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Google has successfully concluded its August 2023 Core Update.
This update, which is the second core update for the year, began on August 22, 2023, and was fully rolled out by September 7, 2023, taking a total of 16 days.
Importance of the Update: Google's algorithm updates are pivotal for brands, businesses, and organizations as they can influence a website's performance in search results.
Any shift in rankings, be it positive or negative, can affect organic traffic, conversions, and revenue for businesses and companies.
Being aware of when Google releases these updates can help website owners determine if changes in their site's performance are due to their own modifications or Google's ranking algorithm adjustments.
Next Steps: With the update now in place, it's advisable for businesses to review their analytics to identify potential areas of improvement in their content and web pages. Don't react without using your available data. Keyword rankings shifts, traffic data drops and Google Search Console data together can help to map this type of information - but it does take some time.
About the Update: Google's status dashboard confirmed the completion of the update at 4:03 pm ET. Generally, Google's core updates are significant algorithm modifications.
Preliminary discussions within the SEO community indicate that this update had a notable impact compared to prior core updates. A detailed report on the effects of this update is expected in the upcoming days.
Previous Updates:
March 2023 core update began on March 15 and concluded on March 28.
September 2022 broad core update was less influential than its predecessors and ended on September 26.
May 2022 broad core update was both significant and swift.
Other updates from 2021 include the November, July, and June core updates, with the June update being particularly extensive.
Additionally, the April 2023 reviews update, which started on April 12 and ended on April 25, was the most recent confirmed Google update before the August 2023 Core Update.
Another notable update from this year was the February 2023 product reviews update, which began on February 21 and lasted for 14 days, concluding on March 7. This too was a significant update for search.
Advice for Affected Websites: Google has previously provided guidance for websites that experience negative impacts from core updates.
ProTip: A tool like Panguin tool can help you assess these traffic drops quickly by linking your Google Analytics profile, and mapping algorithm release dates with your actual organic traffic profile - which shows very quickly impact of any drops or gains after a Core update release.
While a drop in rankings doesn't necessarily mean there's an issue with a website's pages, Google has suggested a set of questions for site owners to consider if they're affected by a core update.
Some recovery can be observed between core updates, but the most substantial changes usually occur after the release of another core update.
