Google Broad Core Updates

1. Broad core update – what is it? What does it refer to?
2. What is Google’s core algorithm?
3. Core updates – history
4. Core Update September 2022 – general information
5. Core Update September 2022 – dates and interpretations SEMRUSH, RANKRANGER, MOZ
6. Google UPDATES – Conclusions

What does a Google Broad Core update mean?

– a general update of the basic algorithm;
– a global change to the algorithm and search systems;

What is Google’s basic/general algorithm?

It is a collection of algorithms that interpret a multitude of signals present on web pages (e.g. keywords, links, images, etc.) in order to classify the most relevant / appropriate content for the search / query performed in the first results.

Google Update – Broad Core – history

When did Google first confirm a Broad Core update?
On March 7, 2018 it confirmed that it had made a global/general/core algorithm update after several speculations that had started some time ago;
The full timeline of Google’s core algorithm updates confirmed so far:

Google Update September 2022

Update type: Broad Core
Start date: started running on 12 September at approx. 23:25
Running time: approx. 2 weeks
Running status: ended on 26 September 2022
Where: global – ran worldwide – all regions by default all languages
Target(s): targeted all content types

Other updates AUGUST – September 2022

25 August 2022 – started running “useful content update” which ended 9 September 2022
Will affect sites that have content created specifically for search engines and not for the user the aim is to reward high quality content; disfavouring sites that have won in the past precisely because they created content for the search engine and not to help the user. Niches mentioned: arts and entertainment, educational material, about technology, shopping.
Useful links on how to build high quality content:
– study and apply recommendations from previous updates: Panda update, core updates, product reviews update
20 September 2022 – started running “product reviews update” (English only)
This is the 5th update of this kind; previous ones have occurred in the following periods:
27 July 2022 – 4th product review update – also provided a document with tips / recommendations on how to write these reviews
23 March 2022 – 3rd product review update
1 December 2021 – 2nd product review update
8 April 2021 – first product review update

Useful links to create Google-compliant product reviews:

“Write High Quality Product Reviews”
“Ranking Updates”

Google Update September 2022 – Semrush, RankRanger and MOZ data and interpretations

It occurred quickly but with less impact than previous updates even though there was/has been volatility in the rankings – Semrush and RankRanger; Semrush and RankRanger showed that the May 2022 update was also quick but significant compared to this one.
Semrush in terms of the volatility tracking tool, one can see an increase in volatility on September 12, which continued until the 13th and started to decrease on the 14th.

Semrush representative: “this update was much weaker overall than the May update, which was weaker than the November update”. He showed this chart comparing the updates:

Semrush: volatility decreased from one update to another
Semrush: difference between the 2 updates ( May vs September) by niche:

RankRanger: said the September 2022 baseline update resulted in “high levels of fluctuations”. You can see that they also saw increases on September 13, the day after the update was announced.
RankRanger: noted similar volatility between the September and May updates, but said that when you research the top 3, top 5 and top 10 positions, you can see that the September update showed fractionally less volatility than the May update.

RankRanger: This graph shows the average change in monthly position in Google:
RankRanger: This graph shows a comparison between the two updates:

RankRanger: volatility by niche following the September 2022 update

RankRanger: By Similarweb have shown a top 10 of who has gained vs. who has suffered as a result of this update

Google Update September 2022 – Semrush and Rankranger data and interpretations. MOZ

Moz: data released by Moz showed an increase on day 2 after Google’s announcement, 13

Moz: there was moderately high volatility in the first two days, but like the useful content update, there is no clear peak and volatility is barely above the 30-day averages at this point.”
Core algorithm updates or upgrades, can also mean Panda and Penguin algorithm updates/improvements, bearing in mind that:
In 2015 – Panda became part of Google’s core algorithm – latest version 4.2 / had 30 updates – targeted spammy, irrelevant content – aim was to remove it from indexing.
In 2016 – Penguin became part of Google’s core algorithm – last version 4.0 / had 7 updates – targeted all spammy content; early versions check entire site, later versions started affecting pages within site.
The basic algorithm updates revolve around content and implicitly user experience – it recommends that we constantly create relevant content that really helps the user and answers the questions they might have in relation to the product or service we want to put ourselves in the consumer’s shoes
What to do if we notice negative effects from the updates and beyond?
There are no exact actions to take but one can track previous basic updates and a number of recommendations that Google has made over time and in the periods before, during or after an update has been rolled out, namely:

• Google recommendations since 2011 with the Panda algorithm and Questions to rate our content
• Additional content recommendations made by Google in 2019

Conclusions

Should we wait for the effects after the next update of the basic algorithm?

Google says no on the contrary, it recommends not to wait and to constantly work on improving the content because daily updates take place and results can be seen earlier and even the positive effects can be much greater following a core update.

Can we talk about website penalties following Google updates?

Google says no, it has nothing to do with it. It updates its ranking algorithm to bring out the sites with relevant content that provide a good user experience. The fact that we’re falling in the rankings shouldn’t get us penalized.

How do we know when we have been penalised?

When there is a penalty for a manual action we can see it in Google Search Console under Manual Actions and Security Issues.

Can I get a penalty for duplicate content?

Not since 2008. Google knows who first used that content and will rank it up front.
Regarding duplicates between internal pages on the site, it will fix the relevant page or to help it, implement rel=canonical

Can I be penalised for having an unattractive/outdated design?

No.

Do I risk getting a manual penalty for any poor quality links obtained over time?

No, but don’t have too many, paid. Google says it doesn’t look at the little links we’ve been stuck with over time or a while ago.

How long does it take to receive a response to a request for reassessment following a manual penalty?

There is no exact deadline. Basically 2-3 weeks, but there have been isolated cases where it has lasted several months.