Google has acknowledged what some digital marketing experts have been observing in recent weeks: algorithm updates are altering the ranking of links on the search engine results page (SERP).
As a spokesperson for the tech giant confirmed to Search Engine Land, Google reportedly rolled out minor improvements during this period—mid-December—as part of its “regular efforts and routines to improve the relevance of results.”
Following the announcement, Barry Schwartz, news editor at Search Engine Land, analysed data from a survey of one hundred webmasters. His conclusion was that the updates are related to keyword permutations and sites using doorway pages.
Mobiles and Schema.org: In the Spotlight of Change
Michelle Robins, editor-in-chief at Search Engine Land, contacted several SEO software companies that track ranking variations on a large scale. One person she spoke to was Ilya Onskul, SEMrush Sensor product owner, who stated that his company had noticed changes in 15 SERP features and certain secure transfer protocol (HTTPS) pages.
Onskul also said: “Normally, December is one of the quietest months regarding SERP volatility, as Google tries to minimise its potential impact before the holiday period. But something happened around December 14th, which Barry Schwartz referred to as the Maccabees update or pre-holiday update. Sensor detected the highest SERP volatility on mobile devices across most categories, with the automotive, legal, and political sectors being the most affected.”
Just a few days later, Sensor also reported significant volatility in other areas, including: leisure, science, education, home and garden, and new technologies. Again, mobile searches were most affected by Google’s algorithm update.
Marcus Tober, founder of Searchmetrics, meanwhile, stated that he had noticed a loss of visibility for websites not integrated with Schema.org, an initiative launched in 2011 by Google, Bing, and Yahoo to help search engines better understand website content.
A Global Algorithm Update
While it is still early to draw conclusions about what is happening and how to adapt to the changes, it is known for certain that Google introduced some modifications for the United States on December 19th.
Similarly, on December 20th, similar behaviours were observed in search results in other countries, such as Australia, Spain, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, which seems to indicate that these changes have been implemented internationally.
While it is impossible to know the full extent of these developments, as mentioned, businesses should be prepared to face such updates.
The Evolution of Google Algorithms: From Maccabees to Helpful Content
The “Maccabees update” of December 2017 was one of many changes. Today Google announces major updates on its Search Status Dashboard and describes its ranking systems in a guide of its own. They include RankBrain and BERT. MUM, according to Google, is not used for general ranking, and the helpful content system has been part of the core ranking systems since March 2024. In our experience at ZDS Digital, we have observed how these updates have placed increasing emphasis on user experience and content authenticity.
The helpful content system was announced in 2022 as the “Helpful Content Update”. According to Google, it was designed to make sure people see original, helpful content written by people, for people, rather than content made primarily to gain search engine traffic. The “keyword stuffing” strategies and “doorway pages” mentioned in the original article were already a problem and remain one.
Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Search (2026)
The emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence has redefined the concept of “search.” Platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI, along with Google’s AI Overviews, which grew out of the SGE (Search Generative Experience) experiment and opened to all users in the US in May 2024, are changing how users interact with information. In 2026, we are not only competing to appear in traditional SERP results but also to be the source of information these AIs use to generate their responses. This demands an even greater focus on content authority, accuracy, and timeliness.
For instance, Perplexity AI, in its 2026 version, not only offers direct answers but also cites its sources, making visibility on these platforms crucial. Well-structured content, with verifiable data and clear expert attribution, has a much higher chance of being selected as a source by these AI tools. At ZDS Digital, we have developed specific strategies to optimise content for conversational and generative search, ensuring our clients not only rank but also become “the answer.”
E-E-A-T and Core Web Vitals: Pillars of Modern SEO
Beyond keywords and content, Google has solidified its focus on quality and user experience through key metrics and concepts.
E-E-A-T: Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness
The E-A-T concept (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) became E-E-A-T in 2022 with the addition of “Experience”. According to Google’s guide to helpful content, last updated on 5 October 2026, E-E-A-T itself is not a specific ranking factor: its systems use a mix of factors that help identify content with good E-E-A-T, and trust is the most important aspect. They give such content even more weight on topics that could significantly affect people’s health, financial stability or safety, known as YMYL (Your Money or Your Life). An article on how to invest in cryptocurrencies is one of those topics, and there it matters even more that the content shows real experience and expertise.
Tips to improve your E-E-A-T:
- Clear authorship: Include detailed author biographies, with relevant credentials and experience.
