Google News: Broad Core Algorithm Update Confirmed
It looks like 2019 is going to be as interesting as 2018 when it comes to Google algorithm updates. After lots of rumored changes in early March, Google has confirmed another “broad core algorithm” update this week.
What’s Happening?
Earlier this morning, Google’s SearchLiaison Twitter posted that Google has released a new “broad core algorithm” update this week:
This week, we released a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see these tweets for more about that:https://t.co/uPlEdSLHoXhttps://t.co/tmfQkhdjPL
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) 13 March 2019
Danny Sullivan, the Googler behind the SearchLiaison Twitter account, stated that the updated started on Tuesday, March 12:
It began yesterday. cc: @rustybrick
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) 13 March 2019
And, in response to a user’s question, he also confirmed that the update is global. So it should impact all languages and Google ccTLDs equally:
It's global and at the same time for this.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) 13 March 2019
Sullivan also referred back to the SearchLiaison post from October 2018 about the April and September broad core updates to answer questions about how long we should expect to see fluctuations in the search results in regards to rankings:
This year, we shared about two broad core algorithm updates we had: in April and August. We also had a further update we can confirm, one that began the week of Sept. 24. With any broad core update, the full rollout time might be over the course of a week or longer….
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) 11 October 2018
That thread also includes the standard advice on how to respond to broad core algorithm updates: these updates don’t target particular issues or tactics and “there’s no fix for pages that may perform less well” after the update.
Update: SEO Industry Reactions
Some in the SEO field have started calling this update the Florida 2 update.
The first Florida update was so named because its timing coincided with the PubCon marketing conference that takes place in that state. It was a huge update that had a big impact on SEO.
The timing of this latest broad core update also coincides with the conference in that same state and there are rumors that this update will be as impactful as the first Florida update.
It's worth remembering, though, that's just a rumor that hasn't been confirmed by Google.
Reactions from other search marketers and website owners have been mixed, to say the least. Here are some highlights from the discussion at the WebmasterWorld forum.
Some have seen gains for their sites:
While others have seen losses:
Many are saying they've seen no impact on their sites or that the results have fluctuated wildly:
Update 2: Marketers and website owners have been discussing this update on Twitter over the past few days. Here are some reactions from the SEO industry:
They got crushed during the Medic Update, but I'm seeing signs of life from draxe .com. I see a number of strong rankings return for queries they dropped for in August. It's still early, but I'm sure they are hopeful. For example: pic.twitter.com/WGP9fSj0bp
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) March 13, 2019
I've just taken time to look at hourly traffic trends for a bunch of clients previously hit by Aug 1/Sep 27. It's too early to cry victory just yet, but so far we've got a bunch of clients that may be on the way to recovery! pic.twitter.com/PtaZ6DGQ3I
— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) March 13, 2019
Great news😀! It`s totally a medic update related change. If you remember while we managed to recover the main domain site on November we never managed to recover our blog (on a subdomain). Now we see a recovery in our blog as well! pic.twitter.com/yreQINrkxu
— Christos Man (@Chris_managoudi) March 15, 2019
An initial analysis from Sistrix has found that the majority of the "winners" and "losers" for this update (so far) were sites that were also impacted by previous core updates.
For what it's worth, here at WooRank we haven't noticed any big changes in terms of rankings or traffic despite the fact that the previous core updates had big impacts on our traffic.
Update 3: John Mueller addressed the update for the first time in the most recent Google Webmaster hangout. He didn't say much but he does make it sound like this update wasn't specifically a reaction to the previous core updates.
See his full (if brief) response in the video below:
How You Should Respond
Well, since it’s a broad core update, there’s not a lot you can do to specifically address any impact this update has on your site. It’s most likely that Google has simply found a new way to deliver better, more relevant search result to their users.
If your site has seen any improvements, way to go! Keep doing what you're doing.
If your rankings, traffic and/or conversions have taken a hit from this update, all is not lost! Focus your efforts on publishing great content, satisfying search intent and building high-quality backlinks.
As this is an evolving story, we’ll keep this post updated as the situation develops and we’ll hopefully have a more in-depth analysis in the future.
