Talk about a busy month—In September, The Page One Fishing team was hard at work launching and designing websites, writing hundreds of pages of content, monitoring SEO rankings, producing reports, meeting with clients, conducting training, strategizing, and more. We saw some great progress this month for our clients, with multiple rocketing up in the SERPs following Google’s prioritizing of quality content (more on that below).
And for site owners, we had three Google updates: one big, one huge, and one potentially massive. (Like most Google updates, they left bad SEOs scrambling and good SEOs rejoicing.)
In our clients’ cases, some who were already making good progress up the rankings saw even more progress, while a couple began skyrocketing once Google recognized the helpfulness of their content over their competition.
Some of these challenging keywords and search phrases have been a lot of fun to target—and we’re excited to see what our clients do with all the extra traffic.
There have been (and continue to be) stellar opportunities for those in the fishing industry who are paying attention and making an effort to be helpful to their audience.
With some major competitors losing ground, there’s a lot of room for others to step in and become the go-to authority on topics. These higher than normal tides so-to-speak have brought in a lot of new business for our clients, so we’re interested to see where things go for them from here.
So what are the conditions for site owners and SEOs this October? This month’s fishing SEO report is packed with information and insights about Google’s new algorithm changes, so let’s dive in:
1. Helpful Content Update
This site-wide change to Google’s algorithm feels like a “core update.” But it isn’t—not technically, anyway. The whole point of the “Helpful Content” update is to prioritize content that’s actually helpful to humans in the search engine rankings, rather than, say, keyword-stuffed articles written solely for the purpose of ranking well.
The update appears to be heavily based on engagement signals, such as click-through rate (CTR), time on site, and pogo-sticking (bouncing back to the search results after quickly clicking back). In other words, Google is trying to surface content that people actually find helpful and Engage with, rather than useless content that ranks well for a particular keyword.
So what does that mean for you as a guide or other business owner in the fishing world? If your site has content that’s genuinely helpful and informative, you could see a nice ranking boost. But if your content is thin or outdated, you could see a drop in traffic as other sites get rewarded for their more helpful content.
That’s why it’s always important to keep your content fresh, relevant, and engaging. If you do that, you’ll be in good shape no matter what Google throws our way.
2. Broad Core Update: September 2022
Like the Helpful Content Update, the September 2022 Broad Core Update was rolled out to reward great content. While Google says this update doesn’t penalize sites (sure) rewarding sites with great content is indirectly punishing sites with poor content. Like the Helpful Content Update, it appears to be based on engagement signals like CTR (click through rate) and time on site.
What this means for you: If your fishing business was bit by this, it means your content wasn’t as helpful or engaging as Google likes. That’s why it’s important to focus on quality content marketing that people will actually read, engage with, and make use of.
3. Product Reviews Update
Incredibly, Google rolled out an update to Product Reviews on September 20—before their Core Update was even finished being deployed. This update was designed (in Google’s own words) to “make it even easier to find high-quality, original reviews” and “help buyers find the most useful information when [they’re] resesarching a purchase on the web.”
What does this mean for you? Not much, if you’re a fishing guide or a business that provides services.
However, if you’re in the business of manufacturing or selling fishing products, this is a big deal. Getting high-quality reviews for products you offer will become even more important, as Google will be surfacing them even more prominently in the SERPs— prioritizing helpful, in-depth reviews based on “first-hand expertise.”
Now that this update is out in the water, we’ll be keeping a close eye on it to see how it affects product pages and rankings. But if you’re in the business of selling fishing products—whether that be lures, gear, or anything else—now is the time to focus on getting in-depth reviews from fishing enthusiasts and other people who have actually used your products.
Final Notes
As we get into winter, Google’s continuing prioritization of quality content and engagement is expected to become even more important.
If your fishing business relies on organic traffic from Google, make sure you’re putting out the best content you can—content that’s helpful, informative, and engaging.
The next couple months of October and November are a great time to focus on content creation and digital marketing, so you can hit the waves with confidence as Google continues to throw more bad weather at sites that aren’t providing a great experience for users.
Have questions about how this report will affect your site, or anything else related to SEO and online marketing for your business? Get in touch with us at Page One Fishing. We specialize in helping fishing businesses like yours succeed online and would be happy to help you navigate these ever-changing waters. Call us at (850) 308-5952 or click here to send us an email.