- Citations and references: Support your claims with links to reliable sources and studies.
- Transparency: Display clear contact information, privacy policies, and terms of service.
- Online reputation: Encourage positive reviews and expert mentions in your sector.
- Experience content: Share case studies, testimonials, and practical examples that demonstrate your knowledge.
Core Web Vitals: Measurable User Experience
Core Web Vitals (CWV) have become increasingly important since their launch in 2021. By 2026, with the replacement of FID (First Input Delay) by INP (Interaction to Next Paint) as the main interactivity metric, technical website optimisation is non-negotiable. According to Google, Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems, but good scores do not guarantee top positions: Google still shows the most relevant content even when the page experience is sub-par.
The key metrics in 2026 are:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Measures loading performance, ideally below 2.5 seconds.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Quantifies visual stability, aiming for a value below 0.1.
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Evaluates the site’s responsiveness to user interactions, with a target of 200 milliseconds or less.
Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console are essential for diagnosing and improving these aspects. At ZDS Digital, we conduct thorough technical audits to ensure our clients’ sites meet these standards, resulting in a notable improvement in ranking and user retention.
The GA4 and Privacy Era: Adapt or Be Left Behind
The mandatory transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in 2023 marked a turning point in web analytics. By 2026, GA4 is the standard, and its event-based data model offers a more granular view of user behaviour, crucial for understanding the impact of algorithm updates and optimising SEO strategies.
Furthermore, growing concerns about data privacy, with regulations like GDPR and CCPA, and the blocking of third-party cookies in browsers such as Safari (since March 2020; Chrome keeps them, as Google announced in 2024 and confirmed in 2025), have driven a “privacy-first” approach in digital marketing. This means SEO strategies must be more ethical and based on aggregated and modelled data, rather than individual tracking.
Keys for SEO in a GA4 and Privacy-First environment:
- Master GA4: Understanding events, explorations, and integration with other Google tools is vital.
- Consent Mode: Implement Google Consent Mode to adjust the behaviour of Google tags based on user consent.
- First-Party Data: Prioritise the collection and use of first-party data to personalise the experience and optimise content.
- Contextual Analysis: Focus on content relevance for the user’s search context, beyond cookie-based segmentation.
Common Mistakes and Quick Wins in Adapting to Google Algorithms
Throughout our journey at ZDS Digital, we have identified some recurring mistakes and “quick wins” that can make a big difference when facing Google’s constant updates.
Common Mistakes to Avoid:
- Ignoring search intent: Creating content without understanding what the user is truly looking for. Google prioritises satisfying intent.
- Duplicate or low-quality content: Publishing generic, copied, or automatically generated articles without added value is a recipe for failure.
- Neglecting mobile optimisation: With mobile-first indexing, a site that is not responsive or slow on mobile will lose visibility.
- Not monitoring Core Web Vitals: Thinking that speed is only for the user and not for ranking is a costly mistake.
- Lack of content updates: “Evergreen” content needs periodic reviews to maintain its relevance and accuracy.
- Abuse of forced internal links: Over-optimising internal links with exact anchor texts can be counterproductive.
Quick Wins to Improve Your SEO:
- Optimisation of Titles and Meta Descriptions: Ensure they are attractive, relevant, and contain the main keyword.
- Improve loading speed: Compress images, use caching, and optimise code. Tools like ShortPixel or WP Rocket can help.
- Implementation of Schema Markup: Add structured data to help Google understand your content and obtain rich snippets. Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
- Creation of pillar content and topical clusters: Develop extensive, high-quality core content and link it to more specific articles.
- Broken link audit: Identify and fix broken internal and external links to improve user experience and crawl budget.
- Image optimisation: Use descriptive ALT attributes and modern image formats (WebP).
- Competitor analysis: Use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to identify competitor strategies and find opportunities.
Google algorithm updates are a constant. At ZDS Digital, we understand that the key to SEO success is not chasing every change, but building a solid foundation of quality, relevance, and user experience. Staying up-to-date with best practices and proactively adapting to trends, such as conversational AI and privacy, is fundamental to ensuring your company’s online visibility in 2026 and beyond.
If you would like us to analyse the impact of these updates on your website or need an SEO strategy tailored to current challenges, please do not hesitate to contact us without obligation. At ZDS Digital, your digital marketing agency in Barcelona, we are ready to help you navigate the complex world of SEO.
