This post is the first in a series of four focusing on Let’s Talk Google – Brace Your Website for 2017.

As the most popular search engine in the world, Google sees a lot of traffic.

This traffic gives them immense insights into what works and what doesn’t, what users like and dislike. Google seizes this opportunity, constantly transforming and evolving based on the surrounding trends.

These changes and trends trickle-down and ultimately influence others to revamp their search engine optimization strategy.

But it can be hard as a brand manager or business owner to stay on top of all of these changes, especially when they’re unannounced. Luckily for us, Google has made some recent announcements forecasting these changes for 2017.

We’re going to give you the low down on these changes, highlighting what Google is doing and the actions they are taking, along with how they may impact you online. And… if you’re feel like a piece of the puzzle is missing (like “what can I do about it?”) you’ll just have to join us on November 24th to find out! (Click here to find out what’s on November 24th)

What Google is doing 

In order to provide the ultimate user experience, Google offers their search engine users only those websites that give them what they want and when they want it. Thus, Google makes certain algorithmic changes to ensure that their users get nothing but the best experience from the websites they view from their searches.

So Google provides internet users with only those sites that are engaging, have quality content, and a low bounce rate. The websites with the lowest bounce rates signify that they provide users with an amazing user experience and thus will get a higher rank on Google search results pages.

What actions Google is taking 

On the docket for 2017, boosting user experience and increasing search engine rankings with…

1. Reputation

Reviews, testimonials, and your social media fanbase can serve as a great source of referrals by building trust with your brand through word-of-mouth marketing. You can see some of the changes already taking place on mobile devices, such as when you search for a local place, their Zomato, Yelp, etc. reviews show up directly in the search.

2. Mobile Friendly

Another action Google is taking is updating their rules about mobile friendly websites because such a large portion of browsing occurs on mobile devices or tablets. Google has announced huge changes for 2017 including launching a mobile-first version of their index, as well as where pages (and brands) will lose their search rankings if the content is not easily accessible to a user on mobile.

3. Security

Google is updating their guidelines to make the web a safer place for all. They have provided some detail to guide brands to take advantage of these changes to improve user experience and increase search rankings.

How will these changes affect you?

If you have a website for your business then these algorithm updates made by Google would certainly impact you. Basically, if your website does not match the standards set by Google for reputation, mobile friendliness, security, or the overall user experience then its rank could fall and you would lose a share of traffic.

Keep a close check on the updates made by Google and ensure that your website follows suit, so that you do not lose any potential leads from your website traffic.

To know more about Google’s algorithm changes taking place in 2017 and to find out exactly how to brace your website, please register for our ‘Let’s Talk Google’ lunch & learn on November 24th, 2016.