If I told you that Bruce Lee – the martial art marvel – had something peculiar and useful to say about SEO, you’d probably think what on Earth did he have to do with it. Yet, he totally does.
But before I give away what it is, I want you to understand what it means when Google – the platform your SEO strategy depends on – changes its algorithm.
What does a Google algorithm change mean?
We all are constantly evolving so we can be smarter, happier, richer, etc. Well, so is Google.
A Google algorithm update simply means the changes made to the search engine’s back end so it can be more useful to its users in terms of quality, time taken to perform a search, relevant searches etc.
In this year alone, Google launched two core updates to its search engine – one in June and another in July 2021.
What do Google algorithm updates mean for you?
Since any tweaks made to the Google search engine algorithm can change how your website ranks on the platform and consequently, your online traffic, it means that your SEO strategy could be affected.
One of the questions I get asked most often is – Does the whole SEO strategy that I’ve built over the years need to change?
The answer is no. And that’s where Bruce Lee comes in.
How to deal with any algorithm updates?
Bruce Lee said, be like water.
No matter what comes in its way, water keeps flowing.
We all can learn from this philosophy to have a winning mindset about website growth and rank higher on Google.
But first, regardless of the changes search engines make to their algorithm, your broader SEO strategy should always remain the same.
Google, too, has the same strategy – to ensure the best experience for its users.
For you too, all customers, leads or sales who visit your website should have the best possible experience.
If you keep this as your goal, the content, links, conversion rate optimization, etc. on your website will only improve and lead to better results for you.
This is true for even the world’s most colossal companies.
Amazon is constantly working on improving its user experience so you’ll find that today it’s much easier and quicker to buy anything on Amazon than say, a year ago.
So what changes?
So, if the overall SEO strategy remains constant i.e. to ensure an optimum user experience, what really changes with algorithm updates?
Only the tactics.
Just like water, we must continually learn and improve along the way to overcome any hurdles.
So, if you have an existing SEO strategy, content writers, people optimizing your on-page SEO, then you have to constantly improve it.
Because if you don’t, you stagnate. Your competitors, on the other hand, will evolve, learn, and adapt the new tactics and outrank you.
Hence, with Google algorithm updates, no obstacle should stop you.
Whether your traffic gets hit or your rankings tank or one Google update takes a toll on your website and you lose 50% of your traffic, that shouldn’t stop you.
Just like water flows down a stream and manoeuvres around rocks, pebbles or anything that comes in its way, you should continually find a way around every single challenge that you have with SEO.
For example, a client of mine lost 20-30% of their website’s traffic almost overnight with Google’s December update. They began to lose leads and sales. But they weren’t willing to let that stop them.
They hired us. We increasingly built higher-quality links, worked around algorithm updates, and voilà, within a couple of months, their traffic began to skyrocket. They grew to a higher position than the one they were in before.
If you learn from algorithm updates or any SEO news, you’ll have better tactics for your overall strategy, an improved SEO process, high-quality backlinks (here are ways to do that), a better website, and be ready to fly in no time, offering the best experience for your users again.
The empty cup mindset
You can also look at this concept with the empty cup mindset.
Technology evolves at an unfathomable rate. There are millions of changes in a day. While it can be overwhelming, evolving with these changes is the only way ahead.
Imagine a cup full of water. If you add any more water to it, it’ll only overflow.
Our existing knowledge of technology or algorithms or SEOs is like a cup full of water. If we don’t empty it from time to time, there’s no room for us to acquire fresh knowledge about any changes which, whether we want or not, are inevitable.
Hence, the best way to operate when it comes to updates in the way things work online – be it search engines or new technologies – is to leave pre-existing notions, comparisons and misconceptions aside and empty your cup.
For instance, many people are against Artificial Intelligence and content writing, which can be massive game-changers in the coming months in transforming the SEO industry and online businesses.
However, if you want to thrive online, it’s smart to start learning everything you can about these new concepts so you don’t become redundant. If you instead stagnate, your competitors will quickly evolve and outperform you.
Conclusion
In the end, for building and expanding any business online and adjusting to Google’s algorithm or SEO updates, my mantra is to learn, improve, adapt, and keep moving.
Even with a business that specializes in SEO link-building and boosting organic website traffic for my clients, I don’t know everything new that comes my way. But I am willing to learn anything that can help me further master these skills.
That is the only way forward – just like water!
To understand the latest changes in how SEO works, build better websites, outrank competitors online, and fit into Google’s new algorithm updates, get in touch with us today!
