Google Core Updates and How to Recover from Them

What is a Google Core Update?

The Google Core Update, also known as a Broad Core Update, is a major algorithm change that applies to all websites. The Core Update is an update to Google’s general algorithm and relates to the E-E-A-T algorithm (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and the quality of websites.

A Core update aims to improve search results and the search experience. A Core update is designed to ensure that more relevant, useful, and reliable search results are displayed. Core updates are always rolled out globally, meaning they are not specifically targeted at any one country or continent.

As with other algorithm changes, Google does not specify exactly what has changed in the Core Update. However, Google does refer to its guidelines, such as the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

How often do Core Updates occur?

In most cases, Google Core updates occur several times a year, on average once a quarter. In 2022, there were two Google Core updates and one Helpful Content update:

1. May 2022 Core Update (rolled out on May 22, 2022).
2. September 2022 Core Update (rolled out on September 12, 2022).
3. December 2022 Helpful Content Update (rolled out on December 5, 2022).

In 2023, there were 4 Google Core updates and one Helpful Content update:

1. The March 2023 Core Update, rolled out on March 15.
2. The Core Update in August 2023, rolled out on August 22.
3. The Helpful Content Update in September 2023, rolled out on September 14.
4. The October 2023 Core Update, rolled out on October 5.
5. The November 2023 Core Update, rolled out on November 2.

And so far in 2024, there has been one major Core Update:

• The March 2024 Core Update, rolled out on March 5. This is one of the biggest updates in recent years, and the rollout took an unusually long time.

Google announces core updates via the Google SearchLiaison Twitter account. This is done a few days before the update is rolled out.

After an update is announced and rolled out, it takes up to two weeks for the Core update to be implemented in all data centers and countries around the world.

What is the difference compared to other Google algorithm updates?

There are a number of key differences between Google’s thousands of algorithm changes and its Core updates:

1. Google announces Core updates, whereas it does not do so for normal algorithm changes
2. Google acknowledges Core updates, while Google does not acknowledge other algorithm changes
3. Google uses the Google Webmasters blog to explain what is generally considered in a Core update, but does not do so for other algorithm changes
4. Google Core updates are rolled out only a few times a year after extensive testing, while other updates are rolled out several times a day
5. Google Core updates are major changes to the algorithm, while other updates typically involve minor changes
6. Google Core updates focus on relevance, reliability, and informativeness, while other updates may focus specifically on a single aspect (such as backlinks)
7. Google Core updates target all websites; some algorithm changes are aimed at a specific industry, such as healthcare

So there are major differences between Google’s normal, day-to-day algorithm changes and its Core updates.

You can think of a Core update as Netflix recommendations. These recommendations change constantly as new shows and movies are released. By updating the recommendations, they stay current and relevant to you. That’s essentially what the Core update does, too.

Important to Know

There is often confusion about the Google Core Update, other algorithm changes, and penalties. It is therefore important to know that:

1. Pages that lose traffic or rankings have not received a penalty following a Core update
2. Core updates are designed to show more relevant pages in search results
3. Core updates do not specifically address web spam
4. You don’t have to wait for the next Core update to recover from a loss of traffic and/or rankings

The reason why websites lose rankings

Most websites see significant changes—both positive and negative—in their rankings during the two-week period following the rollout of the Core update.

If the Google Core update has a negative impact on your search visibility, it’s because Google considers other pages to be more relevant. During a Core update, Google’s algorithm makes changes to how it calculates the relevance of pages.

A drop in rankings often has nothing to do with doing something wrong. In the case of a drop, the algorithm simply considers the pages on your website to be less relevant than before.

Check if your website has been affected by a core update

After a Core update is rolled out, you may notice a drop in your rankings. In many cases, this is due to a Core update, but it’s important to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have there been any major changes to my website?
2. Are the pages displaying correctly with the right information?
3. Has a specific page lost visitors or rankings? Or is this affecting my entire website?
4. Am I losing traffic in specific countries or worldwide?
5. Does the decline in traffic apply to new website visitors or returning website visitors?
6. Will I see an impact on my conversion rate as well?

