content from Google News. This also includes articles that make slight changes or replace terms but keep the article’s overall meaning. 

There are also some practices that are highlighted in “The ways to succeed in Google News,” News publishers have to keep these practices in mind before they go ahead and publish a story.

  • Clear and Descriptive titles
  • Accurate and time-using structured data
  • Avoiding duplicate, rewritten, or scrapped content
  • Use HTTPS for all posts and pages

The suggestions that are stated in the document will help news websites, that are affected by the latest Google algorithm update to recover. Google has motivated transparency of News publishers; this is more because of search engine giant’s EAT Guidelines. 

The new guidelines ask the publishers to be transparent by letting readers know who published the content. Google has advised using a byline that is clear, along with a short description of the author, and the contact details of the publication. 

By providing these details to your readers and Google bot, you can help with filtering out the sites or accounts that copy any person or organization, or that cover their ownership or primary purpose. Google also warns news publishers not to collaborate in any link schemes that are intended to manipulate PageRank of other websites. 

On January 16, 2019, Google rolled out its first vital update of the year. This time it’s target were news sites and blogs. The data from SEMrush Sensor suggests that the update has managed to touch a high-temperature zone of 9.4. There was some speculation about the update during the days leading up to the launch, and now cyberspace has witnessed the massive update. Websites like ABC’s WBBJTV, FOX’s KTVU and CBS17 were the ones that were hit the worst. 

Earlier, Google had announced that it rolls out around 600 core algorithm updates. Additionally, it also rolls out full core algorithm updates that take place 3 to 4 times a year. These updates also bring along with it an effective rank shift in the SERP with a few websites seeing a spike in organic ranks, while others will witness a significant dip in rankings. 

Google has yet to confirm if the update that is released is a core or a massive core update. The update does seem to have drastically changed to the results, and it shows in featured oddments. SEO communities are buzzing with discussions about the latest update as many sites were affected by the Algorithm update in the past few days. A user from a Black Hat Forum said, “Travel – All white hat, good links, etc, fresh content, old domain, and all the good stuff. Was some dancing around Dec and then, wham, 3rd page?” 

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While another user from Webmaster World mentioned the following statement, “Big changes happening in the SERPs since Friday for us. Anyone noticing an uptick or downward slide of long tail referrals? The first time we’ve seen much since the big changes in August/September.”

Webmaster World also answered some prominent questions on the forum regarding the update by saying, “Yes! Today the signals are quite intense. Probably going on for past four days No changes seen on the sites though.”

Moreover, the Google Grump Tool from AccuRanker has mentioned that was furious activity in the last few days, and this may have been an indication that the update was rolled out in phases rather than all at once. 

During the initial analysis, the sites that were affected by Google’s latest Algorithm update of 2019 are the ones that publish news that is quite questionable. Surveyors also noticed a nosedive in traffic that belonged to news sites who were responsible for rewritten content and don’t include any new values. 

The complete rollout was done by Sunday because all the sensors had cooled down by Monday. A detailed analysis of the sites that are affected will be done shortly, this analysis will help you understand why the sites were affected and how they can recover quickly from the latest Google Algorithm update. 

Author Bio: This post was written by Arjunan KS, a creative content writer and an SEO specialist working currently at Stan Ventures, a popular White Label Blog Management Service provider. You can reach him on LinkedIn.

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