Google has given SEOs and site owners advance notice that a broad core algorithm update will be released later today.

Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the September 2019 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this blog for more about that: https://t.co/e5ZQUAlt0G — Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) September 24, 2019

According to Google’s Danny Sullivan, the update will begin to roll out within hours and will take a few days to complete.

I expect it to begin in a few hours; these typically take a few days to fully roll out. Yes, we'll post when the rollout begins. We don't post when it ends because there's typically other updates that are always happening, too. But after a few days, as said. — Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 24, 2019

This marks the second time that Google has announced a broad core algorithm update in advance, which is further indication that the company is taking webmaster outreach more seriously.

As stated, Google’s guidance regarding this update remains the same. Here’s a quick refresher on Google’s guidance regarding core updates:

Widely notable effects are to be expected, which can include drops or gains in search rankings.

Core updates are “broad” in the sense that they don’t target anything specific. Rather, they’re designed to improve Google’s systems overall.

Pages that drop in rankings aren’t being penalized; they’re being reassessed against other web content that has been published since the last update.

Focusing on providing the best possible content is the top recommended way to deal with the impact of a core algorithm update.

Broad core updates happen every few months. Sites might not recover from one update until the next one rolls out.

Improvements do not guarantee recovery. However, choosing not to implement any improvements will virtually guarantee no recovery.

For more guidance on how to deal with Google’s broad core algorithm updates, see the following resources: