Google announced the core algorithm update, which signals noticeable changes in search results.
Google tested the new algorithm with some blog posts in order to better test how content will perform. However, there was a delay because they had seen good results in the beginning of September and wanted to have time to fine tune the update before rolling it out on October 1 as expected.
The initial response from the search community was generally positive, although some affiliate marketing Facebook groups seemed to be noticeably muted.
Core Algorithm Update
Large-scale updates to Google’s core algorithms are announced by Google when changes are made that have a big enough effect on publishers and search marketers.
Google Search Central published an announcement on Twitter today.
A core algorithm update is a change to the multiple parts of Google’s updated algorithm.
While the algorithm undergoes changes, core updates tend to be more noticeable.
It’s expected that these changes to the algorithm will be rolled out to data centers in the coming days.
There is no confirmation as to how this may impact the search results (SERPs) online.
The unprecedented spell checking update makes content available across almost all languages.
What is Amplify?
If a core algorithm update is upcoming, it’s possible that newly-encouraged helpfulness will become more visible on Google’s core search results.
He tweeted a string of tweets and said:
When we’re building content, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s never one thing. We’ve found that the helpful content signal isn’t enough on its own to bring about a change in someone’s particular situation. But when you combine it with other signals such as our core product reviews, it might make a more significant impact on the person’s decisionmaking process.
No, it is not possible for a core update to feel more noticeable in the core update.
It’s important to note that Danny prefaced his statement with a “maybe.”
A helpful content update is at the core of what makes SearchWiki a crawl-friendly entity and part of the regular algorithm. The content is key because we want to maximize your chances to be found in search results.
While the Helpful Content Update is definitely a part of this September Core update, it’s unclear if the update will be significantly amplified. Most likely, it will depend on Google making a specific statement about the update.
While some early predictions had the HCU acting as a revolution for universal search, in reality it’s just regarded with a shrug.
Many people keep hoping that the HCU will come back with a strong update on April 28th.
I disagree.
On August 19, I expressed my opinion on my Facebook feed that the targeted updates in the past performed poorly.
The review updates and various spam updates did not have a large impact in the industry as a whole. The most obvious offenders were impacted by the policy changes, but many other sites managed to survive.
While the HCU targeted sites like mine, I don’t believe it would affect most of the website owners in general.
I wrote at the time:
This sentence rewriter helped me improve my sentences and I was able to make better sentences using it.
“Google’s previous series of Review Updates seemed to only catch the really obvious pages. So, based on the performance of previous changes — and what I’ve seen so far on this topic — my expectations are dialed low for the Helpful Update.”
This will be like in the old Humphrey Bogart movie Casablanca, when authorities go out to round up the usual suspects.
Core Update: Some Community Reactions
The Search Community, for the most part, is hopeful that this new change will make search results better.
How to Respond to Core Update
But some of the affiliates were not responding with much in the way of comments.
If you’re experiencing a drop in your organic search traffic, simply react by making the necessary changes. Google’s search algorithms change constantly, but the best approach is to be vigilant of any changes and adjust your strategy or your website for better performance.
Search results may bounce around for a few weeks.
It’s often helpful to take a few minutes to let the search results settle on the page first.