Boston SEO Company .

The City of Boston is beautiful with a population size of 675,647 from a 2020 census. This growing city sits on a deep-water harbor in the Massachusetts Bay with easy access to the Atlantic Ocean. The city sits on 46 square miles with major universities such as Harvard, Boston College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is growing at a massive rate with over 40,000 small businesses and it’s main industry being Healthcare, Higher Education and Finance.

In the last two and a half decades, SEO has changed at a breakneck pace. 

As a result, website owners have to continuously adapt their strategies to keep up with Google’s latest algorithm and core updates.

To dominate the SERPs, contact the online marketing experts – Southern Digital Consulting.

Our Company specializes in search engine optimization for Law firms, medical practitioners, and all Professional services.

We are dedicated to helping you outrank your competitors by increasing your website traffic, leads, and ultimately your sales.

Let's do great work together.

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How to Take Advantage of Googles Algorithm Updates

As Google improves its algorithms and becomes smarter, rankings will dramatically change.

By including search engine optimization in your regular marketing strategy, your business will be poised to take advantage of new core updates and algorithm changes. 

To stay on top of the Local rankings we strongly recommend hiring a search engine optimization expert to take charge of your website and marketing strategy.

SEO Marketing means you no longer have to spend time and resources cold-calling potential customers to earn business. With the right marketing strategy, you can expand your organic reach in Massachusetts, increase the number of qualified leads your business receives, and get seen by more customers willing to purchase your products or services.

Boston, Massachusetts, is a place of rich culture and history. So, to help your business better prepare for future changes in search engine optimization, let’s take a look back through the young history of the industry.

A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization

With the rise of the internet in the early 1990s, the Wild West had become digital.

Internet search engines were the new frontier. The rules for ranking your website were vague and overlooked. Riches were made and lost on ad dollars and affiliate marketing schemes. Keyword stuffing, black hat tactics, poor quality content, and spammy links were rampant. 

But since then, search engines have come a long way. Mainly thanks to the dominance of Google and its ever-changing algorithms.

The internet, Google Search, and search engine optimization allowed businesses to transform their offering completely. Expanding their reach from local Boston neighborhoods like Fenway-Kenmore, Back Bay, Bay Village, and Jamaica Plain, to global markets.

SEO is thought to have started around 1991. Around this time, the world’s first website was launched, and more quickly followed, flooding the internet with new websites.

This meant there was an urgent need for organization and accessibility, which led to the creation of the world’s first search engines.

The Evolution of SEO

Google had spotted a gap in the market that other search engines didn’t notice. 

It began working on an algorithm that would reward high-quality, in-depth content, and help users find what they were actually looking for.

Since then, Google has made thousands of changes to its algorithm and performed hundreds of core updates.

These core updates have a significant effect on how websites rank locally and internationally. Business owners have to constantly evolve their content to keep up with these changes.

How do you keep your Website on top of the SERPs? You hire an expert digital marketing agency.

We encourage our clients to include SEO in their consistent marketing strategy. The frequent updates Google makes to its search algorithms can be hard to keep track of. Our agency helps to minimize the effect that Google’s Core updates and Algorithm changes will have on your site.

If your site has been hit by a core update, contact Southern Digital Consulting to see what you need to do to get your site back on track.

When Google modifies its algorithms, your website’s rank in the search results may improve or deteriorate. Knowing when Google makes these modifications offers us a reference point for determining whether the change was due to something you did on your website or something Google updated with its ranking algorithm.

Let’s look at some of the Core Updates that google has made to its search engine over the past 20 years.

A Timeline of Google Core Update Changes

Google’s algorithm is updated on a daily basis.

The search engine also releases core updates throughout the year to implement major changes. Do you have a plan to keep your website on top of local search rankings after the major core updates? Our team of experts can help you take advantage of algorithm changes and core updates. 

The purpose of Google’s major core upgrades is to provide users with a better search experience – offering more relevant and reliable search results.

These Google core improvements aren’t aimed at a specific page or site, but rather at improving the system’s ability to track information.

Listed below are some of the key core updates that Google has made to its Search Engine since 2003.

Florida Core Update

In 2003 Google launched it’s first major algorithm update named Florida. 

Google attempted to eliminate keyword stuffing, invisible text, and hidden links, through 'filter testing'. Although it was designed to prevent spam methods, it decreased traffic for many retailer websites.

The Florida update was released during the holiday shopping season and had a significant impact on a number of legitimate business websites. The backlash was massive, and Google promised not to release large updates during the holiday season again.

2003
Local SEO Emerges

Google and other search engines began to improve the relevancy of search results with geographic intent in 2004, and so local Search Engine Optimization was born. 

Before 2004, it was almost impossible to filter Google results for your local area. Now, a major part of most businesses' marketing practice is Local SEO.

To speak with an expert local marketer, get in touch with Southern Digital Consulting today. We can assist you in dominating the SERPs for years to come, no matter your industry.

2004
Jagger Core Update

In 2005, the Jagger update was implemented. It aids in the reduction of excessive link exchanges and the decrease of anchor text as a ranking factor. 

