Google Core Update, What Exactly Is it?

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Several people from my last WA post have asked me what exactly is the Google Core Update I mentioned several times in the comments.

Lately I’ve been hearing so many people complaining how their Google rankings have dropped, and in some cases how they have lost ½ of their traffic.

I didn’t believe it at first until it happened to me. While 28 of my 113 posts were ranked on Page 1 in Bing and Yahoo, not even one landed on Page 1 in Google.

True my site is new, only 4+ months old – but when I hear directly from so many who have seen a steep drop in their traffic,while I seem to do a lot right and still cannot even land 1 post (out of 113) on Google Page 1, something is wrong.

Our sites are getting hit hard.

Now I’m convinced.

This is all due to the Google Core Update.

So briefly let me explain what the Google Core Update is.


How is this Google Core Update Different?


This latest Google Core Update is called the “June 2019 Core Update”. It was announced by Google for the first time on June 2, 2019.

Actually this is the 2nd Google Core Update of 2019. The first Google Core Update this year happened on March 2019.

However, this latest Google Core update is ground-breaking. It’s the first time in history that Google has ever made a public announcement in advance that there would be a major change to their algorithm.

Google made this announcement on Twitter on June 2.
In their June announcement, they even gave it a name.

They now say they want to be more pro-active in the futre by giving announcements about updates in advance.

The reason for this change is that Google became sick and tired of receiving a slew of questions and complaints by users every time after they noticed past changes in the algorithm.

It was only after receiving all of these post complaints in the past, did Google later admit in public to the algorithm change.

How Is the Google Update Affecting Us and Others?


1. News Sites are Being Targeted

News provider sites have been negatively impacted by the latest Google Core update. Lower valued content for news topics are getting hammered in the rankings.

When the small “Losers” get penalized, conversely the Big “Winners” get rewarded.

Recently I heard CBS.com was dealt a tumbling blow in the SERPs, while Newsweek.com was rewarded with big ranking gains.

2. Small Niche Sites and MMO are Being Targeted

Although they are not admitting it, Google is penalizing small niche sites and MMO sites. Content that used to rank on Page 1 no longer is anywhere to be found.

On a personal level as I mentioned earlier, the Make Money Online niche (MMO) is also suffering in the rankings. Ouch!

3. Larger Sites are Being Boosted

The larger sites such as the Trusted Aggregator sites are being boosted in the rankings by the latest Google Core Update.

Perfect examples of this are Yelp.com and Yellow Pages.com which are both rising in ranks.

The prevailing observation is small business owners, MMO sites, and small niche sites are getting hurt. Organic search traffic is down. This latest June Google Core Update is certainly making it harder and harder for us to stay competitive.

There are exceptions of course, but for the most part across the board we the small business owners for smaller niche sites and those in the MMO niche are getting hammered in the Google rankings.

Recently, a Google tech master insider also confirmed this directly to me.


What Can We Do About This?


What do you think we as small business owners who are running smaller sites can do about this?


How can we boost our traffic and rankings despite the Google Core Update?


Or should we now focus more on the other search engnes?


Let us know your opinions in the comments below.


Cheers,

Kaju

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Recent Comments

176

Good post, thanks for the heads up.
I don't know enough about the machinations of search engines to be able to input what we can do to SOS ("save our sites" )
I hope quality content will perhaps make a difference? Or is that rather naive of me...
I will watch out for further news and info.
Thank you.
Louise

Keep creating quality content Louise, and always keep learning!
That's all we can do:) Thanks!

Kaju

Great content. Useful information, giving good insight.

That's all we can do Mega. We will find a way:)

Thanks, jetrbby80316. You are giving us very good information. Keep it coming, please.

I will keep that good information comin'!

Thank you, indeed!

:):)

Puzzled with "should we now focus more on the other search engines".This is up to your visitors, and they use Google. I do not see that we can do anything. We are doomed.

Very true Jovo, there isn't much that we can do.

What I was alluding to by "focusing" on the other search engines, was possibly run PPC ads in them?? What are your thoughts?

I have not much experience with it. But here is how I see it, Google is adding paid ads, knowledge graphs, YouTube videos, and pictures above top-ranked posts. So my top-ranked texts even when they are featured snippets (zero position), can be below the fold. The result is that CTR is constantly decreasing and this means the icome is decreasing as well.

