In his explanation of the most recent update, Danny Sullivan of Google talked about site recoveries and advised against implementing drastic modifications in an attempt to raise rankings. Additionally, he provided guidance to publishers whose rankings did not rise following the last update.

Google is continuously refining its algorithm.

Danny indicated that additional adjustments (hopefully for the better) are probably in the works since Google is still refining their ranking system. He was primarily conveying the message that efforts are still being made to bridge the gaps in the exposure of excellent information from independent websites. which is fortunate because major brand websites don’t always have the finest solutions.

 “…the work to connect people with “a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content” is not done with this latest update. We’re continuing to look at this area and how to improve further with future updates.”

A Note To Those Who Weren’t Added

Publishers whose work was not able to recover with the most recent update received a message informing them that Google is still striving to surface more independent material and that they might experience relief in the future.

Danny advised:

“…if you’re feeling confused about what to do in terms of rankings…if you know you’re producing great content for your readers…If you know you’re producing it, keep doing that…it’s to us to keep working on our systems to better reward it.”

Google Cautions Against “Improving” Sites

He cautioned about trying to rank even higher by trying to increase the rankings of something that is currently on page one, which was a pretty fascinating point. It has always been dangerous to make changes to a website in order to move it up from, say, position six or something to something higher for a variety of reasons that I won’t get into here. However, Danny’s caution makes it much more important to consider your options carefully—not just twice, but three times, and then some more—before attempting to optimize a page for search engines.

Danny advised against making any adjustments right now to raise their ranks, saying that websites that achieve the top of the SERPs should celebrate their success and move on. This warning is due to the fact that search results are always evolving, and it implies that making changes to a website today could have a detrimental effect on its ranks in a recently updated search index.