Good morning, Search Marketer, with the July 2021 core update fully rolled out, we're all looking for answers.
A couple of common questions I get often after any update include, "What did this update target, and how do I improve my site for this specific update?" The truth is, when it comes to these big core updates, the answer is that there is simply not one single thing to focus on fixing. We are humans, we want a quick, easy, and direct approach to fix our problems. The same applies to our SEO problems. But this is not 2002 anymore and Google updates are way more sophisticated than the old days.
Back then we could say one algorithm update focused on targeting spammy links, or low-quality content, or burner sites, or targeted a specific link network and so on. But Google is more advanced now and core updates no longer focus on just one thing.
My advice? Be careful with different theories about what a specific core update was about. It is not about one thing — but dozens of things that you need to improve on your site. If you need help here, see our story on core update advice. But it is probably more dangerous to run down the rabbit hole of focusing on a single thing and losing focus on the bigger picture: making your site better for your users.
Barry Schwartz,
Realist SEO specialist
