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Google has released the November 2024 core algorithm update. Previous updates this year had been released in August and March, so another one was widely expected around now.
The update may take up to two weeks to roll out meaning - hopefully - that it will have completed by the time the end of year shopping gets into full swing. Black Friday weekend is coming up on 29 Nov and marks the start of the holiday shopping season.
In its Linkedin announcement Google wrote:
“This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.”
Google’s guidance to siteowners on core updates can be found in its post on Search Central.
Broadly:
- There may not be anything wrong with your site, and no specific actions to take to recover. It may be that better, fresher content has overtaken you.
- Use Search Central to determine traffic drops and whether you need to take action.
- If you do see a large drop use these questions to assess your content.
- Any changes you make should be “meaningful”, not quick fixes.
Understandably, people are always concerned about how long it might take to see a recovery. Google says this can vary from a few days, to several months, or to the next core update.
“If you've made improvements, it may take time to see an effect in Search results: some changes can take effect in a few days, but it could take several months for our systems to learn and confirm that the site as a whole is now producing helpful, reliable, people-first content in the long term.
If it's been a few months and you still haven't seen any effect, that could mean waiting until the next core update.”
Google also says recovery is not guaranteed.
Core algorithm updates affect search rankings globally. You should keep an eye on your rankings and check after the update completes for any changes in traffic.
As always, bear in mind volatility can continue for a few days after completion. Google recommends waiting a week before doing any analysis.
**Update: The core algorithm update completed on 5 Dec.
