People who work in marketing don’t really talk about refreshes anymore. A decade ago however, it was a huge part of the SEO vocabulary. Google quite often chops and changes its algorithm, and this can have a huge impact on websites across the globe. The most notable updates that have been done over the years include Penguin and Panda. When the updates have been released, refreshes then occur, to make sure that they have been implemented properly while ensuring that search results are properly updated. If your site has experienced a major fluctuation in ranking, for example, if your page one site is now lurking in the depths of page five, then you may think that this is due to an algorithm update. That being said, this probably isn’t the case. In fact, it’s more than likely down to the data being refreshed within the algorithm. This is especially the case if the data was too complex in order to have it updated with the implementation of the algorithm change.
Most People Assume that Ranking Data is Updated in Real-Time
Most marketers assume that every piece of ranking data is updated in real-time. Although this is sometimes the case, it doesn’t always happen. Content that was impacted by one update, may not recover, even if improvements are made. So why is this? it’s a simple case of waiting until the next broad update occurs. This is very similar to the concept of data refreshing. This in itself, has some startling implications for the fluctuations that most sites see when a core update is implemented.
As One Site Goes Up, One Must Come Down
If you see that your competition have made a ton of improvements to their site, then when the update comes along, they may see their site shoot up. The result? Your site going down. This isn’t an indicator of your own site, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing everything right. It does however, mean that a bunch of site improvements are being recognised and this usually happens all at once. As big changes like this happen, and as sites move up in the rankings, other sites have to come down.
Should you Concern Yourself with the Return of the Refresh?
The biggest consequence of seeing core updates as being simple refreshes is that you should not give any thought to before and after analysis. There’s a mighty chance that you will go back to your mean ranking between the updates. Sites that do lose out during updates, still end up growing overall. Even if you do experience some negative shocks, your visibility may grow, so it’s important to make sure that you are looking at the bigger picture and not just the immediate result of your drop in ranking. Things are always changing, sometimes it’s for the better, sometimes it’s for the worst. Either way, by expanding your viewpoint on the subject of refreshes, you can be sure to look at the whole thing much more objectively.
Want to find out more? Maybe you just need help with your own ranking. Either way, contact us today by calling 01245 939123 or by emailing us at: [email protected].