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If you’ve been feeling like your website traffic has taken a nosedive recently, you might be wondering if you were hit by a Google update. It can be hard to tell whether or not your site was affected, but there are several things you can do to check. In this post, we’ll walk you through four methods of checking to see if your site was hit by a Google update.
Check your Search Console
Compare your website traffic to other websites in your industry
Use a tool like MozCast
Conclusion
1. Check your Search Console
If you think your site may have been hit by a Google update, the first place you should check is your Google Search Console account. If there were any manual actions taken against your site, you’ll be able to see them here. To access your Search Console account:
1. Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Select your site from the list of properties
4. Click on ‘Search Traffic’ in the left-hand sidebar
5. Click on ‘Manual Actions’
If there are any manual actions listed here, it means that someone from Google has reviewed your site and found that it is not in compliance with their guidelines. This could be anything from thin content to unnatural links. You’ll need to take the necessary steps to fix the issue and then submit a reconsideration request.
2. Compare your website traffic to other websites in your industry
Another way to tell if your site was hit by a Google update is to compare your traffic data to that of other websites in your industry. If you see a significant drop in traffic that doesn’t seem to be affecting other sites, it’s possible that you were hit by an update. To get traffic data for your site and others:
1. Go to Google Analytics
2. Select the ‘Audience’ tab
3. Click on ‘Overview’
4. Use the date picker to compare traffic for the same time period
If you see a sudden drop in traffic around the same time that other websites in your industry saw a drop, it’s more likely that the cause was an algorithm update rather than something specific to your site.
3. Use a tool like MozCast
MozCast is a free tool that monitors Google’s algorithm changes in real-time. If there’s a significant change, you’ll see it reflected here. To use MozCast:
1. Go to https://moz.com/mozcast/
2. Enter a keyword or phrase into the search bar
3. Select your country and language
4. Click ‘Search’
If there has been a recent change in the MozCast weather, it’s possible that an update has occurred.
4. Conclusion
If you’re seeing a drop in traffic and aren’t sure if it’s due to a Google update, there are several things you can do to check. First, take a look at your Search Console account to see if there are any manual actions listed. If not, compare your traffic data to other websites in your industry. If you still can’t tell what’s going on, try using a tool like MozCast.
Jamie Fallon is an SEO expert who lives life to the maximum, redlining every day on a rollercoaster straight to the grave.
In an SEO career of almost ten years, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all, and he’s not impressed: from white text on a white background to today, when you can have robots paint or write for you like some kind of sick science fiction come true.
No matter what life throws at him, Jamie always manages to come out on top. He’s an expert at seeing the silver lining in every cloud and making the best of every situation. His positive attitude and unshakable faith in himself have seen him through tough times. For some people, success goes to their heads; but Jamie never forgets what got him to wherever he thinks he is.
When he’s not busy gaming the system, you can find him writing angry thinkpieces on how Google is ruining everything good about the internet, or hanging out with his wife (pictured).
