How to Talk to
Stakeholders About
Google Algorithm
Updates in 2024
Aimee Jones
Bring Digital
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Algorithm Updates - An Overview
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How often do you think
Google updates its
algorithm every year?
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Google Search is
changing, on average, 13
times per day, meaning
over 4,000 changes per
year.
source
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Google’s advice is to
focus ‘on ensuring you’re
offering the best content
you can. That’s what our
algorithms seek to
reward.’
source
What does this mean for us?
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Algorithm updates:
The challenges
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1.
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Client/stakeholders
understanding of how
these updates affect
SEO
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2.
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Knowing how to
respond
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3.
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Having proof
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Three key things we are going to talk about:
● How to keep on top of algorithm updates
● How to prepare & respond to algorithm updates
● How to communicate these changes to clients & stakeholders
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Algorithm updates:
Keeping on top of
them
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@brightonseo
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@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Keep an eye out for updates…
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@brightonseo
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Track, track, & track
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Track, track, & track
This will help you to keep track of
performance shifts and align any
movements with key algorithm dates
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Make use of industry experts
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How to prepare &
respond to algo
updates
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@brightonseo
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Preparation is key
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@brightonseo
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Carry out your audits & investigations
Review your rankings &
traffic in the days/weeks
after the update
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@brightonseo
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Carry out your audits & investigations
Content audit (only once the
rollout is complete and
confirmed by Google)
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@brightonseo
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Carry out your audits & investigations
Technical health checks
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@brightonseo
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Carry out your audits & investigations
Make a list of areas to tackle
based on your findings
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Don’t panic !!!
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How to communicate
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Some tips
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Contextualise
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Simplify
(but make it valuable)
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@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
Our visibility has
improved. Impacted
keywords are X, Y, Z.
Traffic is up by X%
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@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
Rankings within X keyword theme has improved from
X to Y, with revenue contribution of organic
increasing by X. Seeing strong sales growth in
categories X & Y. This improvement in Search
visibility has led to a X% increase in new customers
over Y months, leaving us X% ahead on target for
the quarter.
We can see that the optimisation focusing on X has
seen huge success during this update and we are
looking to apply these learnings to the broader
categories and will adjust our roadmap to prioritise
these immediate wins.
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Algorithm update
communication
timeline
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@brightonseo
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Communication timeline
When the
core
update is
complete
Where you’ll analyse what has occurred
The time to take
action (or not)
When
Google
announces
the update
It’s time for you to make
everyone aware
(both internal & external)
The
midway
point
About midway through the update (or
when you see the first results)
Any necessary action needs to be taken
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Step 1: Internal & EXTERNAL updates
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Step 2: Comms with clients & stakeholders
INSERT
CLIENT LOGO
Performance reports
➔ Easy for clients to digest
➔ Suitable for all levels from marketing
managers to executive level board
members
➔ Demonstrates ongoing monitoring of
performance, particularly in moments
of SERP turbulence
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How we communicate to our clients
INSERT
CLIENT LOGO
Quick links to
allow easy
navigation
through the
report
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How we communicate to our clients
INSERT
CLIENT LOGO Highlights &
lowlights
coverage of
priority
keyword
movements
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How we communicate to our clients
INSERT
CLIENT LOGO
Notes on the
current
landscape to
set the scene
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How we communicate to our clients
INSERT
CLIENT LOGO
Performance
notes and
commentary
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Step 3: Analysis time
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The Algorithm update communication timeline
When the
core
update is
complete
Where you’ll analyse what has occurred
The time to take
action (or not)
When
Google
announces
the update
It’s time for you to make
everyone aware
The
midway
point
About midway through the update (or
when you see the first results)
Any necessary action needs to be taken
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Just a few key takeaways to
remember
@AimeeJones
@brightonseo
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Key takeaways
Monitor performance and
keep track of movements
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@brightonseo
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Utilise what information we
get from Google
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Key takeaways