So the message is clear, Google wants us to use paid ads, this probably answers your question. The problem with other search engines is that my traffic from them is in the range 1-2%, so they are useless. Guess what remains - Google of course.

Very true. Google is pushing the Paid Ads just like Facebook is.
I see your point. if its not Above the Fold due to those paid ads on the Top, CTR will suffer and will be constantly decreasing.

You might have to pay for Google Ads from now on to see your CTR increase. They got us.

My only Page 1 rankings so far are only coming from Bing and Yahoo, so I am thinking of running Bing PPC ads.

Yes, these days I was checking one particular site with the strongly decreasing CTR and it was sad to see a list-type post which is both i) featured post and ii) number one, being under the fold. Such posts in the past would be a gold mine, have experienced this. But this is not so any longer.

As for the ads, I am not an expert, but I would rather go for paid ads on Google. There are two reasons, the traffic is much larger and you might get far better results. On the other hand, if you drive paid traffic to your standard posts, this might positively affect the post performance. Google sees increased traffic and it might get better ranking, have seen this with a few paid ads on FB.

These are all very good points Jovo.

Glad you brought them up, because I didn't even think about ".... if you drive paid traffic to your standard posts, this might positively affect the post performance. Google sees increased traffic and it might get better ranking."

If that's the case, I may at least try the Google ads then. This would make sense, because I did recently take a class on them, and wrote a post here about them.

Looks like these actions will “force” small business and MMO sites to spend on advertising rather than organic search.

Sure, we need a response but I am not in a position to contribute here. You info is very helpful to understand the impact.

Since I am starting out, I will just be conscious about these impact. I was told Google does not reveal the details of the algorithm, which means unless anyone have inside info and willing to share, can’t do anything for now.

Google never reveals ant "real" details even to its employees. Only the top brass now. Yes, I am considering PPC ads now myself.

Thanks,
Kaju

Love the information. Great.
Joe

Thanks Joe. We must heed the information when there is proof, reassess our plan, and stop looking at the online world through rose colored glasses:)

Kaju

So true
Thanks
Joe

Thanks Joe:)

Yikes! I just started my MMO niche. This is not good news for me. I guess I’d better get rolling:)

Thank you for sharing, Kaju:)
Blessings:)
Suzi

Let's figure out a way around this Suzzi:)

Great idea:) I love that positive spirit, Kaju:)

We WILL Do It!!

Thanks again your great comment Suzzi:) Here's a great Tokyo story for you:) Send me your YT link and I will Subscribe. You can Subscribe to my channel here:)

http://bit.ly/2T21P2N

If you don't yet, I will happily return the favor when yours is up.:)

Thanks, Kaju, but I don’t have a channel yet. I’ll subscribe to yours, though:)
Blessings:)
Suzi

We'll need to go more YouTube and alternatives to Google imo. As they shoot themselves in the foot for the long term by doing this, in the near term it's brutal.

Keep in mind YouTube is already curtailing growth of noobs as well, in concert with Google. Google owns them.

They want to consolidate power and influence and they can't do that with new websites popping up and pressuring the current influential big boys that sing their tune.

MMO peeps are free-market capitalists and that means competition, and I bet you Google is getting pressure from more massive websites to put a lid on stuff like that. They don't want a bunch of new millionaires out there speaking their minds freely.

This would be effective given the monopoly model Google is pursuing. Probably cost effective too, as they can tone down the use of spiders on all these new sites.

Additionally, news sites that don't align with their politics can be ignored/downgraded. This is already happening on YouTube, who won't monetize certain ventures.

This comment is spot on!

Marc, when you say "....They want to consolidate power and influence and they can't do that with new websites popping up and pressuring the current influential big boys that sing their tune."

I would not doubt that Big G is feeling the pressure from the Gargantuan websites. And you're right, it would benefit Big G to tone down the use of spiders on newer sites.

Dead right Marc. What you say here makes total sense.
Thanks for this contribution:)

Kaju

I believe so.

Kaju, it's a bit speculative and intuitive for me to reach out on that limb. However, if Google is in a consolidation mode -- and that's what I perceive -- it would make sense they will focus on empowering their big earners, who obviously don't want the competition.

