How does Google treat significant content changes to web pages and how should I flag them as such?
-
I have several pages (~30) that I have plans to overhaul. The URLs will be identical and the theme of the content will be the same (still talking about the same widgets, using the same language) but I will be adding a lot more useful information for users, specifically including things that I think will help with my fairly high bounce rate on these pages.
I believe the changes will be significant enough for Google to notice, I was wondering if it goes "this is basically a new page now, I will treat it as such and rank accordingly" or does it go "well this content was rubbish last time I checked so it is probably still not great".
My second question is, is there a way I can get Google to specifically crawl a page it already knows about with fresh eyes? I know in the Search Console I can ask Google to index new pages, and I've experimented with if I can ask it to crawl a page I know Google knows (it allows me to) but I couldn't see any evidence of it doing anything with that index.
Some background
The reason I'm doing this is because I noticed when these pages first ranked, they did very well (almost all first / second page for the terms I wanted). After about two weeks I've noticed them sliding down.
It doesn't look like the competition is getting any better so my running theory is they ranked well to begin with because they are well linked internally and the content is good/relevant and one of the main things negatively impacting me (that google couldn't know at the time) is bounce rate.
-
Thanks Matt,
I do have Search Console, sorry for not making that more clear in my question.
I've experimented with if I can ask it to crawl a page I know Google knows (it allows me to) but I couldn't see any evidence of it doing anything with that index.
Are you suggesting then that asking it to crawl a page already in its index does have an effect? If that is the case or if that is all I can do then perfect
-
Toby,
Do you have Google Search Console set up?
If so, you can easily request reindexing under the Crawl menu using the "Fetch as Google" function.
If you don't have search console, you can find it here: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en
And here are directions from Google on how to set it up. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6001104?hl=en
Good luck,
Matt
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What is the best way to learn google analytics?
Hi I'm trying to get my head around google analytics as a first time user. Can any suggest the best place to start after I have taken a look through the whole thing, how do I go about managing and tracking performances on my website? eg: Registrations/sign ups, conversions all that sort of thing Some advice will be much appreciated Thanks
Search Behavior | | edward-may0 -
When Googling site:mydomain.com what does listing order tell us?
To find all the pages on my site that are indexed by Google I can search using site:mydomain.com and it gives pages of results. But what does the order of results relate to? Is it page rank or strength? My list of pages doesn't appear to be in order of strength. And it's definitely not by age or alphabetical...
Search Behavior | | GregB1230 -
Creation of Landing Pages. Subdomain or something else?
Hi, I have an issue deciding how my landing pages should be like and I would like to ask for your help. Currently my landing pages are configured and presented like this: http://www.example.com/fra/Landing75.php?t_src=example&t=AFF&t_cre=keyboard-price&t_trm=160o600&B=1496&A=371&TargetURL= I would like to know if making a subdomain landing page is advised, maybe something like this: http://LandingPage.example.com/Landing75.php?t_src=example&t=AFF&t_cre=keyboard-price&t_trm=160o600&B=1496&A=371&TargetURL= Or if you suggest doing something else with my landing pages - I would like to know that as well. p.s. - How I tell the webmasters (my affiliates) to make a clickable button that won't be a direct link to my landing page but will be some form of non-visible redirect? Thanks in advance 🙂
Search Behavior | | JonsonSwartz0 -
How come some local 7 pack listings link to site and some link to the G+ page?
Does anyone know how to fix this issue? Even though a site profile has had the website added to it Google continues to link the main "title tag" link to the G+ page and not the actual website domain. Thanks for any info in advance! https://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&q=dog+sitting+in+rockaway&oq=dog+sitting+in+rockaway&gs_l=hp.3..0i22i30l4.14871.16189.1.16397.8.8.0.0.0.0.296.2042.2-7.7.0...0.0...1c.1.15.psy-ab.Y1db0jo77V0&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47244034,d.bmk&fp=722b460c2153b7be&biw=1920&bih=910
Search Behavior | | irvingw0 -
Looking for something better than Googles in page analytics
Buongiorno from 12 degrees C wetherby UK 🙂 I'm interested in measuring content engagagement, things like what gets clicked on mouse tracking beahaviour etc. Google Analytics in page analytics does a good job but is there another product able to guage user interactive behaviour with content (Yes ive added event tracking). Thanks in advance,
Search Behavior | | Nightwing
David1 -
Safari Has Top Browser in Google Analytics?
I find this hard to believe but it looks to me as though Safari has jumped ahead as our top browser in the month of January. At first glance I would think it was combining mobile safari with desktop safari numbers but then on the 5th spot I see Safari(in-app) which after looking into could be multiple things from safari mobile, bookmarked pages, or Chrome for ios. Just looking for thoughts on this, are others seeing a large uptick in Safari traffic for desktops?
Search Behavior | | sknott0 -
Irratic page rank results - why?
Hi, Hi- I've changed the title and reposted this question as I didn't get any insight. I really am going around in circles for this; so any help that can be given would be really appreciated.I know that you guys have the knowledge so really hoping you can share it! Thanks - background: I run two sites: www.ragsmetals.com and www.yourgoldfund.com: They offer similar products but to different markets: one is predominently trade, one predominently customer focused. They vie for the same keywords.e.g. Buy Gold My Issue: I have been trying to build www.yourgoldfund.com up from an SEO point of view; it is FALLING in the rankings; I am doing NOTHING with www.ragsmetals.com and it is rising in the rankings. I checked webmaster to see if there were any warnings as a result of penguin (found out how to do this on here - thanks for that!) there are none. I have optimized the pages a lot. I have put time into getting in bound traffic, and even more excitingly some experts (from reputable domains) have just linked to our site because they like our content! So to me things should be improving . NOTE: My OSE listed inbound links are incredibly diferent from google Webmaster. What can I do. I am a scientific person so I love the fact that I have 2 sites to compare...interested to hear your thoughts. Many thanks in advance
Search Behavior | | girlie0 -
Google Places, NAP, multiple address with one phone number
How sensitive do you think the Google Places NAP algorithm is? If I have different Google Places pages for one client with multiple locations, but the same phone number for all locations with different addresses, will this hurt my Google Places ranking or organic webpage result?
Search Behavior | | Mike-i0