Google Confirmed Search Algorithm Update Rolled Out; Here Is What We Know

As you know, we saw a huge amount of chatter around a big Google search ranking algorithm update starting November 7th and 8th through the weekend. There were mixed signals in that the chatter in the industry was very heavy but (a) Google did not pre-announce it and (b) the automated tracking tools didn't really pick up on the update.

But Google has now confirmed there was an update but Google said it was a normal update like they do several times a week. Google said on Twitter "Some have asked if we had an update to Google Search last week. We did, actually several updates, just as we have several updates in any given week on a regular basis."

Here is Danny Sullivan of Google sending me the confirmation:

Okay - so this obviously in Google's mind was a smaller update. An update that Google routinely does, so Google didn't expect to pre-announce it.

Google didn't think this one would be broadly noticed, here is what Google said:

Sometimes, a particular update might be broadly noticeable. We share about those when we feel there is actionable guidance for content owners. For example, when our Speed Update happened, we gave months of advanced notice and advice….https://t.co/Nwi8I9rooP — Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) November 12, 2019

And in one sense, it wasn't - the tools did not pick it up. But many SEOs noticed big swings in their sites. Some 30-50% swings as we covered on Monday.

Broad core updates are updates Google does announce, and Google did not announce this one, so I guess this was not a "broad core update." Maybe it was small core update or something else?

Broad core updates are often broadly noticeable. That’s why we have shared about them since last year and even preannounce them, plus provide the actionable guidance that there’s often nothing to “fix” and emphasize instead having great content….https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6 — Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) November 12, 2019

Not much to do about your sites with these updates? Keep in mind that Google said there is no fix for these broad core updates but later did give us high level advice on broad core update, after we pestered them to do so.

Again, we have updates that happen all the time in Google Search. If we don’t share about them, there is no particular actionable guidance to follow nor changes to make other than to keep focused on great content as we’ve advised generally such as here: https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6 — Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) November 12, 2019

This wasn't BERT either, Danny Sullivan from Google said he believes Google would have announced any expansions to BERT:

I don't believe there are any changes there and we're likely to share when we do expand. — Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) November 12, 2019

Not happy with these results? Here is what Danny suggests:

I would suggest that if you feel our ranking systems are somehow missing the mark on highlighting content from your site that you believe really is the best for a particular search, share that search and those pages as feedback in our public forums https://t.co/7eJJsYJefK — Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) November 12, 2019

Some publishers who saw a drastic drop in traffic are demanding a more detailed explanation but that is not Google's job said Danny Sullivan:

Our job is to provide the best results we can. If we do an update, it may mean some sites get less traffic than before. Other sites that perhaps might have been under-recognized may do better. — Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) November 12, 2019

That is currently everything I have on this update from Google at this point.

I hope you did well with this update because not everyone can win with all Google updates.

Forum discussion at Twitter.