After announcing the core algorithm update a day in advance, Google confirmed on the day when the update was live.
So far it's been relatively quiet with people keeing a close eye and waiting to see the impact. It will probably take a few days to the update to complete rolling and for things to settle down. You should monitor your analytics and ranking reports to see if your site has been affected.
Google is clearly trying to be more open about these updates, which are normally shrouded in secrecy and only confirmed after the event, leaving SEOs and webmasters guessing over changes seen. Google not only gave notification a day ahead, but also put out an update on the day in response to queries, to say the update had not yet started rolling out.
However, this being a broad core algorithm, naturally everyone gets a bit nervous and the guessing doesn't stop.
Search Engine Roundtable's blog post gives a flavour of the initial chatter around changes, noting signs of major changes for many sites previously impacted by core updates. "Some saw massive recoveries, at least they say, while others are seeing being hit again."
The last core update was released in March this year. Google's previous guidance around core algorithm updates from March 2018 says sometimes there isn't anything to 'fix', and that siteowners should focus on building great content:
“Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year.
As with any update, some sites may note drops or gains. There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. Instead, it’s that changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded.
There’s no ‘fix’ for pages that may perform less well other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.”
We'll keep you posted on the Wordtracker blog as we find out more about the update.
