Google just made a big core update and it has sent ripples across the World Wide Web. Every few months,Google releases a core update that has a significant effect on numerous aspects of its search engine results, such as ranking. At around 3.50 pm ET on Monday 4th May 2020, Google started rolling out its new core update.
Due to its core nature, this update is global and does not target specific languages, regions, or site categories. The update is expected to roll out gradually over a few weeks but all signs indicate that it is vast and has a broad reach. Numerous data companies that track the performance of Google’s search results all agree that this core update is the biggest one of all time. Its impact is being felt heavily and the update is not even completely rolled out. Here is more about this core update, it’s the purpose and expected effects.
What is Google Core Update?
Core update is an improvement in the Google search engine that enhances its internal algorithms and ranking system. A Google core update implements changes that can clearly be felt by webmasters, SEO experts and search engine users. The main objective of a Google core update is to increase your satisfaction while doing searches by delivering useful, trustworthy, and relevant results. Google core updates usually occur a few times every year, while standard updates can occur thousands of times annually. The company usually announces core updates a few days before they are rolled out.
Google’s search engine algorithms received 3 main core updates in 2019. In March, there was a core update that decreased the ranking and traffic delivery to websites that had low-quality content. This prompted their webmasters to revise the web copy and make it relevant. In June, another core update was rolled out and it had similar effects to its predecessor. In the latter days of September 2019, Google released another core update that dramatically increased the rank of websites that had improved their content following the earlier updates. Websites containing news and health care content observed the most positive impact. Essentially, a Google core update is a change in its algorithm that has far-reaching and dramatic effects on websites around the world.
Why Google is Rolling Out the Core Update
The new Google core update is already causing massive volatility in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) simultaneously from the USA, through Europe to Australia. Websites affiliated with long-standing, strong brands have gained ranking while newer brands have dipped. The Covid-19 pandemic has also had a significant hand on prompting the latest core update. News and health-care sites are featuring prominently in SERPs to deliver the information that people want to see when they query the search engine about this pandemic.
Through its May core update, Google is reducing the rank of websites that have thin content. This is web copy and multimedia that lightly broaches its niche topic and does not deliver any specific, helpful information to the visitor. In reducing the rank of thin content sites, Google is encouraging webmasters to increase the relevance of their websites for the benefit of the readers. This will be the only way to survive and thrive after the latest core update.
The May 2020 core update also reflects the search engine’s effort to understand user intent when making search queries. For example, if users are currently inclined to receive scientific information about the Covid-19 pandemic, websites with pharmaceutically-backed information will rank higher than those containing information about natural remedies. By applying this logic in its new algorithm, Google will understand mass intent across various regions and control the delivery of relevant information based on location and user desire.
The Google search engine also applies a new quality focus direction through this new core update. Its algorithm will no longer assign a high ranking to a site because its link is situated in a high-quality website. The quality of a website’s content will have a much more top priority in the ranking than other constructive but less relevant Search Engine Optimization (SEO) characteristics.
What websites are affected by Google core update May 2020
The new core update rolled out by Google in May 2020 affects some types of websites more than others. After only a few days of actual execution since the rollout commenced on 4th May, there has already been an upheaval in ranking for a wide range of websites. This effect had been felt in some sites more than others. Case in point; news, health-care, and some corporate websites have been positively affected by the new core update.
Seeing as the Covid-19 pandemic is currently ravaging the world, Internet users are increasingly inclined to query Google on the latest developments for the purpose of consistent awareness. For this reason, the new core update is dramatically increasing the rank of news and health-care websites that contain relevant, truthful and strategic information. As long as its content is timely, accurate and beneficial, the newly updated algorithm will boost a website’s rank in the SERPs.
This same approach is being implemented upon social media pages that are associated with health-care, social behavior, or any other aspect related to covid-19. More links to these pages are being included and ranking high on the SERPs. This is on condition that they deliver accurate information associated with covid-19 and its updates.
There are corporations and non-governmental organizations that are closely affiliated with the pandemic, health care sites or the news pages. The core update is utilizing the link network to these corporate sites and improving overrall ranking. The same principle of quality focus is also implemented in this effect. That said, these are the types of websites that are most affected by the May 2020 Google core update.
A minimal effect is also being felt on e-commerce and small business sites where those with thin content are losing their ranking. This is simply a collateral effect of the core update’s primary objective.
What websites traffic is increased
The May 2020 Google core update has resulted in various effects on websites across the World Wide Web (www). Its algorithm is focused on quality content that fulfills user intent and stays relevant to current events. This is especially so in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects such as infections, recoveries and fatalities. The pandemic has directly affected the financial sector especially major stock markets across the world. As such, websites that deal with these elements have experienced a spike in traffic courtesy of user interest and favorable ranking by Google’s new core update.
