SEOs Share Their Experiences with Google Updates

Online businesses and site owners have noticed how there have been a lot of SEO news and updates from Google in 2021, which is notably a lot more than in previous years. Many businesses and brands find SEO updates stressful and frustrating because these may harm their site’s visibility, allowing rivals to overtake them in the search results. This, in turn, leads to decreased traffic and revenue.

Since the search engine company launched more frequent updates in 2021, many SEOs have felt more pressured to find problems after each update and resolve them.

However, there are numerous types of SEOs who work across various verticals and agencies and within organisations, and their experiences can differ significantly.

A few SEOs have spoken about how their workload changes after Google updates, how their clients may react, and how 2021’s updates have impacted their work-life balance and job prospects.

A Website’s Performance After an Update Affects the Work Ahead

The days and weeks after an algorithm update may be exciting when the hard work is successful or devastating if rankings plummet suddenly. Algorithm updates are inescapable; the high-risk nature of these updates result in different workloads for various brands and websites.

One SEO shared that their department is always busier after an algorithm update. They communicate this information to their clients and share data on how it affected their website. When it comes to strategising, they want to try and retain their existing methods as much as possible, but algorithm updates sometimes change their priorities.

Another SEO said that it is crucial to understand how a client’s website was affected by the update. One should also be ready to advise on the next plan of action, which takes a lot of time and planning, so they usually conduct a lot of monitoring and reporting after an update. As for knowledgeable clients who keep tabs on SEO industry news, SEO agencies might need to provide a deep dive analysis into how their website was affected by the update.

However, in-house SEOs may have a different experience with Google updates, considering they work for only one brand. One in-house SEO said that things do not change a lot for them unless the algorithm change strikes very hard. After an update, the whole team starts looking for shifts in organic traffic to assess risk areas and modify their roadmap if necessary.

Another SEO takes a different approach, saying that Google updates are opportunities to reassess a site’s visibility and make a checklist of areas of improvement. They said that they do not look at the data immediately after Google launches an update since it often takes a week to finish rolling out. They also said their workload does not change a lot, but they try to analyse the data to understand if the drop or improvement is relevant to the update and whether or not they should deal with it.

SEOs Must Explain Updates to Their Clients

Depending on the situation, a Google update brings either good or bad news, as traffic and rankings may go up or down for a business. To some SEOs, receiving good news reaffirms all of their hard work, which can help increase stakeholder buy-in. On the other hand, SEOs who report to a single contact from their client’s company may need to provide a wider context to higher-ups if things do not go well.

Some clients understand that the Google algorithm is not perfect. Therefore, SEOs can tell them their perspectives on updates before they happen so that everyone can be on the same page. They may also share data about how the update affected the client’s competitors. On the other hand, other clients may just want a simple explanation of how the update affected their site.

With that being said, providing a simple overview isn’t always feasible. Some updates cover much more ground than others. On the other hand, some are quite narrow and deal with e-commerce-related content. Although Google provides some advice for recovering sites that have taken a visibility hit, one can’t guarantee the right advice applicable to a specific site.

It is an SEO’s duty to understand how Google updates work and how they could cause changes in traffic and rankings.

Work-Life Balance Can Be an Issue for SEOs

If an SEO company’s clients benefit from an update, they can continue their current strategies. However, if the results weren’t good, they probably needed to pause their scheduled activities to respond to the update. One should inform their clients that there will be adjustments in their SEO plans.

If clients ask for a traffic recovery plan within a short time, it would further pressure the team, who would be forced to sacrifice sleepless nights to find a solution for the problem. But for some SEOs, it may not affect their work-life balance that much unless there is a huge emergency.

How SEO Affects Careers

The considerable number of updates that Google launched resulted in many challenges for SEOs. It may have affected shaping SEO career paths, for instance.

Since Google updates have become more niche-targeted, there is now a need for SEO specialisation. Local SEO is different from e-commerce SEO, and specialising can help different types of businesses get ahead of the game.

Some SEOs enjoyed the challenges of Google’s new updates, while others found their jobs difficult to keep as a long-term career.

Work With Position1SEO

Position1SEO is a UK-based SEO agency that specialises in ranking websites and boosting traffic. We keep a close eye on SEO news and updates to stay ahead of the competition and help businesses achieve their goals, whether gaining visibility or increasing leads generated through search engine optimisation. Our services include on-page optimisation, keyword research, positive link building, site content development, and more.

We guarantee clients a spot on Google’s Page 1, no matter which keywords they choose to target. Before we work on your website, we will first conduct a free in-depth SEO audit to ensure that we do not miss any areas of improvement, leaving no stone unturned.

Feel free to get in touch today if you want to know more about our SEO services.