Google Revises Core Update Guidance: What’s Changed?

Google has updated its guidance on core algorithm updates, providing more detailed recommendations for impacted websites.

The revised document, published alongside the August core update rollout, includes several additions and removals.

New Sections Added

The most significant change includes two new sections: “Check if there’s a traffic drop in Search Console” and “Assessing a large drop in position.”

The “Check if there’s a traffic drop in Search Console” section provides step-by-step instructions for using Search Console to determine if a core update has affected a website.

The process involves:

1. Confirming the completion of the core update by checking the Search Status Dashboard
2. Waiting at least a week after the update finishes before analyzing Search Console data
3. Comparing search performance from before and after the update to identify ranking changes
4. Analyzing different search types (web, image, video, news) separately

The “Assessing a large drop in position” section offers guidance for websites that have experienced a significant ranking decline following a core update.

It recommends thoroughly evaluating the site’s content against Google’s quality guidelines, focusing on the pages most impacted by the update.

Other Additions

The updated document also includes a “Things to keep in mind when making changes” section, encouraging website owners to prioritize substantive, user-centric improvements rather than quick fixes.

It suggests that content deletion should be a last resort, indicating that removing content suggests it was created for search engines rather than users.

Another new section, “How long does it take to see an effect in Search results,” sets expectations for the time required to see ranking changes after making content improvements.

Google states that it may take several months for the full impact to be reflected, possibly requiring waiting until a future core update.

The document adds a closing paragraph noting that rankings can change even without website updates as new content emerges on the web.

Removed Content

Several sections from the previous version of the document have been removed or replaced in the update.

The paragraph stating that pages impacted by a core update “haven’t violated our spam policies” and comparing core updates to refreshing a movie list has been removed.

The “Assessing your own content” section has been replaced by the new “Assessing a large drop in position.”.

The “How long does it take to recover from a core update?” section no longer contains specific details about the timing and cadence of core updates and the factors influencing recovery time.

Shift In Tone & Focus

There’s a noticeable shift in tone and focus with this update.

While the previous guide explained the nature and purpose of core updates, the revised edition has more actionable guidance.

For example, the new sections related to Search Console provide clearer direction for identifying and addressing ranking drops.

In Summary

Here’s a list of added and removed items in Google’s updated Core Algorithm Update Guidance.

Added:

• “Check if there’s a traffic drop in Search Console” section:
  • Step-by-step instructions for using Search Console to identify ranking changes.
• “Assessing a large drop in position” section:
  • Guidance for websites experiencing significant ranking declines after a core update.
• “Things to keep in mind when making changes” section:
  • Encourages substantive improvements over quick fixes.
  • Suggests content deletion as a last resort.
• “How long does it take to see an effect in Search results” section:
  • Sets expectations for the time to see ranking changes after content improvements.
  • States that full impact may take several months and require a future core update.
• Closing paragraph:
  • Notes that rankings can change even without website updates as new content emerges.

Removed:

• A paragraph stating pages impacted by a core update “haven’t violated our spam policies.”
• Comparing core updates to refreshing a list of best movies.
• The “Assessing your own content” section from the previous version was replaced by the new “Assessing a large drop in position” section.
• Specific details about the timing of core updates and factors influencing recovery time.

An archived version of Google’s previous core update guidance can be accessed via the Wayback Machine.

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