Why Do Search Algorithms Change So Much?

For those who are trying to get their website and other online content ranked and get enough attention from leads and potential leads, it can feel impossible. It seems as though the minute you get your head wrapped around the latest algorithm changes… they change again.

This happens with Google and other search engines, which will affect your website’s ability to rank highly in the search engine results. It also happens on YouTube. The content creators there have to keep up with all of the changes to the rules and the algorithms if they want their videos to be seen. You have to do the same if you want your website to get in front of people.

It is frustrating and feels like you are always trying to play catchup with your SEO, though. You might be wondering just why these changes happen so frequently.

Users Demand Better Results

In the past, algorithms were relatively simple compared with what we have now. Over the years, they have become more and more complex. While this might make things more difficult than it was 20+ years ago, it is a better solution.

In the early days of the Internet, it was like the Wild West. People running sites did just about anything that worked to help improve their visibility on the web. One of those tactics from the late 90s and early 2000s was meta keyword stuffing. This led to a lot of terrible, unhelpful sites getting highly ranked in search engines.

Google wanted to make things better for their users, so they introduced an algorithm updated called Florida that helped to curb this problem. Of course, there have been quite a few other changes from Google that helped to change the landscape of the web.

Panda, an update from 2011, penalized websites that had poor quality content or content with a low word count. Just a year later and the Penguin update started to penalize sites that used link farms and spam.

While these and other algorithm updates might seem like a pain for those who are creating and running sites, they really are for the best. They help to ensure better quality content and an easier time for users on search engines.

You should strive to understand and meet the necessary changes. While this can be hard to do on your own, you could always outsource and get some additional help with your SEO work.