News websites are experiencing a surge in ranking and traffic. The same effect is being felt in health-care and non-profit organization sites that are affiliated with the delivery of medical care. Pharmaceutical companies are under constant pressure to produce a cure or vaccine for the Coronavirus. With that in mind, their websites are also ranking higher and getting more visitors since the new core update began rolling out. Not to be left behind are the social media platforms that have to do with news reporting, health-care, charity work and medication. Despite rising in rank, these websites are also under more scrutiny from Google to ensure that they provide quality content.
Generally, e-commerce websites’ traffic is increasing rapidly on this google may core update.
What websites traffic is the decrease
Just as there has been a surge upward in the rank and traffic of specific websites, there’s also been a slump in others. The chief reason for this is discrimination against thin content by the new Google core update. Any website whose copy, multimedia and link network do not meet the stringent quality standards of this search engine is experiencing a reduction in rank. This is in a bid to encourage the inclusion of user-sensitive and productive content. This effect is universal and not industry-specific.
The Covid-19 pandemic, economic recession and social rearrangement have collectively contributed to less traffic in some types of websites. Some examples of these are travel agency and holiday resort sites. The slow down in human movement from one place to the next has resulted in much less interest in these industries and their websites have taken a beating. College and university websites and portals are also experiencing a slightly lower traffic rate due to the cancellation of enrollment for the Summer semester intake. Entertainment spot and cab booking websites are also experiencing lower visitor traffic mostly due to the pandemic. The low traffic rate has also affected importation websites due to the dramatic reduction in cross-border commerce.
The characteristics of a Google core update that make it unique
A core update by the biggest, most powerful search engine in the world is very different from a regular update. There are 3 main characteristics which make this so:
- Announcement: Google enthusiastically announces core updates but does not do so for other types of updates.
- Acknowledgment: The search engine actively acknowledges core updates but does not do that for other types of updates.
- Naming: Google core updates are named but regular ones do not get unique identification.
- Design: Core updates are designed to have an effect on multiple aspects of the search engine feature.
Due to these characteristics, Google’s core updates are easily noticeable and their effects are felt on a broad scale.
How to know if your website suffered negatively from the May 2020 Google core update and tips for recovery
Without a doubt, the new core update from Google had a significant negative effect on numerous websites. Do you suspect that your site has been negatively affected? Here’s are some simple symptoms that reveal that this was the case.
Your rank decreased dramatically
Google’s core updates usually have the most effect on the SERPs so the quickest way to know if you were negatively affected is by checking your rank. There are a number of tools that you can use to check your website rank. As you use them, remember to check for keywords reflecting varying user intents. If your rank decreased, the Core Update hurt your rank.
Your organic traffic is down to a trickle
The organic traffic to your website is an excellent indicator of whether your website was negatively affected by the core update. You can use Google Analytics to check on the trend in organic traffic before and after the core update. If you reflect a negative traffic rate, your organic traffic was definitely reduced. In addition to site-wide traffic, go more in-depth and find out the specific webpage traffic rate. In this effort, check on relevant performance metrics such as the bounce rate. In doing so, you can ascertain if you were negatively affected and discover the extent of the damage.
How to recover from the negative effects of the may 2020 core update
We have researched almost 20 websites’ data and present it to you. Here is the summary
– Update your all existing article that lost rank from google ( Add additional 300-500 words for each article ) and reindex it.
– Add some LSI keywords in your article.
– After indexing the articles wait 10 days if the ranking is increase create some relevant quality backlinks.
I hope it will be works
How to recover from the negative effects of the core update
If your website was negatively affected by the new Google core update, there are ways to recover your ranking and even perform better than before. Here is a guaranteed way to regain your digital footing:
- Go through the quality rater guidelines by Google
Begin by scouring through Google’s quality rater guidelines with a fine-toothed comb. They describe exactly what Google wants and expects from websites today. The quality rater guidelines also express how the company looks for Expert, Authoritative, and Trustworthy web content. Note down the most crucial elements of their quality rater guidelines because you’ll need that knowledge in the next step.
- Examine your content currently
Look through the content in your website and assess whether it is of top-notch quality. Analyze if the content meets the expectations of your reader in terms of problem-solving capability. Check if you offer expert knowledge that is factually true in your content. Furthermore, check if your content is trustworthy enough to be relied on by the reader. Last but not least, perform a comparative assessment of your content by comparing it to similar material from other sites. Does your content provide better guidelines or solutions than that of other websites? By performing this examination, you can discover the quality level of your content and improve it so as to survive and thrive after a Google core update.
Overall
The latest Google core update commenced in May 2020 and has far-reaching consequences for websites. Many have decreased in rank and traffic while a select few have experienced a boost in both aspects. We have covered the effects of this update, its characteristics, and how you can adapt your website to achieve a better ranking than before!