Google Webmaster Message!!
-
Hello,
One of my clients is using an old version of wordpress.
On google's web master tools there are about 5 messages recommending an upgrade.
My question is: Could this affect rankings?
Thanks
-
Agreed but Create a back up prior to updating to be sure that whatever theme and plugins you are using work.
-
I'm with Mark - definitely not a rankings issue unless and until the older, vulnerable version results in the client getting hacked by somebody like a pharma spammer. Or worse yet, something that hosts and distributes malware via thier site and ends up getting them marked with the dreaded Red Box of Death (Google blocking the site as dangerous).
WordPress updating is not especially difficult, as long as the client has a proper quality backup ready in case anything should go wrong. The cost (either time or fee to a reputable systems administrator-type) should be considered a standard operating cost just like hosting fees and domain registration (ans SEO!).
It's really not worth the risk not to stay updated, especially if the client is depending on the income from their site.
Paul
<object id="plugin0" style="position: absolute; z-index: 1000;" width="0" height="0" type="application/x-dgnria"><param name="tabId" value="ff-tab-15"> <param name="counter" value="303"></object>
-
It's more of a site security issue - not updating your wordpress and plugins leaves you vulnerable to security flaws exploited in old wordpress installs - Google is trying to help you and encourage you to update your wordpress to maintain security and prevent the site from being hacked.
I don't believe it's a rankings issue, but more quality of website and health of the web in general issue that Google is sending out these messages.
You can refer to this blog post on State of Search for more info.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google is a definition engine / Question answering engine
But what do you do to rank when you sell a product and people don't have questions and none of the companies that rank on your keywords answers questions... Let me give you a few example. Title tag for example : People want to know what is it and then have question about it What is the maximum number of characters ? How do you write a good one ? Etc... How to remove stains is another example : Please want to know how to remove all the different types of stains, (ketchup, grease etc..) But what about when you are a online business and want to sell usb keys , rent bicycles https://www.spinlister.com or even sell a software to do A/B testing on your website https://bit.ly/2a6cBuF Can someone explain me how those people mentioned rank without giving definition or answering questions... because according to me they don't do any of that on the pages that I mentioned. I look forward to your reply. Thank you,
Web Design | | seoanalytics0 -
When rel canonical tag used, which page does Google considers for ranking and indexing? A/B test scenario!
Hi Moz community, We have redesigned our website and launched for A/B testing using canonical tags from old website to new website pages, so there will be no duplicate content issues and new website will be shown to the half of the website visitors successfully to calculate the metrics. However I wonder how actually Google considers it? Which pages Google will crawl and index to consider for ranking? Please share your views on this for better optimisation. Thanks
Web Design | | vtmoz0 -
New Google SERPS design - What's Changed?
Has anyone noticed any fall out from the recent redesign of SERP pages by Google? I noticed that there appears to be one less organic result "above the fold" now, so if you were possibly in third or fourth position maybe slight dip in traffic? Any noticeable shift in click through rate with the new bigger font? Also, has anyone noticed if the new design has caused any shift in best practices for on-page meta data like Title tag and description tag counts? I know the Title tag was previously driven by the pixel width of the title in Google SERPS, just curious if that has changed with this redesign.
Web Design | | IrvCo_Interactive0 -
Best way to add Google Analytics to a Joomla!
I am having difficulties installing (and getting it to work) google analytics to Joomla! 2.5.8 site. I have it working on some sites but then not on others even though I have installed it the same. Is there a recommended or easy way to do this that works?
Web Design | | Atlanta-SMO1 -
How Does Google differentiate a keyword you are optimizing for and a non-keyword?
So, let's say that my company is called John's Business Consulting and I offer outsourced HR work (recruiting, evaluating, personality assessments, background checks). So for my home page I want "Business Consulting" to be my keyword that I want to rank for. But "recruiting services", "talent development" are all words that describe a service that I offer and could potential be keywords, how do I get Google to not dilute my authority for "business consulting"?
Web Design | | wlw20090 -
Website URL Structures - Which does Google prefer or does it matter?
Which URL structure does google prefer..............OR DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Option A www.example.com/services/service#1 - this is the default that wordpress uses Option B www.example.com/service#1
Web Design | | webestate0 -
How long does Google take to re-cache a site?
Specifically, I just redesigned my site. I'm reading Danny Dovers book, and learned about checking the cache version of the site to see what google is REALLY seeing . . . . . . which evidently is my old site. Obviously, my sites not going to make any real progress with SEO as long as the site is out of date. It says it last checked the site on 5/5 and I launched the site on 5/9. Obviously, it does not do these things immediately, but anyone have any ideas on how long it should take before google starts to show me some love?
Web Design | | damon12120 -
IP block in Google
Our office has a number of people performing analysis and research on keyword positions, volume, competition etc. We have 1 external static IP address. We installed the static IP so we can filter out our visits in Google Analytics. However by 10 AM we get impssible CAPTCHA's or even get blocked in Google. Do you have any experience with such an issue? Any solutions you can recommend? Any help would be appreciated! SXI5A.png
Web Design | | Partouter0