Minicase: How a Local Business Can Break Free from the Impact of a Google Update: 5 Specific Steps to Success

Client: A company providing 24/7 garage door repair and installation services

From 2019 to 2023, we implemented a solid SEO strategy, consistently optimizing commercial pages, creating valuable blog content, and steadily building high-quality backlinks. The result? Stable growth in targeted traffic. But in November 2023, a Google update caused some stagnation. Things took another turn in spring 2024 with the March Google update, presenting new challenges to the website. We acted fast and came up with a traffic recovery strategy.

What happened?

The March 2024 Google update wasn’t kind to our client’s website. The update aimed to improve the relevance and credibility of reviews and recommendations in search results. As a result, traffic—especially to commercial pages—took a hit. This decline was a clear signal for us to adapt quickly. After analyzing the situation, we made critical changes that stabilized traffic and helped it reach new highs.

What steps did we take?

Once the impact of the update became evident, we jumped into action to address the causes of the traffic drop. Here’s the five-step action plan we followed:

1. Technical website audit: We conducted a comprehensive audit to identify technical issues affecting indexing and site speed. Our findings led to detailed tasks for developers to fix these problems.
2. Testing page structure changes: We redesigned the structure of our service pages into a block format to make them more concise and user-friendly. Meanwhile, we noticed competitors keeping large amounts of text resembling blog content.
3. Content upgrades: We performed an in-depth analysis of blog articles, optimizing them to better guide users down the funnel toward commercial pages. We updated the content and added missing keywords.
4. Backlink profile audit: We identified and disavowed potentially toxic backlinks, which helped the website avoid penalties during the June 2024 Spam Update.
5. Boosting website speed: Slow loading times were flagged as a potential user experience issue. Developers were tasked with detailed optimizations to ensure the site matched or exceeded competitors in speed.

Results

Our proactive strategy delivered significant results following the August 2024 Google update. Not only did we recover lost traffic, but we also achieved substantial improvements:

• 45% increase in organic traffic: By enhancing the site’s technical performance, optimizing content, and responding quickly to Google algorithm changes, we achieved a significant increase in search clicks.
• 64% increase in impressions: Updating content and improving page structure made the website much more visible in search results.
• Faster page load times: Speed optimizations improved user experience and positively impacted behavioral metrics.
• High rankings for commercial queries: Structural changes to service pages led to better rankings for commercial searches, bringing in more qualified traffic.

Our approach not only met but exceeded client expectations. The site is now resilient to future algorithm updates and continues to demonstrate steady growth.

Conclusion

The dip in traffic after the Google update isn’t the end. It’s a challenge that can be overcome with the right strategy and expertise. Our experience proves that success lies in a comprehensive approach: technical audits, content adaptation for new algorithms, and ongoing monitoring and analysis of search trends.

Thanks to our team’s proactive and coordinated efforts, we didn’t just recover the site’s positions—we took them to the next level. This proves that a systematic SEO strategy can deliver sustainable growth even in the face of constant algorithm changes.

If your website has been affected by recent Google updates, or you want to safeguard against future challenges, reach out to us. We know how to restore traffic and increase conversions even in the most challenging conditions. Let’s achieve stable and long-term success together!