The answers to the questions above will give you a solid foundation for analyzing the declines.

To investigate the decline, you can look at the following factors, comparing the data with a period when your site was still easy to find:

1. Impressions, CTR, positions, and clicks on search terms via Google Search Console
2. Impressions, CTR, positions, and clicks on pages via Google Search Console
3. Impressions, CTR, rankings, and clicks in various countries via Google Search Console
4. New Organic Visitors vs. Returning Organic Visitors via Google Analytics
5. Visitors by Device via Google Analytics
6. The status codes of the landing pages using an HTTP status code checker
7. Crawl errors via Google Search Console
8. Error messages or warnings via Google Search Console
9. Crawl Errors via Google Search Console

Once you’ve reviewed the data above, you’ll often have a good idea of which search terms and pages have dropped in rankings. You may also conclude that the drop isn’t due to the Core Update, but rather has another cause.

In some cases, after conducting an analysis, you may conclude that the declines are indeed due to a Core update, but that this has no impact on business operations.

For example, you may have lost a large portion of your German visitors while focusing your business operations solely on the Netherlands. Your conversion rate will remain the same, but your visitor numbers will decline.

How do you recover from a Core update?

Once you’re certain that your website has been affected by a Core update, there are several steps you can take to recover from it.

Google itself states that if you make significant improvements to your website, you’ll see a positive impact. You don’t have to wait for the next Core update to see this.

In the official Google Webmasters blog, Google states that you should focus on your content. When optimizing your website to recover, you can ask yourself the following questions.

Questions about content and content quality

• Is the content original, unique, and informative?
• Does the content include a substantial, complete, or detailed description of the topic?
• Does the content provide obvious and insightful analyses or interesting information?
• If the content is based on other sources, has it been rewritten in such a way that it offers the user added value and originality? And do you avoid including content copied from other websites in your own content?
• Do the page title and heading provide a useful and descriptive summary of the content?
• Aren’t the title and headline just clickbait?
• Would you save this content as a bookmark or share it with colleagues, friends, and family?
• Is this content of sufficient quality to be cited in a book, magazine, authoritative website, or encyclopedia?

Ask an expert about the content

• Is the content reliable, and does it provide clear information about the original sources, the authors’ expertise, and background information about the authors or the website where the content is posted?
• Is there also an author profile with more information about the writer? Or a page with more information about your company?
• When you browse other pages on your website, do you get the impression that you’re viewing the website of an authority in your industry? And does the website give you a sense of trust?
• Was the content written by an expert who knows a lot about the subject?
• Are there any factual errors in the content that are easy to verify?
• Would you trust this content for matters related to your finances or your personal life?

Questions about the design and presentation of the content

• Are there any spelling or stylistic errors on the page?
• Was the content written with care? And does it look sloppy or like it was written in a hurry?
• Are all the individual pages on the website given the care and attention they need? And are they updated as needed?
• Are there any intrusive or distracting ads on the page?
• Is the content well-designed so that it is easy and pleasant to read on mobile devices as well?

Comparative Questions

• When you compare the content to other pages in the search results, does it offer substantial added value?
• Is the content written to provide value to visitors? Or is the content written purely for search engines?

As you can see from the questions above, the key factors are the quality, reliability, and informativeness of your content. Using common sense and the questions above, you can make a good assessment of whether your pages truly offer added value.

If this isn’t the case, you can start working on improving the pages, such as rewriting the content or improving the layout. Also, take a close look at your website’s technical aspects and loading speed. These could also be contributing factors to the decline.

How long does it take to recover from a Core update?

In most cases, after improving your content, you don’t have to wait for a new Core update to recover from the drop. Because multiple algorithm changes are implemented every day, you’ll see a recovery based on these small changes.

Optimizing your content and making improvements to your landing pages are no guarantee that you’ll recover from the Core update, but in many cases, you’ll see the first signs of recovery within a few weeks.