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It’s official! Google’s second core algorithm update of 2024 is rolling out right now and will take about a month to finish. We’ve been expecting one ever since reading Danny Sullivan’s comment on Search Engine Roundtable that “I (Danny) would expect we’ll see one (a core update) in the coming weeks.”
For us, there’s never been a more exciting time to work in SEO and web search. But if SEO is just one of many things you’re juggling, and the words ‘core update’ caused you to panic, don’t worry. This post should cover everything you need to know and how to handle the next few weeks or so.
If you need support, we’ll continue talking with an SEO panel every Friday morning in SEO Office Hours, answering questions about your SEO and website issues.
From now on The Signal will primarily follow reactions across the industry, guiding you to the best news and insights. Once the core update has fully rolled out, we’ll deliver the best insights over the following few days, carefully curated by a top team of experts.
Joyce, editor at The Signal
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Q: What are Google Search's core updates?
A: These are significant changes made to the Google Search algorithm that aim to improve the relevance and quality of search results. Core updates do not target specific sites or pages but instead refine the overall search algorithm to ensure that Google's search results are as helpful and relevant as possible.
An analogy given by Google is: If your friend is asking for a list of your 20 favourite restaurants, things must have changed since you wrote it in 2019. There might be new restaurants joining the area, and some might have closed down. So you would want to reassess the restaurants and make a new list, taking your friend's preferences into account.
Q: What are the possible impacts?
A: First of all, Google reassures us most sites won't be impacted. Many won't even notice the update has happened.
However, let's keep in mind that the March 2024 and September 2023 updates had widespread impacts across industries, with some sites seeing up to 90% of visibility losses. So stay tuned!
Q: How do you check if there's a traffic drop?
A: Now is too early to see anything, as we are still waiting for this update to end - you can always check the status on the Search Status Dashboard.
After that, it is recommended to wait at least a full week to compare the performance results. Small drops are usually normal, but if you see a big drop, do a deeper analysis and evaluate what pages are most impacted.
Q: Can sites recover?
A: Yes, although there's no magic fix to anything. Google says it can take a few days to several months to see an effect, but it might be longer depending on your strategies. After all, updates are made to ensure sites keep producing helpful, reliable and people-first content, so only meaningful changes (e.g. rewriting or restructuring content) will be taken into account. The official self-assessment guideline is here to help you improve your content.
If you were hit by the last update and have been doing serious revamps, this might be your chance to see the results! As Google's John Mueller said earlier this year, "bigger changes would be visible when the next core updates happen" - he means now. |
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Joyce Yang,
editor at The Signal
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