11. @lilyraynyc
“With core updates, we’ve changed
our calculations and found other pages that
we think are more relevant.
So it’s not a matter of doing anything wrong…
We just don’t think these pages are as
relevant as they originally were.”
28. @lilyraynyc
• Limit ads above the fold
• Make ads easy to close
• Ads should not distract from the
main content
• Ads can create performance
issues; pay attention to load
times
Google’s Recommendations
For Using Ads:
29. @lilyraynyc
Winning companies
clearly list their awards
and accolades.
They’re also more likely to have a
Wikipedia page and/or Honcode
certification (for health sites).
3. Trust Signals
32. @lilyraynyc
Healthline’sAd&SponsorshipPolicy
1. We choose the ads.
2. We don’t endorse any products.
3. We will not accept certain types of ads.
4. We clearly distinguish ads from editorial content.
5. We clearly distinguish between sponsored and non-
sponsored content.
6. We clearly distinguish content that is part of a co-
branded program.
34. @lilyraynyc
Jumplinks
Thoroughly researched
Contains citations to
trusted sources
Shows both sides of
the story
Supports claims with
evidence
Sufficient content
depth
Captions on all images
Disclaimers on ads
Good structure &
optimized headlines
Links to related articles
Reading level: 9.6
Non-distracting ads
36. @lilyraynyc
Google Search Console is Your Friend
Prioritize your strategy
for improving content by
using Google Search
Console to identify the
pages and keywords that
saw the biggest declines.
37. @lilyraynyc
Warning: this advice is
controversial, but it comes
directly from Google’s
Guidelines.
6. Content Accuracy &
Scientific/Medical Consensus
40. @lilyraynyc
Be careful mixing informational
and transactional content,
particularly on YMYL pages that
are intended to provide
information or advice.
7. Avoiding Overly
Salesy Language
42. @lilyraynyc
Calls to Action in Informational YMYL Content
Used to rank #2 for “fasting for diabetes”…
…now ranks #94.
43. @lilyraynyc
Recovering from core updates
requires more than improving
content quality and E-A-T.
Your technical SEO health also
matters.
8. Technical Issues
45. @lilyraynyc
Core updates look at your
overall site quality. Low-quality
pages can bring down the
quality of the overall domain.
Noindex or remove them.
9. Noindex Low-Quality Content
46. @lilyraynyc
Remove (or Noindex) Low-Quality Content
John Mueller paraphrase: Filter out the junk from the high-quality content, search
engines evaluate the domain as a whole. (Source)
47. @lilyraynyc
Monitor the SERP to see if
Google decided your targeted
keywords are now best
answered with localized results.
10. Local Intent
48. @lilyraynyc
10. Local Intent?
• Check if your keywords switched to a
local intent:
• Local 3-pack displayed
• Localized organic results
• Google appending city names to
title tags
• Your page may no longer be the most
relevant listing among local results
49. @SpeakerName
Share these #SMXInsights on your social channels!
• E-A-T is just one aspect of core update recovery, content and
technical SEO matter too.
50. @SpeakerName
Share these #SMXInsights on your social channels!
• E-A-T is just one aspect of core update recovery, content and
technical SEO matter too.
• Avoid mixing informational and transactional YMYL content.
51. @SpeakerName
Share these #SMXInsights on your social channels!
• E-A-T is just one aspect of core update recovery, content and
technical SEO matter too.
• Avoid mixing informational and transactional YMYL content.
• Check the “intent” of your keywords in the SERP to ensure Google
hasn’t decided other results are more relevant.
This isn’t some magical hack for rankings. Not only important because of their names, because they actually medically reviewed your content and your content is now high-quality.