DIGITAL GROWTH
DIGITAL GROWTH
WORKSHOPS - BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE
If you are an SME operating in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire (D2N2) or Leicestershire (LLEP) you could be eligible for the Digital Growth Programme’s fully- funded workshops.
D2N2 10 October: Protect and prepare: secure your business against IT fraud and data loss (Ashfield) 10 October: Understanding paid search and display advertising (Rushcliffe) 11 October: Improving productivity with cloud and mobile working (Derby) 16 October: Protect and prepare: secure your business against IT fraud and data loss (Derby City) 18 October: Planning an effective website (Nottingham) 18 October: Understanding paid search and display advertising (Erewash) 23 October: Understanding paid search and display advertising (Nottingham) 24 October: Improving productivity with cloud and mobile working (Broxtowe) 24 October: Understanding Google Analytics (South Derbyshire) 19 November: What’s new in Google Analytics and Metrics 2018 (Derby) 20 November: Understanding Google Analytics (Nottingham)
LLEP 10 October: The rise of the Chatbot (Hinckley) 18 October: Growing your ecommerce business (Loughborough) 23 October: Developing effective content for the web (Harborough) 24 October: Life after GDPR - next steps (Oadby and Wigston) 25 October: What's new in Wordpress 2018 (Market Harborough) 30 October: What’s new in Google Analytics and Metrics 2018 (Kegworth) 31 October: Getting ready for Cyber Essentials (Leicester) 21 November: What’s new in Google Analytics and Metrics 2018 (Blaby) 27 November: Understanding Google Analytics (Hinckley)
A full list of free workshops and seminars can be found and booked online at
www.d2n2-digital.co.uk (if based in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire) or
www.leics-digital.co.uk (if based in Leicester or Leicestershire).
74 business network October 2018
Are Google updates having an effect on your business?
Digital Growth Programme consultant Ian Lockwood explains the recent update to Google’s algorithm and discusses what your business can be doing to make sure it sees the benefits.
Almost daily updates to Google’s search ranking algorithm come as no surprise to anyone involved in digital marketing. However, the latest update is a particularly significant one worth exploring.
THE “MEDIC” UPDATE In August, Google rolled out an update to its core search algorithm, which affected the ranking of a large number of sites. It’s worth taking a look at your organic search traffic (in Google Analytics or similar) to see whether there is a rise or fall in traffic around that time. Some have named this update “Medic”, as it
appeared to affect a lot of sites relating to health topics and other YMYL (Your Money/Your Life) sites where information can be life-affecting. However, the scope was much wider, focusing on what Google calls “E-A-T”: Expertise, Authority and Trust.
‘Google is rewarding sites that fulfil its E-A-T criteria, giving them a boost in rankings’
This term is taken from Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines, a 164-page document for Google’s team of human website evaluators who test the quality of its search results. The section of the guidelines listing “most important factors in page quality” was updated in mid-July, just before the update (see
bit.ly/bnmedic for an in-depth explanation). Analysis since August has shown that Google is rewarding sites that fulfil its E-A-T criteria, giving them
a boost in rankings that has the effect of displacing other sites previously outranking them. “Local” search results including Google My Business
(Maps) listings have also been affected. This tells us that improving E-A-T is now more important than ever for SEO, so consider how you can:
• Improve online reputation through reviews on third- party sites (e.g.
reviews.co.uk)
• Ensure contact information (e.g. a customer service phone number) is readily available on your site and you have a solid ‘About Us’ page telling people about your business
• Work to increase the number of links from other sites to yours to demonstrate authority
• Ensure content is up to date and includes proof of expertise and information about the author where appropriate (e.g. link to their LinkedIn profile)
• Increase the amount of information on your site about your subject area – don’t just be a brochure for your business, provide useful information and explain things in depth
• Ensure your site is served over https://, already known as a ranking factor and essential to avoid the “Not Secure” message that Chrome browser users see when visiting an http:// site. NB. Be careful, a botched migration to https:// can adversely affect SEO (see
bit.ly/bnhttps for a full guide)
ABOUT IAN LOCKWOOD: Ian is a highly experienced expert in all things digital technology, with areas of specialism including SEO, PPC, Google Analytics and Conversion Rate Optimisation. He is a founding director of digital agency and Chamber member Boom Online Marketing, which specialises in online marketing and web design. He has 20 years’ experience in the Internet industry, both as director of his
own agency and as deputy MD of a web design and development company. Ian has helped hundreds of businesses and organisations across all sectors in
B2B and B2C environments make the most of digital marketing and the web, having worked with the Chamber since the inception of the eBusiness Club. He is currently a consultant for the Digital Growth Programme.
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