Google algorithm update

Google changes its ranking systems constantly, mostly without announcement. Several times a year it releases a broad core update, a significant change to its main ranking systems, and it announces these, along with spam updates and other notable changes, on the Google Search Status Dashboard.

A drop in rankings after an update does not mean a site was penalised. Core updates reassess content across the web, so a page can fall because others are now judged more relevant, not because anything on it broke. A penalty from a human reviewer is a different thing, a manual action, and it is reported in Google Search Console.

How it works

Core updates often take a couple of weeks to roll out fully, and rankings can move around during that time before settling. Spam updates target practices that break Google's spam policies, such as link schemes or mass-produced low-value pages. Google also refines individual systems, such as the one that assesses reviews, and many of those changes are made without any announcement.

When an update affects a site, Google's advice is to look at which pages and queries changed, compare them with what now ranks, and assess the content honestly against its guidance on helpful content. Recovery, when it comes, usually follows real improvements and shows up over later updates rather than after quick fixes.

Updates also coincide with everything else happening to a site. A redesign, a hosting move, a seasonal dip or a competitor launching a better page can all land in the same weeks as an update. To separate them, note the update's start and end dates from the Status Dashboard, compare clicks and impressions for a few weeks before and after, and look at which pages and queries moved. A drop concentrated in one section of the site usually tells you more than the site-wide total.

Example

A recipe blog sees traffic fall on its older roundup posts after a core update, while its detailed recipes hold steady. The owner checks Search Console, sees the roundups were overtaken by pages with tested recipes and original photos, and rewrites the best ones around her own cooking instead of publishing more roundups.

She also notices that some pages gained. Her detailed recipe for a traditional regional bread, with step-by-step photos from her own kitchen, rose for several searches. That gives her a model for the rewrites: fewer, deeper pages built on her own testing, rather than summaries of other people's recipes. She plans the changes over several months rather than rushing them out before the next update.

Why it matters for your business

For a business that gets leads from search, an update can change enquiry volume without any change to the website, which is why it helps to know when one is running before reacting. Sites that depend on a single channel carry the most risk. Spending heavily to react during a rollout is usually wasted; waiting for it to finish and reading the data comes first. Keeping a simple dated log of site changes makes this analysis far easier when the next update arrives.

Common mistakes

• Making large changes to the site in the middle of a rollout, before rankings settle.
• Assuming every drop is a penalty and paying for a recovery service.
• Blaming an update for a drop actually caused by a site change, such as a missing 301 redirect or an accidental noindex tag.
• Ignoring the pages that gained in the same update, which show what Google now prefers.

Questions people ask

How often does Google update its algorithm?

Google makes many small changes every year and releases broad core updates several times a year. Notable updates, including core and spam updates, are announced on the Google Search Status Dashboard with start and end dates, so you can check whether one was running when your traffic changed.

How do I know if an update affected my site?

Compare your Search Console performance data against the update's start and end dates. A change that lines up with the rollout and is spread across many pages points to the update. A sudden drop on specific pages that matches a site change points to a technical cause instead.

Can I recover from a Google core update?

Sometimes. Google says there may be nothing specific to fix after a core update, but improving the substance of affected pages can help. Changes are often reflected only over later updates, which can take months. Some traffic may not return if other pages now serve searchers better.