Why Your Google Ranking Is About to Tank

New algorithm could penalize older, slower sites.

By Sandi Leyva, CPA

I don’t know about you, but I would prefer to go through tax season without any interruptions, especially about marketing. But Google doesn’t see it that way, and we have a significant search algorithm update hitting us in May 2021. If firms aren’t ready, they could see their search rankings, and correspondingly, prospects and future clients from website traffic, go way down.

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While Google updates its search ranking algorithm on a daily basis, it generally announces big changes ahead of time. Google’s May 2021 update will focus on “page experience,” which includes three metrics called Core Vitals as well as four additional page experience signals.

No one knows the exact algorithm that Google uses to rank web pages in search results. Experts say there are over 200 ranking factors to consider. The latest update is all about providing a better mobile experience for the user.

Here’s what all that means in detail.