Why Chasing Google’s Algorithm Is a Losing Game (and What to Do Instead)

By Jason Hoover

For years, people have been telling business owners the same thing: if you just figure out Google’s code, you’ll win. Drop in the “right” keywords, hit the magic word count, buy a stack of backlinks, and boom—you’re on page one.

Here’s the reality: Google’s algorithm isn’t a puzzle you can solve. It’s a moving target. Thousands of updates roll out every year, and some of them flip entire industries overnight. If you’re chasing that, you’ll age five years for every Google update.

The rules keep shifting. Nobody outside Google knows the formula. Anyone who says they do is guessing. And building a strategy on guesses is called gambling.

It makes bad content.You’ve read those blogs before. Stuffed with keywords, repeating the same point, no real voice. You probably clicked out after ten seconds. That’s exactly what your own customers will do if you play that game.

It’s missing the point.Google’s not out to reward tricksters. Its mission is simple: connect people with content that’s genuinely useful.

Forget the algorithm. Focus on the people typing in the search. Ask yourself:

1. What problem are they really trying to solve?
2. What answer would actually help them move forward?
3. What experience or perspective do you have that your competitors don’t?

When you create content around those questions, you’re not just filling space. You’re building trust. And Google picks up on that trust faster than any keyword hack.

The businesses that win over the long haul aren’t panicking with every Google update. They’re showing up with their expertise, telling real stories, and publishing content that feels like it came from an actual person—because it did.

When you do that, you don’t have to chase updates. Your content already matches what Google’s trying to reward: authentic value.

Chasing Google’s algorithm is a losing game. It’ll keep changing, and you’ll keep running in circles.

What doesn’t change is the person on the other side of the search. They want straight answers, not SEO tricks. Give them that, and the rankings take care of themselves.