In 2017, webmasters were stormed with an uninvited surprise- a Google algorithm change that tossed the rank and traffic drops for most websites- a change that was termed as Maccabees update.
Even digital marketing giant sites were smacked during the same period. Nobody could actually discover what these updates were and what sort of practices or sites would cast off the penalties.
Source: Twitter.com
A few sites were reported losing their knowledge graph panels in relation to branded search. Knowledge graphs are defined as more detailed and visual results that are found in the right panel of the traditional SERPs.
Theories:
Maccabees is associated with Mobile-first Algorithm
This was one of the credible theories as the update was being released in alliance with and in support of Google’s mobile-optimization. This theory was exposed by Moz by scrutinizing traffic on desktop and mobile pages for similar websites. It was leaked that the traffic drop in the pages was alike, and this particular pattern was confirmed with several websites.
Maccabees vs E-commerce sites
As mentioned earlier, Moz exposed a website that they were optimizing for SEO was de-ranked by Maccabees, and it was not an E-commerce website. The sites that were de-ranked might possess something in general with E-commerce websites, as nearly all E-commerce websites were a hit during the flux period.
Sites with uncurbed advertisements, duplicate, and thin content, and poor user interfaces
Poorly created websites cannot be ideal contenders for SEO analysis but as per reviews on the NET, many websites flee the Maccabees scythe, at the same time few were hacked badly. Sites were de-ranking left, right, and center.
Maccabees attack keyword permutations
As per Barry Schwartz’s analysis, the sites that were most affected by the Maccabees update were those that earmarked a myriad of keyword permutations or patterns.
Recovering or how do we optimize for Maccabees?
If you’re hit by Maccabees, then you can fix the bug immediately. Begin with analyzing your website and pinpoint the pages where you have thin or duplicate content. If possible, skip creating duplicate pages offering similar services/products in other sectors. This is the main target of Maccabees. Keyword permutation may not act as your savior anymore in ranking your website, so create good quality content and a sound user-experience.
Next, you can ease up ad monetization and ensure that ads on your website are not wrecking the user experience. Over monetization of ads may turn out to be the worst nightmare. And it won’t benefit anyone, neither advertisers nor the website.
If your website already has Schema implemented, then add it in to specify your website elements. Schema helps with SEO optimization by describing to Google what each element on your site means.
The Verdict
If you think your traffic has been affected and it’s not worthy and if your site fails to match the update’s norms, then the history is evident that Google believes in moving forward to make changes if they discover something is not apt for search engine marketing.