Dive into our guide on Google's latest algorithm updates and effective tactics for today's digital landscape
Did you know outdated Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) content strategies can negatively impact your website rankings?
With search algorithms evolving, SEO tactics that were effective just a few months ago might now be outdated, along with Search Engine Results Page (SERP) criteria that determine first-page rankings.
There are, however, evergreen SEO techniques that still continue to be relevant.
Let’s unpack what these are, when they became obsolete, and how your site could be impacted if left unchecked.
In this article, we will discuss:
Google's evolving algorithms
Keyword exploitation (stuffing)
Writing for search engines (crawlers)
Backlinks
Over optimised anchor text
Optimising for text only
Duping web crawlers
Keeping up with an SEO audit
Google's evolving algorithms
Since 1998, Google and other search engines (such as AltaVista, Ask Jeeves, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, and Yahoo) have been competing to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible in a way that delivers the best possible results.
This led to the development of algorithms specifically designed to discover and rank high-quality content, tailored to individual search queries.
These algorithms are in a state of constant evolution. According to Moz, Google implements around 500–600 updates annually. The pace and scale of these changes have accelerated over time, leading to once-critical SEO practices quickly becoming obsolete, resulting in the birth of Black Hat SEO and Grey Hat SEO approaches to SEO.
What is Black Hat SEO?
Black Hat SEO refers to the use of aggressive and deceptive strategies to manipulate search engine rankings. While these techniques were once considered legitimate strategies, they now violate search engine guidelines as they are designed to exploit weaknesses in algorithms, providing a quick boost in rankings but often resulting in severe penalties once detected.
Examples of common Black Hat SEO practices:
Keyword stuffing: Loading a webpage with irrelevant keywords to manipulate search engine rankings.
Clocking: Presenting different content to search engines and users to deceive search algorithms.
Link farming: Creating or participating in schemes that involve a large number of low-quality or irrelevant backlinks to manipulate link popularity.
Hidden text: Placing text on a webpage that is not visible to users but is intended to be read by search engines.
Doorway pages: Creating low-quality pages optimised for specific keywords to attract search engine traffic.
What is Grey Hat SEO?
Grey Hat SEO is a middle ground between ethical White Hat SEO practices and unethical Black Hat SEO practices. Grey Hat practitioners may use tactics that are not explicitly against search engine guidelines but could be considered manipulative or on the edge of acceptability. So, while they are not yet dated, Google may negatively penalise you if you are doing any of these.
Examples of common Grey Hat SEO practices:
Purchasing expired domains: Acquiring domains with existing authority to benefit from their backlink profile.
Clickbait tactics: Creating sensationalised or misleading content to attract clicks and traffic.
Aggressive link-building: Engaging in tactics that push the boundaries of acceptable link-building practices.
Keyword exploitation (stuffing)
Keywords continue to play a vital role in SEO performance, but it's easy to lose sight of their proper use and relevance.
Here are some outdated keyword exploitation techniques that are no longer effective:
Keyword density: In the past, SEO strategies often emphasised on maintaining a specific keyword density: a set ratio of certain keywords to the total word count on a page. While this approach once influenced rankings, Google and other search engines have moved away from using keyword density as a key ranking factor.
Keyword stuffing: This involved cramming web pages with target keywords to boost rankings. Common practices included:
Putting every plausible keyword variation into the website footer.
Scattering the keywords throughout the webpage.
Hiding keywords from visitors by matching text and background colours, so that they’re invisible to users but not to search bots.
These strategies are now identified as manipulative. Current search algorithms view such practices as attempts to skew search results and impose penalties accordingly.
Google released a few updates to target and penalise keyword stuffing practices specifically. Find the full updated list, here.
Writing for search engines (crawlers)
Writing for search engines involved content creators writing with a focus on web optimisation rather than audience engagement resulting in repetitive use of the same keyword whenever possible, along with its variations, acronyms, and plural or singular forms, to ensure comprehensive coverage. Alternatively, creating pages with the sole intention of ranking for a specific keyword, and then redirecting users to another page once the page was ranking. Now, algorithms are sophisticated enough to discern appropriate keyword usage, recognise variations, and evaluate the informational quality of content.
Find the full list of algorithm updates addressing practices writing content for bots, here.
Duping web crawlers
In the early days of SEO, web crawlers were simpler, and we had more control over directing their actions and assigning page weightage. A common example was to add priority in our Sitemaps (ranging from 0.0 to 1.0). Google later realised that this system was often misused and replaced the 'frequency-based' ranking with a focus on content quality and relevance.
Attempting to manipulate search engine crawlers is not advisable. Current rankings are determined by the quality and relevance of content. Tricks aimed at deceiving crawlers for better ranking can backfire, leading to negative consequences.
Rahul Sengupta, Resolution Digital's SEO Account Director shares,
One the biggest challenges for a brand is to try and recover from a manual penalty after getting caught by Google for duping its crawlers. If your strategy doesn’t rely on matching search intent with quality content that adds value and rather relies on making tweaks which is visible to Search Engines only, you are bound to face the negative consequences.Rahul Sengupta SEO Account Director, Resolution Digital
Backlinks
Having quality backlinks with high relevance has always been a challenge for many businesses striving to secure another domain linking back to their website.
To tackle this, digital marketers explored the following methods to outsmart the system:
Purchasing backlinks: This technique involves acquiring links from websites that serve merely as link repositories or from vendors in developing countries. This approach is risky as it can lead to website penalties. Modern SEO requires a strategic approach to managing the quality of backlinks.
