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Guide to 2020 Google Algorithm Updates

April 10, 2020/in Google, SEO, Tech News /by Kevin Richards

What Changes With Each Algorithm Update

Our team at Ventura Web Design & Marketing is dedicated to keeping your website up to date. We actively research algorithm updates when they are released and analyze your website to see which changes are necessary.

Below is a guide to each Google algorithm update beginning in 2020. Bookmark this page or check back frequently as we continuously add updates.

January

February

March

JANUARY 2020

January 2020 Core Update

Estimated Rollout: January 13, 2020

What changed?

The January 2020 Core Update was announced, per Google’s new initiative beginning in 2019 to be more transparent with their algorithm updates. They’ve aimed to announce updates before rolling them out, and so far this seems to be true.

The update, according to Google, was a broad initiative to better ensure quality content for people seeking information.  This means Google continues to push content creators and websites to evaluate what they’re publishing in order to give people the best “answer” possible when searching.

Some SERP layout changes were included in the update as well. Google decided to include a website’s favicon next to its result, and display the site’s breadcrumbs in lieu of the specific URL. For example, instead of https://www.venturawebdesign.com/responsive-vs-mobile-website-design/ appearing just above the meta description, this displays:

Google search result with breadcrumbs

What does this mean?

It’s up to specialists to look at the data and adjust where necessary. Google has indicated that a drop in rankings following this update isn’t necessarily a penalty, per se. But rather a drop in rankings indicates that your information isn’t meeting certain standards as well as it used to according to previous standards.

You will need to evaluate your content and update it to ensure it’s high-quality and providing value to whoever is reading it. This includes showing you are a trustworthy source, proofing your content, presenting your information in a readable and useable way, and more.

Favicon Update

Estimated Rollout: January 24, 2020

What Changed?

Remember the favicon update on January 13? Google rolled this back so favicons no longer show up in the SERPs.

Snippet & Deduplication Update

Estimated Rollout: January 22, 2020

What changed?

Featured snippets that were once known as position zero are now included in the main organic search results and known as position one. URLs for the snippets are no longer displayed (i.e. duplicated) anywhere else in the core search results. For example, if a website held positions zero and one for an article, following the update they’ll only hold position one.

This update also included changes to whether images are deduplicated. Images aren’t impacted by this as long as the URL for the image is different from the URL associated with the text of the snippet.

What does this mean?

The purpose of this update, according to Google, is to declutter the search results page so that people aren’t seeing multiple the same information more than once.

Website owners can choose to alter their SEO strategy accordingly. For example, depending on the strategy, snippets can be opted out of. This would mean that websites would be competing for position 2, instead of positions zero or one prior to the update. This can be done primarily by using the “nosnippet” tag.

Be sure to carefully consider your online strategy before making drastic changes. It’s recommended you discuss this change with a specialist to avoid making mistakes that could penalize you on the Google search result pages.

FEBRUARY 2020

Unconfirmed Local & Maps Update

Estimated Rollout: February 14, 2020

What changed?

Neither officially announced nor confirmed by Google, many websites experienced movement in rankings and traffic fluctuations during/after February 14. Most of these changes impacted local SEO in Google Maps and Google local packs.

What does this mean?

It’s speculated that the unofficial February 14 update was an adjustment to the January 2020 Core Update. Many SEOs sat with the local update for a few days in order to make changes once the dust settled.

MARCH 2020

Nofollow Update

Estimated Rollout: March 1, 2020

What changed?

Prior to the March 1 update, Google treated nofollow tags as law. Nofollow links weren’t crawled, however, that’s changed. Now, nofollow tags are mere suggestions and there’s a possibility Google will visit those links.

What does this mean?

You may want to review how you’ve set up your website to be indexed. Nofollow tags are sometimes used to prevent crawlers from looking at account pages or pages without value to visitors. However, maybe a noindex or meta norobots tag would be more appropriate for your purposes. This change may impact rankings depending on what Google crawls and indexes moving forward.

The Importance of ADA Website Accessibility Compliance

The Importance of ADA Website Accessibility Compliance

January 31, 2020/in SEO, Tech News /by Kevin Richards

You care about your business and you care about who is visiting you online to learn more. It’s important to consider how your potential clients and customers are using your website so you can improve their experience.

By thinking about who is visiting you online, you can better accommodate their needs and make sure each individual has reasonable accessibility to your site. This is where ADA compliance comes in and why it’s so important.

What is ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is celebrating its 30th birthday this year in 2020! The ADA was enacted in order to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination. This ensures that businesses, employers, etc. are held to a set of standards in order to prevent discrimination based on ableness, and make sure that environments are accessible.

The act contains several different titles, each of which prohibit and outline discrimination in specific ways. These include but are not limited to: employment, state and local governments, public transportation, public areas, and public telecommunications.

Why is website accessibility important?

Adopting ADA best practices with respect to your website or e-commerce site improves your customer’s experience with your business and ensures accessibility. Accessibility in this case refers to addressing the needs of individuals who may be using your site, and who may also have a visual or auditory (or other) disability or limitation.

Accounting for accessibility makes it easier for individuals to navigate your site and consume content. For example, adjusting the contrast of the text and background colors of your website makes it easier for individuals who are colorblind to read your articles or product descriptions.

Is ADA compliance mandatory? What could happen if my website is non-compliant?

ADA compliance can be punishable by law. Non-compliance may be enforced through several channels such as litigation by a private citizen, litigation by the federal government, and/or investigations based off of complaints made to federal agencies.

