The October 2023 core update from Google has officially begun its rollout and is expected to unfold over a span of up to two weeks. Remarkably, this marks the third extensive core algorithm update to grace the search engine landscape in 2023. The algorithm adjustment, implemented by the tech giant, has left website owners and SEO experts scrambling to understand the impact on their online visibility.
Google, which processes billions of search queries daily, is known for its frequent algorithm updates aimed at enhancing the user experience by providing more relevant and high-quality search results.
The October Core Update is one of the most significant changes in recent memory, impacting a wide range of industries and niches and began its rollout on October 5th at 11:54 am ET.
Typically, Google updates take approximately two weeks to complete. This marks the third core update for the year 2023 and the seventh official algorithm update from Google for the same year.
In a recent tweet Google said “Released the October 2023 core update. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete. One of the most striking features of this update is the seesaw effect on website rankings while the fine tuning is taking place.
While some websites have seen significant improvements in their search engine rankings, others have experienced a sharp decline in visibility. And then, hours later they swap places once again.
Observed fluctuations in website rankings has left website, blog owners and SEO professionals puzzled, as Google has not yet releases provided specific details about the changes made in this core update.
When Google initiates the rollout of new core updates to its search engine index algorithms, it’s quite common to witness significant fluctuations in website rankings.
This phenomenon is an inherent part of Google’s continuous efforts to refine its search engine and deliver more relevant and high-quality results to users.
Here’s why some these fluctuations may occur:
- Algorithm Adjustments: Google updates its algorithms to better understand user intent and preferences. These adjustments can result in websites being reassessed based on new criteria, which can cause their rankings to change.
- Content Evaluation: Core updates often place a strong emphasis on content quality. Websites that offer valuable, authoritative, and user-centric content tend to benefit, while those with low-quality or spammy content may see their rankings decline.
- User Experience: Google prioritises websites that provide a positive user experience. Factors such as page speed, mobile-friendliness, and ease of navigation are considered when determining rankings. Improvements or issues in these areas can lead to ranking fluctuations.
- Competitive Landscape: The online landscape is highly competitive, and websites in the same niche are vying for top positions. When Google updates its algorithms, it can reshuffle the rankings, affecting how websites compare to their competitors.
- Ranking Factors: Google uses a wide range of ranking factors, and their importance can change with each core update. Websites may experience fluctuations as Google adjusts the weight it gives to specific factors.
- Content Freshness: Core updates may also prioritise fresh and up-to-date content. Websites that regularly update their content may see improvements in rankings, while stagnant websites might see a decline.
- User Feedback: Google may use user feedback to assess the quality of search results. If users respond positively or negatively to changes brought about by a core update, it can influence rankings.
- Evolving Search Trends: As search behavior and trends evolve, Google adapts to provide the most relevant results. Core updates reflect these changes and can impact rankings accordingly.
Industry experts are speculating about the factors contributing to this seesaw effect. It is believed that the October Core Update focuses on fine-tuning Google’s understanding of user intent and content relevance.
Google’s algorithm appears to be rewarding websites that provide valuable, authoritative, and user-centric content while negatively impacting those with low-quality or spammy content.
The September 2023 Google helpful content update kicked off on September 14th and wrapped up its rollout on September 28th.
Notably, just six weeks prior to this, Google commenced the rollout of the August 2023 core update, which started on August 22nd and concluded on September 7th, a mere four weeks ago.
Adding to the complexity of these recent updates, Google encountered a significant indexing issue last night, posing a formidable challenge for those tasked with debugging and analysing these developments simultaneously.
Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that even Tech Business News experienced indexing issues with news articles for a brief period during this time.
According to Danny Sullivan, Google Search Liaison, Google normally, tries to keep updates like these apart. However, It’s not always possible.
Sullivan says for anyone trying to understand changes, it’s pretty straight-forward. If you don’t spam, and see changes, then it might be the core update.
“If you do spam and see changes, it’s probably the spam update. In particular, We released a spam update yesterday. Sites that don’t spam shouldn’t see changes because of this,”
Google October 2023 Spam Update
Google has once again stepped up its efforts to combat spam across various languages with the release of the October 2023 spam update. The latest update aims to enhance Google’s coverage in multiple languages and tackle a range of spam types that have been reported by users worldwide.
Google has stated that the primary objective of the October 2023 spam update is to “clean up several types of spam that it’s community members reported in Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, Chinese, and other languages.”
Ravi Sharma, CEO of Melbourne based SEO & Inbound Leads company Webomaze, told Tech Business News, “If you scrape a few sites to produce similar content in other languages, especially Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, and Chinese you should be worried,”
“If your website is in Hindi, then share experiences that Hindi-speaking people can relate to and use a content angle that is unique to their local,” he said.
According to Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz website owners who notice changes to their rankings over the next few weeks and the website is not primarily English, although, it may target English results, could be related to this. “This update specifically targets cloaking, hacked, auto-generated, and scraped spam,”
Google’s latest spam update underscores Google’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of its search engine across multiple languages and regions and is a part of the ongoing efforts to create a safer and more trustworthy online environment for users.
As websites rise and fall, rankings teeter on the edge, and spam’s dark tendrils are pushed back into the shadows, one thing remains crystal clear: the battleground for online visibility is a fierce and unforgiving arena.
Google’s core updates, with their cryptic algorithms and unforeseen consequences, remind us that the digital frontier is not for the faint of heart.
Website owners, SEO experts, and content creators need to constantly navigate a tumultuous sea of changes, where only the most adaptable and insightful will thrive.
In the wake of the core updates resulting in observed seismic shifts, website owners are left with a digital landscape forever transformed. The victors will be those who embrace the challenge, produce quality “reader first” content and those who refrain from spammy practices.