Backlinking from comments section: This is another commonly used technique where individuals leave links in the comments sections of unrelated articles, regardless of relevance.
Although not entirely gone, this tactic has diminished thanks to stricter site moderation. Comments now undergo thorough reviews, and measures like applying "noindex" tags or disabling hyperlinks altogether.
Using link exchange software: These were tools automating link exchanges, popular for their reciprocal model of “I’ll add you if you add me” (Like-for-Like). This approach involved inserting hyperlinks in one domain, in exchange for a backlink on another.
The downside was the lack of relevance and alignment between linked websites, often leading to links being inconspicuously placed and mismatched in context.
Find the full list of algorithm updates addressing inappropriate linking practices, here.
Over optimised anchor text
Internal linking is a pivotal element in shaping a website's structure, enhancing user experience, and improving SEO rankings.
Traditionally, the role of anchor texts in internal linking was important. The key to a successful internal link was once predominantly defined by its use of exact-match anchor texts.
However, the landscape of SEO has evolved. As search engine algorithms shifted, various anchor text styles, such as branded links, naked URLs, brand names, and page title headlines, started to play a more significant role, each suited to different situations.
The current trend emphasises creating content that is organic in tone, and easy to understand, focusing on natural readability for better user engagement.
Read the full list of algorithm updates addressing over optimising of anchor texts, here.
Optimising for text only
Text content is undeniably a cornerstone of SEO. However, focusing solely on text optimisation can limit the full potential of your SEO efforts.
Google has been enhancing its image, video, and voice search capabilities, diversifying the ways people search. These formats involve different search behaviours and additional factors in the SERPs.
By confining your SEO strategy to text-only, you are likely to miss out on broader ranking opportunities.
Check the full list of associated algorithm updates, here.
Keeping up with an SEO Audit
The evolving SEO landscape requires businesses to align their SEO strategies with the current algorithm updates. Which is why it is essential that any outdated SEO practices are avoided, to make your SEO practice is effective, and can positively contribute to your website's overall ranking.
Let our SEO experts help you conduct a complimentary SEO audit, so we can identify which outdated SEO tactics are being used, and develop the best strategy for your website's SEO.
Book your complimentary SEO audit
Algorithm updates addressing keyword stuffing practices
The following updates by Google were released to target and penalise keyword stuffing practices specifically.
Florida - November 1, 2003
Austin - January 1, 2004
Penguin - April 24, 2012
Panda 4.1 (#27) - September 23, 2014
May 2020 core update - May 4, 2020
BERT Expands - October 15, 2020
December 2020 core update – December 3, 2020
June 2021 core update – June 2, 2021
July 2021 core update – July 1, 2021
November 2021 spam update – November 3, 2021
November 2021 core update - November 17, 2021
November 2021 local search update - November 30, 2021
May 2022 core update – May 25, 2022
August 2022 helpful content update – August 25, 2022
Algorithm updates addressing practices writing content for bots
BERT (Worldwide) - December 9, 2019
May 2020 core update - May 4, 2020
BERT Expands - October 15, 2020
December 2020 core update – Dec 3, 2020
June 2021 core update – June 2, 2021
July 2021 core update – July 1, 2021
November 2021 spam update – November 3, 2021
November 2021 core update - November 17, 2021
November 2021 local search update - November 30, 2021
March 2022 product reviews update - March 23, 2022
May 2022 core update – May 25, 2022
July 2022 product reviews update – July 27, 2022
August 2022 helpful content update – August 25, 2022
Algorithm updates addressing inappropriate linking practices
Dominic - May 1, 2003
Jagger update - September 1, 2005
Big Daddy Update -December 15, 2005
Penguin - April 24, 2012
May 39 - Pack - June 7, 2012
Penguin update 2.0 - May 22, 2013
Penguin update 3.0 - October 17, 2014
Penguin update 4.0 & core algorithm integration - September 23, 2016
February 7 update - February 7, 2017
December 2020 core update - December 3, 2020
June 2021 core update - June 2, 2021
July 2021 core update - July 1, 2021
November 2021 spam update - November 3, 2021
November 2021 core update - November 17, 2021
May 2022 core update - May 25, 2022
August 2022 helpful content update - August 25, 2022
Algorithm updates addressing over optimising of anchor texts
Google Toolbar - December 1, 2000
Brandy - February 1, 2004
Jagger update - September 1, 2005
Panda 3.4 (March 50-Pack) - April 3, 2012
June 2021 Core Update - June 2, 2021
July 2021 core update - July 1, 2021
November 2021 core update - November 17, 2021
May 2022 core update - May 25, 2022
August 2022 helpful content update - August 25, 2022
Algorithm updates addressing crawler manipulation
Universal search - May 1, 2007
November 2021 local search update - November 30, 2021
Associated algorithm updates for optimising text
Google has updated its algorithms to give more weight to various media types, reflecting this shift towards a more inclusive search experience.
Universal search - May 1, 2007
December 10-pack - December 1, 2011
January 30-pack - January 5, 2012
February 40-pack (2) - February 27, 2012
Panda 3.4 (March 50-pack) - April 3, 2012
Video carousels - June 14, 2018
May 2020 core update - May 4, 2020
April 2021 product reviews update - April 8, 2021
June 2021 core update - June 2, 2021
July 2021 core update - July 1, 2021
November 2021 core update - November 17, 2021
November 2021 local search update - November 30, 2021
December 2021 product reviews update - December 1, 2021
March 2022 product reviews update - March 23, 2022
May 2022 core update – May 25 2022
July 2022 product reviews update – July 27, 2022
