How Do Businesses Really Feel About the Imminent Google Update?

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With the next Google core update expected to drop at any moment, it’s a busy time for businesses and website owners as they prepare for the SERPs shake-up. The anticipation is building close to home too – we’re doing everything we can to improve and optimize our content at Website Builder Guide ahead of the algorithm update.

The reassuring thing is that we’re not alone. I spoke to several business owners to see how they feel about Google and its impact on the search landscape:

How Do You Feel About Google’s Recent Algorithm Updates?

I’m really intrigued by Google’s continuous efforts to enhance search quality with their algorithm updates. Each change brings new opportunities to refine our approach and stay ahead. It’s fascinating to see how much they focus on rewarding high-quality content. These updates push us to consistently improve our online presence.

Headshot of Laia Quintana
Laia Quintana Head of Marketing and Sales, TeamUp

Our online presence continues to improve as Google releases new algorithms, increasing our website’s visibility to different users seeking our legal services. The latest update, focused on enhancing Google’s classifier for helpful content, was a game-changer. It allowed us to concentrate on creating high-quality legal content, helping users understand basic personal injury issues.

Apart from creating high-quality content on our website, I also noticed how Google wanted content on the website to be like when it implemented the spam update. I think these updates are trying to make content online as original as possible so that users get what they want from reliable sources and resources. This, in my view, has worked to our advantage as we already have experts in our company to write original content.

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Martin Gasparian Owner/Attorney, Maison Law

I’ve been watching Google’s latest changes closely. These updates have shaken things up, changing how our website shows up in search results. It’s been both exciting and a bit stressful, but I think it’s pushing us to make better content that really helps our customers.

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Joshua Volpe Chief Marketing Officer, Kind Water Systems

Google’s recent algorithm updates have been a double-edged sword. While they aim to reward quality content, which aligns with our commitment to excellence, the volatility can be nerve-wracking for small businesses like ours that rely heavily on organic traffic.

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Daniel Meursing CEO, Premier Staff

I actually welcome these changes with open arms. I view them as Google’s way of pushing businesses like ours to up our game and truly prioritize the needs of our customers. That’s why, for us, these algorithm updates have been a catalyst for innovation and growth. We’ve taken a long, hard look at our digital strategy and made a concerted effort to refine our approach in line with Google’s clear directives.

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Josh Qian COO & Co-Founder, Best Online Cabinets

Google’s algorithm updates can be both a blessing and a curse for small businesses like mine. They urge companies to better their online presence in addition to enhancing user experience for visitors. However, keeping up with these changes can get quite overwhelming at times. Yet I still commend Google for trying its best towards improving search quality and relevance.

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Yosef Adde CEO, Luxe Cash for Gold

Has Your Business Been Affected by Google’s Updates?

We’ve noticed higher visibility and improved click-through rates in search results. This boost has led to increased traffic and user engagement on our platform. It seems like the updates favor well-structured, user-centric content. We’ve adapted quickly to make the most of these benefits.

Headshot of Laia Quintana
Laia Quintana Head of Marketing and Sales, TeamUp

The update has had an immediate and significant impact, as shown by the recent surge in website traffic. Notably, our monthly website traffic has increased dramatically, reaching over 10,000 visitors, which is a substantial improvement compared to two years ago.

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Martin Gasparian Owner/Attorney, Maison Law

As a business that tries as hard as possible to maintain our authenticity, we haven’t been negatively affected by these updates. I believe that users trust what they read on our platform and they know that it’s coming from us, not from some random AI tools. So far, the most obvious sign is increased sales. As a business that sells awnings online, our content has helped us turn our high traffic volume into sales, enabling us to reap more benefits from these updates.

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Mike Falahee President, Marygrove

These Google updates keep us on our toes. The June spam update was a bit rough, but I get why Google does it. They’re trying to make search results better for everyone, and as a business owner, I can respect that. It just means we have to work harder to stand out.

