Google “Phantom” Update Rolling Out Targeting Informational, ‘How-To’ Content

NBC reports that an undisclosed, “phantom” algorithm update is rolling out in Google search right now which is primarily impacting publishers of “how-to” style content.

HubPages, a collection of more than 870,000 miniblogs containing informational content about wide varieties of topics, saw its Google search traffic drop 22 percent from one week to another on May 3.

Websites like eHow, WikiHow, and Answers.com are other sites that have seen significant drops in traffic over the past couple of weeks.

Glenn Gabe, of New Jersey-based G-Squared Interactive, is the one to coin the phrase “Phantom” update because this update came without warning, and Google has yet to acknowledge its existence.

Through analyzing the data, Gabe has determined that this udpdate is not related to Panda or Penguin. However, similar types of “thin” content targeted by Panda are also being targeted by this update.

Gabe points out that clickbait articles, sites with an abundance supplementary information, pages of stacked videos, and pages difficult to navigate have all lost visibility in recent weeks.

This update is said to be “ruthless” in its approach — apparently having no problem punishing entire domains for a few instances of thin content.

“When you have a domain-level algorithm update or ranking change, it can impact the whole site… Pages that should be drawing well could also be pulled down in the results.”

Google has not formally commented on this update, although at SMX Sydney this week Gary Illyes, from Google’s Webmaster Trends team, alluded to there being a recent change that’s part of a core algorithm update.

With Google’s Knowledge Graph being notorious for detracting traffic from sites for “how to” searches, coupled with this “Phantom” update, being a content publisher is more challenging than ever. Even Gabe, who analyzes search data for a living, admits to not being able to predict what business will look like tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

Have you noticed a significant change in your traffic since the beginning of May? If so, what types of content do you believe was targeted? Details are scarce at this point, so any information we can get is valued.

Here Are the 7 Ways to Improve Google Rankings For Your Website

With increasing number of websites, the war of ranking higher or on the top three has become harder and harder. However, such tough competition can be won by following some simple rules as advice by the search engine giant Google.

1. Do not try to outsmart Google

Many developers think that they can fool Google by using some tricks to rank higher in Google search results. What they fail to understand is the fact that their trick might work for a few days but once Google catches them the page or website will either be penalized or will jump to the bottom. It is always better to follow the rules laid by Google and to create a website that not only meets all the ranking criteria’s but also standout amongst all the other web pages.

2. Keyword for ranking

Selecting or targeting the right keyword is the only way to achieve the desired result. While users can use the various available online tools, getting a keyword audit can also prove to be beneficial. Selecting through vast number of keywords can be tricky and optimizing the keyword another big hurdle while creating a website.

3. Design of the web page

The entire layout of the web page plays a very important role in the ranking of the page on search engine. Do not forget to appropriately use Title tags, SEO titles, meta descriptions, alt tags and Images and image naming conventions. Some other important things to pay attention to are ratio of text to HTML, Length of copy on pages, number of indexed pages, canonical URL structure, domain age and site loading speed.

4. Boost site security

Increasing number of cases of security breaches has made security protocols stricter and tougher. Breaches such as identity theft, Adware, Clickjacking and many others were in the news most recently. To curb such problems, Google ranks those sites higher which have security certification and HTTPS encryption.

5. Publish quality content frequently

Updating fresh and good quality content on a regular basis increases ranking in the search result. Quality of the content is measured on the parameters such as human engagement and algorithm predicts.

6. Do Strategic Link Building

Link building is one of the most important parts of ranking in Google’s search result page. However, linking to authentic website is what counts. It adds to the credibility of the site.

Buying links to get faster result might end-up penalizing the page if the sources are not legal.

7. Mobile-Friendly website

As mobile phones have taken the center stage, today websites that are mobile-friendly are counted amongst the top result during searches.