What Are Core Updates?

What are Core Updates in SEO?

Introduction

Google’s core updates have the power to drastically shift search rankings, often leaving site owners questioning sudden drops in traffic. These updates are not minor tweaks; they are comprehensive changes that can reorder search results, bringing unexpected gains and losses.

So, what exactly is a core update? It's a substantial improvement to how Google evaluates websites. While smaller updates may address specific issues like spam or local search, core updates involve broad changes that significantly affect search results.

For website owners and SEO professionals, understanding core updates is essential for maintaining visibility online. As Google improves its ability to display useful content, staying up to date with these changes can directly impact your site's performance.

In this article, we’ll dive into how Google’s core updates work, their implications, and practical tips to help you adapt. Whether you're a seasoned SEO practitioner or just starting with your first website, this guide will help you navigate core updates and keep your site competitive.

What Makes Core Updates Unique?

Core updates are major events in SEO, with the power to reshape search results across all industries. Let’s break down their key characteristics:

1. Broad, Sweeping Impact

Core updates affect search results across the entire index, unlike targeted updates that focus on specific issues like spam. These updates impact:

• Websites in any niche or industry
• Both large and small sites
• Various types of search queries

This means no website is entirely immune to the effects of a core update.

2. No Specific Targets

Google emphasizes that core updates don't target specific sites, pages, or sectors. Instead, they improve how Google assesses content quality overall. As a result:

• Your site could be impacted even without recent changes
• Ranking fluctuations aren’t necessarily due to anything you've done wrong
• The entire search landscape is reevaluated

3. Potential for Significant Shifts

Core updates can cause dramatic changes in rankings. Some sites may see substantial improvements, while others may experience declines—even if their content hasn’t changed. The magnitude of these shifts varies with each update, and it’s not uncommon for sites to see double-digit percentage changes in traffic.

4. Gradual Rollout

Core updates usually take one to two weeks to fully roll out, causing volatility in search rankings during this time. Fluctuations are common before rankings stabilize.

5. Not About Penalties

A ranking drop after a core update doesn’t necessarily indicate a penalty. Rather, it’s the result of content being reassessed against new criteria. Sites that experience declines may need to improve their content to meet Google's updated quality standards.

6. Focus on Content Quality

Google doesn't reveal specific ranking factors, but they consistently emphasize the importance of high-quality, user-focused content. Site owners should ask themselves questions like:

• Is the content created by experts?
• Is the coverage comprehensive?
• Does the website provide a positive user experience?

7. Regular Occurrence

Core updates happen several times a year. Google typically announces them in advance and provides general guidance on how to respond, allowing SEOs and site owners time to prepare.

How Do Core Updates Affect Website Rankings?

Google's core updates can lead to both positive and negative impacts on website rankings. These updates don’t target specific websites; instead, they aim to improve the overall search algorithm. Here’s what to expect:

Positive Impacts:

1. Improved Visibility: High-quality, relevant content that aligns well with user intent may see a boost in rankings.
2. Rewarding Expertise: Websites demonstrating expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) often benefit.
3. Better User Experience: Sites with fast load times, mobile-friendliness, and a positive user experience may gain higher rankings.

Negative Impacts:

1. Ranking Declines: Some sites may see ranking drops even if they haven’t made changes, leading to decreased traffic.
2. Low-Quality Content Penalized: Sites with thin, duplicate, or low-quality content may see declines.
3. Volatility in Search Results: Rankings may fluctuate during and after the update, but they usually stabilize over time.

How to Adapt After a Core Update

If your site experiences negative impacts from a core update, don’t panic. Instead, take these steps to recover:

1. Conduct a Content Audit: Review and improve underperforming content, ensuring it meets Google's quality standards.
2. Improve Technical SEO: Make sure your site is technically sound, with fast load times, proper indexing, and mobile optimization.
3. Enhance User Experience: Focus on improving usability, including navigation, accessibility, and overall performance.
4. Demonstrate Expertise: Ensure your content reflects deep knowledge and credibility in your niche.

Remember that improvements may take time to show results, and recovery often happens after the next core update.

Google's Evolving View on Core Updates

Google’s approach to core updates has evolved to reflect changes in user behavior and search expectations.

Shift from “High-Quality Content” to “Genuinely Useful Content”

Google now emphasizes “genuinely useful content” over simply “high-quality content.” This means content must solve real problems and provide value, rather than just being well-written.

Emphasis on Overall Site Quality

Google evaluates the overall quality of a website, focusing on consistency, user experience, and E-E-A-T signals. A few strong pages can no longer carry a site; quality must be site-wide.

What You Can Do After a Core Update

Core updates should prompt site owners to rethink their long-term strategy. Here’s what you can do to stay prepared:

• Conduct frequent content audits
• Focus on user experience and site speed
• Prioritize E-E-A-T signals
• Shift from keyword-centric strategies to user-focused content

Conclusion

Understanding and adapting to Google's core updates is critical for maintaining visibility and traffic. While these updates can lead to both positive and negative changes, focusing on long-term quality improvements is the best strategy. Conduct regular audits, stay updated with best practices, and aim to create genuinely useful content that serves your audience.

By keeping these principles in mind, you’ll be better equipped to handle core updates and ensure the long-term success of your website.

Future Outlook

As search engines evolve, core updates will likely become even more sophisticated. Staying ahead means continuously improving content, user experience, and adapting to changes in search behavior. By embracing emerging technologies and maintaining a focus on quality, site owners and SEO professionals can ensure long-term success in an ever-changing search landscape.

Timeline of Updates

2024:

• August: Refinements to helpful content system
• March: Broad core algorithm update

2023:

• November: Reviews system update
• October: October 2023 spam update
• August: Helpful content system improvements
• March: Continued emphasis on E-E-A-T

2022:

• December: Helpful content update integration
• September: Product reviews update
• May: Broad core algorithm update

2021:

• November: Core update with local search implications
• July: Link spam algorithm update
• June: Page experience update rollout begins

2020:

• December: Combined core, mobile-first indexing, and page experience signals
• May: Core update with focus on content quality
• January: Featured snippet deduplication

2019:

• September: Emphasized E-A-T factors
• June: Diversity update - Reduced multiple listings from the same site
• March: Broad core algorithm update

2018:

• August: "Medic" - Significantly impacted health and wellness sites
• March: "Brackets" - Focused on content relevance