What Is a Google Core Update?

Several times a year, Google releases broad updates to their search engine algorithms and systems. For 2023, Google released Core Updates in March, August, October, and November. Google is usually vague about what exactly changed in their Core Updates.

You can see anything happen to your rankings after Google Core Updates: drastic increases, decreases, or even no noticeable changes at all.

Core Updates generally take about two weeks to roll out, and it usually takes a few weeks for keyword position volatility to settle down. Google has a status dashboard you can monitor to know specific days these start and finish.

Be patient. Follow good SEO practices, and things should return to the norm. If things don’t return to the norm, look at other sites in your industry that benefited from the Core Update for ideas of what Google may prefer now. You can find this by identifying sites that are now ranking higher than you.

If your business has seen a dip in sales and keyword positions that correlates with a Google Core Update, reach out to our SEO experts to get you back on track!