Search Engines start to provide more relevant results based on search history and interests. This gives rise to ‘individualized search’ - a crucial milestone in search engine history.

2005
Analytics + Webmaster Tools
In 2006, Google launched Analytics and Webmaster Tools. This allows website owners to simply observe how their website performs in their local area and how it competes on a global scale.
2006
Universal Search
Google started displaying images, videos, and news in its search results in 2007. This is the beginning of Universal Search.
2007
‘Vince’ Core Update

With Vince, Google attempts to clean up the "cesspool" that the Internet had turned into.

Google shifts its focus to ‘Brand Reputation’ and ‘Trust’ as ranking factors. The after-effects of this core update are still felt today. Google places a large emphasis on websites that provide Expert, Authoritative, and Trusted (EAT) content. 

To dominate your local SERPS, you need to ensure your website is optimized for EAT metrics. Contact us today to find out how our services can improve your website.

2008
Google Dominance
By that time, Google had essentially taken over the search engine scene. Smaller search engines such as Bing and Yahoo combined to form The Search Alliance in 2009.
2009
Social Signals

With the enormous rise of Social Media in the 2000s, social signals begin to play an indirect role in Google Search Engine Ranking algorithms. 

Likes, shares, and views on social media posts are referred to as social signals. These social likes, shares, and views tell search engines and your social media followers that your material is valuable and useful.

Content that resonates and engages readers is ranked and promoted by search engines. While Google does not consider social signals as a ranking signal, they do tell search engines that your content is of high quality and value.

Southern Digital Consulting will increase your Social Signals and presence on Social Media. Get in touch with our team of experts to find out more about our services.

2010
Panda Core Update

Google's search results were criticized in 2011 because "content farms" - websites that generate massive volumes of low-quality material content - were topping the results. 

The Panda core update was a way for Google to clean up its SERPs and reward quality content. Panda allowed Google to eliminate low-quality (or thin) content for the rankings. This core update was revised on a regular basis throughout the years, and eventually became a part of Google's core algorithm in 2016.

2011
Penguin Core Update

While websites were still recuperating from Panda's impacts, Google released a much-anticipated algorithm designed to eradicate "aggressive spam methods" from its rankings. 

The Panda algorithm targeted link schemes - penalizing websites with strange linking patterns, like a high proportion of exact match anchor text and keyword stuffing.

2012
Hummingbird Core Update

With the development of mobile and voice search, Google had to entirely redesign its algorithm to fit the requirements of current searchers. 

Hummingbird was regarded as the most significant upgrade to Google's core algorithm since 2001. Google clearly desired to provide quicker and more relevant results, particularly to mobile users.

2013
Mobile Search

2015 was the Year of Mobile. The year that mobile searches surpass desktop searches on Google for the first time. 

Google released a much-anticipated mobile-friendly algorithm change, with the goal of providing users with relevant and timely results, whether they are on mobile-friendly web pages or on a mobile app.

For your website to maximize its online presence, it's crucial to optimize your site for mobile users. To understand how best to take advantage of mobile search, contact our agency today.

2015
Page Speed Becomes a Ranking Factor

At the beginning of 2017, Google announced that website loading speed was a ranking factor for mobile and desktop searches. 

Is your site speed optimized for mobile and desktop? Our agency will provide a boost to your website's loading speed, and fix any technical errors harming your site's ranking position.

2017
Featured Snippets

In May 2020, Google issued a core upgrade that would penalize landing pages with thin content and improve local search results. 

In June 2020, Google published another update noting that highlighted snippets will now guide consumers to the material that is most relevant to their search term. The text is now highlighted in yellow for users.

2020
Fighting Spam and Updating Product Reviews

Websites were confronted with a whirlwind of Google upgrades in 2021. 

Throughout the year, Google introduced a number of significant spam upgrades. The first set was released in June 2021. Instead of punishing sites with poor links, Google announced that it will ignore those signals. Google released two more improvements in 2021 to fight spam and/or weak product reviews.

2021
May 2022 Broad Core Update

This year, Google began pushing out its first large core algorithm upgrade - the May 2022 core update. 

This update focuses on all website content. Instead of penalizing sites, it rather promotes high-quality, in-depth web pages.

If your website was negatively affected by the 2022 core update, get in touch with us and we will assess your content and improve your website based on Google's core update advice.

2022

Hire a Boston SEO Company Today!

SEO is extremely competitive, but with our help, your business can top the Local SERPs in Massachusetts. 

Search engine history makes it clear that the greatest approach to succeed in the long run is to create high-quality content that delivers real value to your visitors. You also have to continuously adapt your site to not be affected by the core updates or to take advantage of Google’s algorithm changes.

Our Boston SEO Company will help your business to get the most long-term value out of your marketing budget. We help clients expand their online reach and streamline their SEO efforts.

One thing remains constant: Search Engine Optimization will continue to be important as long as search engines exist. And Google isn’t going away anytime soon. Contact our agency today for a free consultation.