We saw a dip in our numbers after the June update. Our organic traffic went down, and we dropped in rankings for some keywords. It’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world either. I’d say we were negatively affected, but not severely.

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David Primrose President, Metal Marker

We’ve experienced both positive and negative impacts. After a recent update, our visibility for “luxury event staffing” keywords improved, likely due to our strong client portfolio and positive reviews. However, we saw a dip in rankings for some location-specific terms, which briefly affected our local lead generation.

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Daniel Meursing CEO, Premier Staff

We’ve already noticed significant impacts from recent updates to the algorithm. Google’s March update has helped us by noticeably elevating our higher-quality and stat-heavy content in search rankings. For example, after the recent Core Update, we saw a near 20% increase in organic traffic to our updated 2024 market reports and guides. I see this improvement as being largely due to our consistent efforts to create detailed, up-to-date and user-focused content that can’t be found anywhere else.

However, the recent update – and what it signals for Google’s future direction – has also required us to refine our content strategy. We’ve had to audit our existing content library to make sure it meets the new quality standards.

We are in the process of removing or revamping low-performing pages that lack enough depth and novel value. It’s been a rigorous process, but we’re confident it will pay off by improving our overall site quality and engagement metrics.

Teresha Aird headshot
Teresha Aird Co-Founder and CMO, Offices.net

With every update rolled out, I have witnessed varying levels of website traffic growth or decline on my site. Some algorithm modifications result in more local customers visiting our store while other sudden shifts lead to temporary drop-offs in visibility. But such instances only motivate me into having an even more dynamic SEO strategy.

Headshot of Yosef Adde
Yosef Adde CEO, Luxe Cash for Gold

How Are You Preparing Your Business for the Next Google Core Update?

We’re focusing on improving user experience and content relevance to align with Google’s evolving standards. Prioritizing faster load times, mobile-friendly design, and easy navigation. We’re enhancing our content strategy to better meet search intent. Regularly auditing and updating our existing content to make sure it meets the latest guidelines.

Headshot of Laia Quintana
Laia Quintana Head of Marketing and Sales, TeamUp

To prepare for future updates, we’re focusing on three key areas:

a) Enhancing our E-E-A-T signals: We’re leveraging our experience working with prestigious clients like Ferarri and the Oscars to demonstrate expertise and authority in our content.

b) Improving technical SEO: We’re investing in website speed optimization and mobile responsiveness, crucial factors that Google increasingly values.

c) Diversifying our digital presence: We’re expanding our social media engagement and exploring partnerships to reduce our dependence on Google search alone.

Headshot of Daniel Meursing
Daniel Meursing CEO, Premier Staff

We’re going to continue to conduct regular content audits to identify and update low-performing pages. The process is basically all about enhancing the originality and depth of our upcoming content as well as our back catalogue to make sure that it’s providing real value to users.

Improving site speed, mobile responsiveness, and overall UX and accessibility factors are another top priority. A seamless and engaging user experience is crucial for retaining site visitors and reducing bounce rates.

Finally, we’re increasing our focus on building a high-quality backlink profile as this not only boosts our authority but also aligns with Google’s renewed emphasis on site reputation.

Teresha Aird headshot
Teresha Aird Co-Founder and CMO, Offices.net

After talking to a range of businesses across the US and the world, it’s clear that Google’s updates come with both ups and downs. While many agree that it makes them continually strive to be better and improve their sites, SERP volatility also brings stress and uncertainty for small business owners.

Special shoutout to the participating businesses: Best Online Cabinets, Kind Water Systems, Luxe Cash for Gold, Maison Law, Marygrove, Metal Marker, Offices.net, Premier Staff, and TeamUp.

How do you feel about the imminent Google update? Let us know in the comments!

Written by:
Headshot of Emma Ryan
Emma is Lead Writer at Website Builder Guide, having first joined the team in 2022. She manages the website's topical content strategy to help website owners navigate the highs and lows of being online. Emma also specializes in following the development of leading website builders Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify, through hands-on testing and research. Her work and expertise have been featured in Startups.co.uk, Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World.

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