"Google May 2020 Core Update" affecting your xF Forum?
- Thread starter rdn
- Start date
Anatoliy
Well-known member
I actually implemented such a thing on my forum. I set max 2000px for attachments, and they are resized on a fly to max 1024px (for those that are inserted full width in posts). And it's free for me. ) They have free plan up to 3Gb a month, and I fit. When cloudflare asks $200 a months.
drastic
Well-known member
Perhaps date stamps + inbound links + social activity/shares might help. Things that are timely and relevant, with active links/comments happening, etc. Not everyone on a forum is talking about a topic that was posted in 2005, even if it is still a little bit relevant today.
For example, a thread might have been important years ago, but with little/no recent interactions, that value drops.
Ever see those bloggers who change the date every year? heh.....
Articles like.... Top 20 Coffees to Drink this Christmas 2020
Sometimes you can view the source or url or even search the title with the older date and see it's been the same article since about 2015 LOL
BUT THEY STILL RANK!!!!
I actually thought about changing the topic start date to last edited time but wasn't sure if this will really help.
Maybe i should give it a try.
askandy
Active member
I thought about this for a bit, and I think it's the other way around.
Sadly, Google will tell you what what it finds to be sought-after, helpful content.
Keep in mind, this is all about what people are searching for, and whether or not Google deems your content worthy of surfacing.
It's not worth debating why or how Google makes its decisions, or why they so drastically & negatively affected some of our site's traffic in May. That ship has sailed, so now we have to see what the path forward is.
Here's a common technique used to help improve the search ranking of an article. Use Google Search Console to see what keywords/phrases are driving traffic to a certain page, identify the main theme of the phrases, and then thoughtfully update your content utilizing as many of the same or similar keywords/phrases, adding as much value to the reader as possible.
I'm over-simplifying it a bit, but that's the idea.
I've been testing the same technique in some of the more commonly visited threads to see if that helps SEO of those threads (to get more traffic to them). Not enough data yet to know if it's helping any, but time will tell.
We also had an add-on written to allow us to set the URL of a thread, and over-ride the default sluggified-title URL that Xenforo generates. Trying to see if that helps too.
Since this thread is primarily about the May 2020 core update, and it's effects on certain sites, I'm still going to look at before/after Search Console traffic to see if there's any pattern to where we lost all the traffic.
Maybe Google will do future Core updates that will resurface our content, and maybe they won't.
So my focus is on trying to find a solution.
askandy
Active member
Well, I doubt they are the same exact article that was published in 2015. If that were the case, Google would unlikely continue to rank it.
Articles like that are constantly updated. Not only the titles, but the content.
Of course there are always exceptions, especially if the site is considered an "authority" in Google's eyes.
There are definitely cases where crap content ranks over better content, but there's not much we can do about that other than try to make sure our content & our site is seen as an authority.
askandy
Active member
I've been trying to dig into the major drop in traffic as a result of the May 2020 Algo update.
As far as I can tell, the primary issue is a huge drop in the number of search impressions where we showed up.
Here's one example, on a change in search phrase volume:
May 4, "brooks brothers outlet", Impressions:373, Position:11, Clicks:2, CTR:0.5%
May 6, "brooks brothers outlet", Impressions:47, Position:16.1, Clicks:1, CTR:2.1%
If I look at the most current days individually for that search term in GSC, there are no impressions for that same search term/phrase, and we don't show up in SERPs until page 7 (position 64) -- and it's different forum thread then the one above.
So that leads me to believe that as a result of the May 2020 Google Core update, they realized that if a user is searching for that term, the above older threads really aren't relevant to what the person is searching for.
But rather, they are looking for:
A. Information on how to locate a Brooks Brother outlet
or
B. Information as to how to buy Brooks Brother outlet clothes
or
C. Information as to where they can by discounted Brooks Brother clothes
None of which the above threads really answer.
Seems like if we want to start re-ranking for that search term, we'd need to:
1. Either write an article with info about (A,B,C)
2. Try a new "Article" thread type about (A,B,C) <- Xenforo 2.2
3. Try a new Xenforo 2.2 Search Forum about "brooks brothers"
4. Do #3, plus maybe #2
Any thoughts?
As far as I can tell, the primary issue is a huge drop in the number of search impressions where we showed up.
Here's one example, on a change in search phrase volume:
May 4, "brooks brothers outlet", Impressions:373, Position:11, Clicks:2, CTR:0.5%
May 6, "brooks brothers outlet", Impressions:47, Position:16.1, Clicks:1, CTR:2.1%
If I look at the most current days individually for that search term in GSC, there are no impressions for that same search term/phrase, and we don't show up in SERPs until page 7 (position 64) -- and it's different forum thread then the one above.
