Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. The full podcast archive is at /podcast.
What the episode covered
Has your website been hit by a Google update? In this episode, Gert breaks down the steps to diagnose, analyze, and recover from ranking drops. Learn how to distinguish between update impacts and other factors, understand the nuances of core updates, and discover the long-term strategies for bouncing back. Don’t miss these crucial insights for navigating the ever-changing SEO landscape!
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00:47 Episode overview and reminder about show notes at Gert Mellak.com/podcast
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02:34 Importance of thorough analysis to identify affected pages and keywords
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03:26 How Google core updates work and their impact on search results
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05:27 Helpful Content Update: Its impact and recovery process
06:00 What steps to do when hit by a Google update
06:49 Call to action: Reaching out to Gert Mellak for assistance with Google update recovery
When a Google update hits a website, this typically implies that some classifier within Google’s algorithm has been applied to it, thus impacting its ranking. Gert Mellak explained that recovering from this will not be fast and not easy; it will require much effort and time, and it may require waiting for future updates. Understand what is happening with your site; finally, have a long-term strategy for recovery.
What I would emphasize today
Search has moved beyond one channel. Google still matters, but your buyers also use AI answers, YouTube, Reddit, reviews, communities, and comparison content before they decide.
That means the practical question is not just “does this rank?” The better question is: does this help the right buyer find enough proof to trust us?
How to apply this now
- Diagnose the actual visibility gap.
- Check whether the buyer researches this topic on Google, AI tools, YouTube, Reddit, or another platform.
- Create the asset that answers the question clearly.
- Add proof, examples, and structure so both humans and AI systems can understand it.
- Measure whether the work leads to better qualified demand, not just more traffic.
My current take
The topic still matters, but the playbook has changed. SEO is no longer only about ranking a page. It is about being present with the right answer, on the right platform, at the moment the buyer is forming trust.
If you want to know where your visibility gaps are now, start with a diagnostic call or the AI Readiness Check.