Google announced on the 25th May that they have released their core update for Google Search, with it taking around 1-2 weeks to fully roll out. It’s a global update impacting all regions in all languages, and all types of content including Google Discover, featured snippets, and more. It has been six months since the last Google core update, which rolled out in November 2021.
Google’s Public Liaison for Search has noted that changes to site performance in search results are to be expected:
“Core updates are changes we make to improve Search overall and keep pace with the changing nature of the web. While nothing in a core update is specific to any particular site, these updates may produce some noticeable changes to how sites perform…”
We discuss why this is important and what you need to do if you have been affected to recover.
What is a Google Broad Core Update?
Broad core updates are significant changes to Google’s algorithm to improve search overall and keep up-to-date with the changing nature of the web. They’re designed to make the search results more relevant for users. Google usually makes changes on a daily basis, however, these aren’t usually noticeable but help them to continually improve their search results. However, they will explain when they have made specific changes, like when they updated their product review ranking earlier this year.
Google announces broad core updates several times a year, and the reason they confirm when they are released is because they usually produce widely significant changes. Some websites may notice gains or drops during them, however, if you’ve noticed a drop this doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your pages.
Some marketers in the industry have already started noticing fluctuations in different niches, however, it’s still too early to truly understand the impact.
What Do I Need to Do?
Firstly, we would recommend keeping an eye on your performance over the next couple of days to see if you notice any significant changes. If it looks like you have experienced a drop due to the update, don’t make changes straight away as it could make things worse. It’s better to wait before making any changes.
Even though it’s recommended that you don’t try to ‘fix’ any of your pages that have been impacted, as pages that drop after a core update doesn’t have anything wrong to fix, Google recommends focusing on content and asking yourself the following questions which have been provided directly from Google:
Content and quality questions
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
- If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
- Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature?
- Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopaedia, or book?
Expertise questions
- Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
- If you researched the site producing the content, would you come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognised as an authority on its topic?
- Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
- Does the content have any easily verified factual errors?
- Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to your money or your life?
Presentation and production questions
- Does the content have any spelling or stylistic issues?
- Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
- Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
- Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?
Comparative questions
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
At the moment we don’t know the exact impact this will have as it’s too early to start assessing this, however, we will be looking at the data and keep you updated with our findings. When we have more data, we will be able to understand the impact and advise further.
At GA Agency, our international team can help you develop your marketing strategies and mitigate any issues around Google updates that might impact your website. Contact us to find out more about our marketing services including SEO consulting, copywriting and PPC.