The number of web accessibility lawsuits appears to be growing. Target, Amazon, and even Beyoncé are among some of the more well-known cases. ADA website accessibility cases nearly tripled from 2017 to 2019. If you aren’t compliant with the ADA website standards, you not only are neglecting a valuable percentage of potential customers and clients, but you also open yourself up to a lawsuit.

What are some of the guidelines to follow for my website?

Interestingly enough, by improving your website’s web accessibility, you’re also improving your website’s SEO. Your general goal is to make your website as user-friendly as possible to as many users as possible.

You’re going to want to pay attention to the way you’re writing and how that text is presented.

  • Headings and titles should appropriately describe the published content
  • Recognize who will be reading your content and adjust your style as necessary
  • Avoid giant walls of text and use a bulleted list (just like this one!)
  • Use colors and formats to break up the text

Pay attention to visual elements, other than plain text, on each page of your website

  • Use alternative text, or alt text, to describe images (or buttons, logos, etc.) so that individuals with visual impairments can use a screen reader to read the descriptive text aloud
  • Provide transcriptions, descriptions, captions, and narrations for video content
  • If you’re using tables, make sure to label the columns correctly
  • Avoid using PDFs as they can’t be read by screen reading software

Take a look at your site navigation as well

  • Ensure your site can be navigated by using a keyboard, as well as a mouse or trackpad
  • Include “Skip Navigation” links at the top of each page so that individuals may jump to the beginning of the main content

What about the social media accounts for my business?

There are several ways to improve accessibility for your social media accounts as well

  • Use alt text to describe the images you’re posting (Facebook, Instagram, and other social media giants allow you to do this)
  • Follow the same rules about video content on your social media as you do for your website (i.e. transcriptions, descriptions, captions, and narrations)
  • Think about your use of emojis, if you use them at all, as if they were being read aloud to you
  • Doing this: #VenturaWebDesign is better than doing this: #VENTURAWEBDESIGN

Please keep in mind that the lists above are simplified. For a more complete list, we suggest visiting ADA.gov.

How can I make SURE my website is in compliance?

Aside from auditing your own website against the ADA.gov web accessibility best practices and guidelines, there are other ways to ensure you’re in compliance

  • Use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to take an in-depth look at your website
  • Take advantage of free online tools such as Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE). You can install WAVE as a browser or extension, which you can then run against webpages to determine their level of accessibility
  • Hire a professional to audit and improve your online business so you don’t have to do any guesswork

ADA compliance is an important part of digital marketing and the online world. We know that you value ADA standards because you also value your customers and audience. By improving accessibility, you’re improving the experience for anyone who visits your e-commerce site.

Here at Ventura Web Design and Marketing, we have quality experience improving and establishing ADA website accessibility compliance. Click here for a free consultation today.

This publication is not intended to be legal advice or to replace the advice of a competent attorney.  While Ventura Web Design aims to help your website be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, we make no guarantees of 100% accessibility, nor do we make any claims that our work or advice will be suitable for your specific purposes or needs.

Tech News with Kevin Richards – 2/25/16

February 26, 2016/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards

On this weeks episode of Tech News with Kevin Richards, we discuss Donald Trump vs Mitt Romney on Twitter, Facebook Reactions, Quick Shipping, the FBI vs Apple, privacy and digital encryption.

Tech News with Kevin Richards – 2/17/16

February 18, 2016/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards

On this weeks episode of Tech News with Kevin Richards, Ventura Web Design CEO, Kevin Richards, discusses JebBush.com pointing to Donald Trump’s website, Domain Registration, Twitter shadow banning content, and CEO Tim Cook’s letter to Apple customers regarding the FBI’s request for an iPhone security workaround.

Tech News with Kevin Richards – 12/8/15

December 10, 2015/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards

Join Kevin Richards and Alan Stock as they discuss all things tech. From Google suggesting an algorithm that can understand sentiment and disrupt terrorism, to Apple’s latest product announcement. Kevin Richards is the founder and CEO of Ventura Web Design, an e-commerce design and marketing agency.

Tech News with Kevin Richards – 12/1/15

December 2, 2015/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards

Alan Stock interviews Kevin Richards, CEO of Ventura Web Design, about all things Cyber Monday and E-commerce.

Tech News With Kevin Richards – 7/30/15

July 30, 2015/0 Comments/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards


Today in Tech News we answer a question from a listener… Why can’t I use Uber in Las Vegas yet? Kevin also discusses the new Windows 10 free upgrade and compares it to Apple. Alan confirms that he’s a Mac fan for life. Google Translate, a new feature on an already cool app, is also discussed.

Tech News With Kevin Richards – 7/16/15

July 16, 2015/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards


On this weeks episode of Tech News with Kevin, we discuss Amazon prime day and how Facebook is the fastest growing company the tech world has ever seen.

Tech News With Kevin Richards – 7/2/15

July 2, 2015/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards


Tech News with Kevin Richards. On Today’s show we discuss the upcoming iPhone 6s, Apple Summer Camps for kids, and some changes to Google search results.

Tech News With Kevin Richards – 6/25/15

June 25, 2015/in Tech News /by Kevin Richards


Today on Tech News with Kevin Richards, Alan and Kevin discuss privacy concerns with Uber, Apple’s HomeKit, and Amazon’s new Echo. “Hey Alexa, tell me a joke.” All that and much more on today’s edition of Tech News.

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