On or about the 24th of September Google started to roll out a major core algorithm update that has disrupted website rankings for both large and small websites. What happened and what can be done?

First of all, you need to know that your rank can be restored by following the fixes that will be listed in your Search Console. If you are not yet using Search Console, now is the time to sign up (it’s free).

If you invested in any Black Hat SEO practices like buying backlinks or 301 redirect spam then you were likely hit. Sites who had lots of low-value backlinks were also hit pretty hard.

Likewise, if you run a Woo Commerce web-store you may be dealing with a lot of errors and warnings. Google is now requiring schema for products for their rich snippets. They want to be able to offer an incentive to buy when they list your product in search, and that is why you need either a “Offers, Reviews, or Aggregate Rankings schema posted.

While we are talking Aggregate Ranking, Google has also cracked down on the use of Aggregate Ranking in the SERPs and they have been pulled from sites that had been hosting their own reviews. However, if you are using Yelp or Google Maps reviews your ratings should still be showing in the SERPs.

As always if you are in search of SEO services, website design or troubleshooting, Contact Me.