So that leads me to believe that as a result of the May 2020 Google Core update, they realized that if a user is searching for that term, the above older threads really aren't relevant to what the person is searching for.
But rather, they are looking for:
A. Information on how to locate a Brooks Brother outlet
or
B. Information as to how to buy Brooks Brother outlet clothes
or
C. Information as to where they can by discounted Brooks Brother clothes
None of which the above threads really answer.
Seems like if we want to start re-ranking for that search term, we'd need to:
1. Either write an article with info about (A,B,C)
2. Try a new "Article" thread type about (A,B,C) <- Xenforo 2.2
3. Try a new Xenforo 2.2 Search Forum about "brooks brothers"
4. Do #3, plus maybe #2
Any thoughts?
Anatoliy
Well-known member
Here is what your numbers tell me.
First thing is obvious - Total impressions dropped in half, and total clicks accordingly. But here is where the funny part - the number of Average position has been dropped slightly. And it actually turned into slightly higher CTR. So we can't tell, that your pages got dropped down in SERPs. If they sit on the same positions, and are getting clicked even more often, it just can't turn into big drop, neither in impressions nor in clicks. So...
And this is just my assumptions and predictions, that might have nothing in common with reality. )
The only possibly reason I can imagine - big chunk of your pages got excluded. Would you post that chart from Coverage?
Anatoliy
Well-known member
Let's compare.
First we can see that it's a false statement, that Google hates forums and kills them.
Second - your CTR is twice lower than mine, so " Google hates forums" turns into "Google hates to show links that people rarely click".
Now why would people chose not to click your links? Your descriptions are automatically generated, as mines (or you have an add-on for desc?). But you said that you use an add-on for page titles. May be (and this is another assumption/prediction) the add-on makes your titles worse rather than better?
First we can see that it's a false statement, that Google hates forums and kills them.
Second - your CTR is twice lower than mine, so " Google hates forums" turns into "Google hates to show links that people rarely click".
Now why would people chose not to click your links? Your descriptions are automatically generated, as mines (or you have an add-on for desc?). But you said that you use an add-on for page titles. May be (and this is another assumption/prediction) the add-on makes your titles worse rather than better?
askandy
Active member
Do you mean to show Search Console for the last 3 months, like yours?
The add-on doesn't change page titles (or Thread Titles), it allows us to manually set the url/slug for a thread.
So instead of using the sluggified-url that Xenforo automatically creates, it allows us to override it to an even more "friendly" url.
For example, if the title of one of our threads is:
"Is www.polosales.com a reputable online merchant?"
Xenforo makes the URL
"/is-www-polosales-com-a-reputable-online-merchant.{thread id}/
The add-on we wrote, allows me to change the URL, like this:
Anatoliy
Well-known member
Anatoliy
Well-known member
Ah, ok.
Anatoliy
Well-known member
well, my theory just went to a garbage can )
DigNap15
Well-known member
I find Google Search Console very hard to use.
I wish I could find that graph for my fourm
Anatoliy
Well-known member
Let's start from the beginning. You lost half of your visitors. First thing I would want to figure out who they are (have you lost mobile users? desktop? equally both?).
Google Analytics -> Audiense -> Overview.
Set the period from May 1 to May 31 and hit Apply.
Add a segment "Mobile traffic".
Add Segment -> System -> Mobile traffic -> Apply
You should get something like this.
well, except there will be a big drop down on yours...
Anatoliy
Well-known member
by work you mean to audit and to provide you the complete picture with recommendations what and how should be fixed?
or to fix all those errors, you got penalized for?
askandy
Active member
I've worked with a guy by the name of John Locke, and he knows SEO really well. He's white-hat SEO all the way too.
Hired him to help clean-up and rank one of my friend's site, and was very impressed with his results.
One of his main focuses is local SEO, but he's got a great handle on all aspects of SEO, and may be worth contacting.
Here's his YT channel & website:
Lockedown Design & SEO
Daily videos answering SEO questions. Lockedown Design & SEO helps industrial and manufacturing companies rank higher in search engines. Tips and strategy th...
www.youtube.com
Lockedown SEO | Manufacturing & Industrial SEO | Local SEO
Lockedown SEO helps manufacturers and other industrial businesses rank in Google & get more qualified leads. SEO and web design company based in Sacramento CA.
www.lockedownseo.com
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