This year, Google announced a gradual algorithm update rollout to start mid-June. From what we have seen so far, the updates focus on improving the experience for the search engine users, not the local businesses. This article will focus on everything the local business owner needs to know to optimize their site to rank higher within the Google Algorithm as well as the Google Ads Algorithm.
Luckily the most recent updates will not affect your Google Ads ad rank should you have a properly established campaign. They will, however, affect your site regarding its rank in general. Your ad rank should remain intact.
The Importance of Regular Relevant Keyword Usage in the Google Ads Algorithm
When it comes to the Google Ads Algorithm, you need to use relevant keywords throughout the campaign to get a high ad rank. These keywords must be industry-specific and relevant to the content on your site.
The Google Ads Algorithm can detect if you are bidding on random keywords that have no relevance to your local businesses.
Google Ads will reward you with a higher ad rank and quality score if you take the time to use the proper keywords regularly throughout your campaign.
Taking great care in selecting your keywords will also contribute to a higher click-through rate. This is how many times your ad is shown divided by the actual amount of clicks it receives.
If you achieve a high click-through rate, the Google Ads Algorithm will reward this heavily. Not only do you have more people coming to your page (a benefit in itself), but Google Ads will lower the price per click.
However, you need to apply good keyword principles to all aspects of your campaign to reap the benefits.
Sitelink extensions, headlines, and descriptions must include all of your relevant keywords to increase your ad rank. Unsuccessful campaigns will not be cognizant of this, so take advantage of this information.
Your Landing Page is Critical to How the Google Ads Algorithm Perceives Your Local Business’ Campaign
Regardless of your ad rank, your business should have a good landing page. But if you need some incentive, your ad rank directly relies on your landing page.
A bad landing page will flag your campaign, leading you to pay a higher price per click. It will also likely lead to a lower conversion rate, costing you a significant amount of leads lost.
The landing page should follow the same rules of using keywords frequently and relevantly throughout all the copy.
However, Google Ads Algorithm is going to be paying close attention to the context and quality of your landing page. Your page should be rich in images and text that relate to your ad group.
This is also going to contribute to the user experience, and in turn, the chances of someone purchasing or booking a service through your local business.
What is BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers)
Google released BERT, a natural language processor, earlier last year to improve the way the search engine responds to natural human speech. The algorithm picks up patterns in the language that it can then use to enhance the quality of the user’s search.
This addition to the algorithm makes relevancy more important than ever, as it can scan for context to match the user with the sites most applicable to their searches.
For local business owners, this makes the information for keyword usage critical.
Throughout your campaign, keep in mind the context and relevance for all keyword usage.
Recent Google Algorithm Updates and Rollouts
Beyond what we know about the effects of past Google Algorithm updates on Google Ads campaigns for local businesses, we must address the most recent rollouts to the search engine.
We will address the multiple updates Google has rolled out so far that will affect your local business’s site rank overall.
Why Keyword Overloading Will Derank Your Site in the Google Algorithm
While we have always known that overloading keywords in your site will send you down in rank, it can now lead to the detriment of your site. Google Ads Algorithm plans on scanning through your content more heavily than before to assure keyword relevancy. Even if you manage to sneakily balance out your keyword usage, it can still be checked for relevancy.
The Google Algorithm is reaching human levels of competency, so do not think you can fool it so easily. They are going to check to see if your content is aligning with the keywords used on your site.
As always, Content is King. So for local businesses with a good landing page, you do not have to worry about your site deranking significantly. It will still be worthwhile to update your site’s content to make sure visitors have a quality experience.
Google Algorithm Cares About Making Your Site Mobile Friendly
We know local businesses often prioritize their desktop sites when crafting their campaigns. While it’s understandable, Google Ads Algorithm also wants you to put some effort into making the mobile experience just as good.
Google Ads Algorithm is looking for flags that suggest your mobile site is not up to par. Things like font size and image viewing are going to be important for the viewers’ comfort. Should your mobile site not provide the best experience, your desktop site’s ranking might tank as a result.
User Activity and Page Quality
While normally Google’s Algorithm focused only on the click-through rate to view the user’s activity, they are now taking into consideration the time spent idle on the site. This means that if the user is not actively interacting with your site by scrolling or clicking through pages, you might see your rank go down.
Similarly, the Google Algorithm is now going to be checking the loading speeds of your page to make sure that your site is running smoothly and the user does not have to wait long to view your content.
According to Google, your site will need to load in 2.5 seconds after clicking the site link to achieve a high rank.