So they set up barriers to entry -- classic monopoly behavior. Of course, many of us coming into WA are trying to enter the market :)

Not to say that this is impossible to overcome. Adaptive training here at WA could be of benefit.

Makes quite a bit of sense, I would say.
Adaptive training can still overcome:)

Thanks again your excellent advice Marc, good to see you:)
Started a YT channel. Here's a great Tokyo story for you:) Send me your YT link and I will Subscribe. You can Subscribe to my channel here:)

http://bit.ly/2T21P2N

If you don't yet, I will happily return the favor when yours is up.:)

HI Kaju, thanks for the invite, I'll check it out! Yes, I am getting back into the swing of things, slowly and steadily! Marc.

The solution: we must dedicate the time and eventually become one of the “big” authority websites. If we all blog every other day for a year, we won’t be Yelp, but we can make a huge impact compared to those who have given up. Keep it up for five years and we will all be powerful forces in the online space.

And don’t forget about the power of social media! The channels give us a way to drive traffic to our websites outside of search. I agree with @petardz that YouTube and streaming videos are going to be increasingly important as well. So why not try to become an influencer on social media? All it takes is a couple of viral posts on one channel and you’ll get some serious attention.

The online space is getting more competitive, and my sites have been hit as well. That said, trying to keep up with Google algorithm changes is like trying to hit a moving target. All we can do is adapt as best we can and understand that it may take more time for a newer website to compete.

But the core principles of creating irresistible content and added value haven’t changed. It still comes down to great content!

You're right L, we need to aim to be authority sites, but under the new Google Core Update it may just take 5 years!

If we only want to blog great helpful content, we'd better be patient!

Thanks for the comment,
Kaju

I just thought of this: One workaround is to publish a massive guide relevant to your niche. I did that in the web development space on a couple of different topics, and they're both still on the first page of Google.

It is possible that MMO is getting targeted because as an industry it is known for some shady practices... but relevant content like mini eBooks (think 6000-7500 words) should continue to prevail, even with MMO.

Also, I don't mean to be flippant about how long it will take some bloggers now -- I know that five years is a long time and that there are people who can't afford for it to take that long. But, this is STILL a great business. Social media is a powerful work around, and we have a great community of eager commenters who will help demonstrate that our content is relevant.

All right -- that's my two cents for the day. Good luck with your new site, and thanks for starting this discussion! There are a lot of smart people here who were able to add their perspectives, so this is a relevant question, and I appreciate your posting it.

--Laura

I love your posiitivity Laura. Good ideas too. There are always creative workaround out there too any problem. Let' continue to strive:)

Kaju

Thanks again your great advice Imwhite:) Here's a great Tokyo story for you:) Send me your YT link and I will Subscribe. You can Subscribe to my channel here:)

http://bit.ly/2T21P2N

If you don't yet, I will happily return the favor when yours is up.:)

Great questions Kaju, I would like to see answers and experiences from more experienced marketers.

Exactly Danijel. They are coming in....and will be coming in some more. Can't wait!

Thanks,
Kaju

Thanks again your great advice Daniel:) Here's a great Tokyo story for you:) Send me your YT link and I will Subscribe. You can Subscribe to my channel here:)

http://bit.ly/2T21P2N

If you don't yet, I will happily return the favor when yours is up.:)

My opinion is that we can't do anything related to this. You should do everything as before, and maybe wait a bit longer to get ranked, however.. My opinion is that now it will be more important than ever to write some guest posts and build quality back links together with writing LONG and QUALITY content..

I even think that it's a good thing, there are many sites that used black seo and maybe outranked you, now they should be "punished" with low rankings, which is giving us a chance to rank better..

Also, making youtube videos will become more important than before because it's easier to rank on youtube than on google I think..

But that's only my opinion.. :)

Looks like I need to speed up my Youtube plans :-)

Yeah Thanks Petardz. Great points. I agree:)

Agreed Nancy:)!

Thanks again your great advice Petardz:) Here's a great Tokyo story for you:) Send me your YT link and I will Subscribe. You can Subscribe to my channel here:)

http://bit.ly/2T21P2N

If you don't yet, I will happily return the favor when yours is up.:)

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