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As it does several times per year, Google launched a new Core Update last week and its effects are rocking the Holiday Shopping Season. We’ve never been given a lot of guidance on this topic, except for the article back in 2019 called What site owners should know about Google’s core updates, that had information about content quality evaluation and E-A-T – or Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
This particular update was launched a week before Black Friday and it shook up the SEO community. Amsive Digital researched this topic and the results are outstanding.
The results of the analysis conducted show – among other things – a decrease in visibility for big news sites, such as reuters.com, while the visibility for shopping and eCommerce sites such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, etc., seriously increased. And just in time for Holiday shopping!
Another interesting thing to note is the declining visibility of the FDA site, after enjoying much of it last year with Covid-19 in full swing. According to the research, Google is currently giving more room for other health publishers and retailers, letting them rank better.
The update may have come at the right time for eCommerce and Shopping sites, but it’s important to remember this may be a short-term thing since it takes about a week or two for a full rollout.
Don’t delete the bad reviews
Speaking of the Holiday Season and Google, don’t delete bad reviews you might get for your customer service (not because you’re bad, but because – hopefully – you’ll have a lot of work and customers could wait longer for their presents 😉 ).
According to Google, you should value all reviews, for they can come in handy to potential customers when they’re honest and objective, and therefore – trustworthy.
Start with yourself – would you buy something if all the reviews were only good and not a single star was missing? Reply to your reviews, offer help and add more context and show potential customers you care.
