Google algorithm updates can cause major changes in website rankings overnight. One moment your website is ranking well, and the next—it’s buried deep in the search results. For businesses depending on organic traffic, this can be stressful and costly.
But here’s the good news: it is possible to recover from a Google update with the right SEO strategy. This blog shares how one dedicated SEO team helped their clients bounce back from a major core update and regain their visibility, traffic, and leads.
Whether you own a business, work in digital marketing, or manage a website, the steps below can help you understand what to do after a Google update.
What Is a Google Core Update?
Google updates its search algorithm many times a year to improve the quality of its results. Most updates are minor, but core updates are major changes that can significantly affect how websites rank.
These updates usually aim to:
- Promote helpful, relevant, and trustworthy content
- Penalize websites with poor quality, outdated, or spammy content
- Improve user experience, especially on mobile and slow-loading sites
In this case, a major core update released in 2024 affected thousands of websites across multiple industries like health, finance, eCommerce, and local services.
Step 1: Rapid Site Audit and Damage Assessment
When the update hit, the first step was to analyze which clients were affected and why. A full SEO audit was performed for each website, checking:
- Traffic drops in Google Analytics
- Keyword position losses
- Technical SEO errors
- Content quality issues
- User experience metrics (bounce rate, time on page)
- Backlink profiles
Tools Used:
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics
- SEMrush, Ahrefs
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- PageSpeed Insights
Key Issues Found:
- Thin content and old blog posts
- Spammy backlinks
- Duplicate meta tags
- Slow mobile pages
- Poor internal linking
This quick assessment helped create a clear plan to recover rankings.
Step 2: Communicating With Clients Clearly
During a crisis, communication matters. Clients were updated about:
- The nature of the Google update
- The reasons for ranking and traffic drops
- The step-by-step recovery process
- The estimated timeline for results
Being transparent helped clients stay calm and understand that recovery takes time and effort, but it is possible.
Step 3: Removing or Improving Low-Quality Content
One of the main goals of the update was to push low-quality content down in rankings. The team reviewed all blog posts and service pages and took these steps:
- Deleted outdated or irrelevant posts
- Combined similar short articles into long, useful guides
- Rewrote weak content with better structure and more details
- Added value with images, videos, and expert sources
Example:
One site had 90 blog posts with less than 300 words each. These pages were either deleted or merged. After updating and improving the remaining content, traffic began to recover in just a few weeks.
Takeaway: Google rewards websites that provide helpful, accurate, and detailed content.
Step 4: Fixing Technical SEO Problems
Technical issues can hold back even the best content. The team fixed several technical problems such as:
- Broken links
- Missing alt tags on images
- Duplicate title and meta descriptions
- Mobile responsiveness errors
- Slow loading speeds
- Poor Core Web Vitals performance
They also optimized sitemaps, robots.txt files, and ensured all pages were being indexed properly.
Tools Used:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix
- Search Console (Mobile Usability Report)
Once technical health improved, search engine bots were able to crawl and index content more effectively.
Takeaway: A healthy website is a ranking-ready website.
Step 5: Strengthening E-E-A-T Signals
Google uses the E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) to evaluate content quality, especially for industries related to money, health, or safety.
Improvements Made:
- Added author bios with qualifications
- Linked author names to real profiles
- Displayed client reviews and testimonials
- Updated About and Contact pages
- Linked to trusted sources (.gov, .edu)
- Added location info and maps for local businesses
By showing that content came from real people with real expertise, websites started regaining trust with search engines.
Takeaway: Trust is a key factor in long-term SEO success.
Step 6: Disavowing Toxic Backlinks
Some websites had poor-quality backlinks that were hurting their rankings. These included links from spam directories, irrelevant blogs, and link farms.
Steps Taken:
- Identified harmful backlinks using Ahrefs and SEMrush
- Created a disavow file
- Submitted it to Google through Search Console
Once these links were disavowed, many websites started regaining positions in search results.
Takeaway: Not all backlinks help—some hurt more than they help.
Step 7: Aligning Content With Search Intent
Ranking well is no longer just about keywords. Google now places high importance on matching search intent—what the user actually wants to find.
Actions Taken:
- Updated content to answer real user questions
- Added clear headings and FAQs
- Used bullet points for better readability
- Optimized CTAs to improve conversion rates
- Included internal links to related content
This kept users engaged longer, reduced bounce rates, and improved SEO signals.
Takeaway: Understand your audience and serve their intent.
Step 8: Improving Internal Linking Structure
Internal linking helps Google understand your website’s structure and hierarchy. It also keeps users exploring more pages.
What Was Done:
- Linked related blog posts and service pages together
- Used meaningful anchor texts (not just “click here”)
- Built topic clusters to group content by theme
This created a better user experience and helped Google crawl pages more effectively.
Takeaway: Good internal links act like SEO glue.
Step 9: Creating New, Evergreen Content
Fixing old content wasn’t enough. To stay competitive, the team also focused on fresh, valuable, evergreen content.
Content Strategy:
- Researched new long-tail keywords
- Created in-depth guides and how-to articles
- Published customer success stories and tutorials
- Focused on topics that will stay relevant over time
Example:
One client in the home services space created blogs like:
- “How to Prepare Your AC for Summer”
- “DIY Tips to Fix Low Water Pressure”
- “Top 5 Home Maintenance Tasks for Spring”
These articles brought in traffic consistently each month.
Takeaway: Fresh, helpful content keeps bringing users back.
Step 10: Ongoing Monitoring and Reporting
After implementing all the fixes, the team continuously tracked performance using:
- Weekly rank tracking
- Google Search Console and GA4 reports
- Heatmaps to study user behavior
- Feedback from form submissions and conversions
When needed, small changes were made quickly to adjust to any new trends or issues.
Takeaway: SEO recovery is a process, not a one-time task.
Results After 90 Days
After three months of focused SEO recovery efforts, clients started seeing measurable improvements.
| Metric | Before Update | After 90 Days |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Traffic | -60% loss | Recovered +50% |
| Keyword Rankings | Dropped 30-50 spots | Recovered 20-40 spots |
| Conversion Rate | Down 40% | Recovered to +80% of original |
| Bounce Rate | 75% | Improved to 55% |
| Page Speed | 5.8 sec | Improved to 2.2 sec |
Some websites even saw higher rankings than they had before the update.
What Can You Learn From This?
If your website was affected by a Google update, don’t panic. Here’s what this story shows:
- Act fast, but with a plan. Start with an SEO audit.
- Fix the foundation. Clean up technical SEO issues.
- Prioritize content quality. Remove weak content and improve what matters.
- Show your expertise. Google wants to trust your website.
- Be patient. Recovery takes time, but steady improvements work.
Final Thoughts
Google updates are part of the SEO game. They may seem harsh, but they often push the web toward better quality, faster experiences, and more trustworthy content. Businesses that focus on long-term SEO practices usually bounce back stronger.
If your website has been affected by a recent update, the steps shared in this blog can help guide your path to recovery. Focus on what matters: content, technical health, trust, and user experience.
Need Help Recovering from a Google Update?
At The Digital Surya, we specialize in helping businesses bounce back stronger. From in-depth audits to content upgrades, technical fixes, and long-term strategy—we do it all.
📞 Contact us today for a free SEO recovery consultation.
📧 info@thedigitalsurya.com
🌐 https://www.thedigitalsurya.com/
