Image: Michelle Raponi from Pixabay
Google announced on 3 September that the rollout of its August 2024 core update had now completed. The update lasted from 15 Aug to 3 Sep, a total of 19 days.
Image: Google
The update was aimed at improving the quality of Search results. What makes it somewhat different from other updates is that it took into account feedback sent to Google in the wake of the September 2023 Helpful Content update and the March 2024 core update which had major impacts on many sites. Small and independent publishers were particularly hard hit, and many were hoping to see a redress with this update.
The effects of the core update were tracked by many on social media and elsewhere. It seems to be a mixed picture, with some sites hit by the Sep 2023 HCU seeing the start of a recovery but others seeing further drops.
SEO consultant Glenn Gabe tweeted regular updates about the sites he is tracking and wrote on Sep 3rd:
“Good Morning Google Land! This is the September 3rd edition of "Core Update Notes". Many people have been interested in September HCU(X) sites rising from the ashes, which I totally get. As of this morning, 91 sites out of the 390+ I'm tracking that were heavily impacted by the Sep HCU(X) have improved since the Aug core update started rolling out (some surging heavily while others increasing, but still with a very long way to go). But, there's the other side of the coin...
There are 57 sites that have dropped more than 25% since the August core update began. And these were sites already heavily down based on the Sep HCU(X) and March 2024 core update. Like I've said for a long time, not all HCU(X) sites would recover with the Aug core update. I have not analyzed all of these sites, so it's hard to say how many worked to improve.”
Source: X
A complicating factor in assessing changes is a Google Search ranking bug which was uncovered on the same day as the update was released and which lasted over 4 days. So if you're looking at changes for your site, any over the period 15-20 Aug should be discounted.
As ever, it's worth waiting a few days for any remaining volatility to settle before checking your site.
Google updated its help on core updates at the same time as it released the August update, providing more detailed guidance for publishers who see a change after an update.
