Google’s November 2021 Core Update Is Live
Are you prepared for Google’s latest Core Update? The rollout began on the 17th of November and could potentially affect your website.
Here’s how Google describes broad core updates:
Several times a year, we make significant, broad changes to our search algorithms and systems. We refer to these as “core updates.” They’re designed to ensure that overall, we’re delivering on our mission to present relevant and authoritative content to searchers.
Google Search Central Blog
How could you be affected?
The update began on November the 17th but could take a few days, even weeks, to be fully rolled out. You can expect to see spikes and also drops in your search rankings. So if you see a dramatic change in your rankings overnight, do not panic.
The update isn’t for anything too specific but is aimed to overall improve Google systems. Any drop in rankings does not mean you have been penalised in any way by Google. The ranking is a new reflection based on the reassessment of other web content published since the previous update.
How to prepare?
Don’t panic! These updates can take a few weeks to take full effect. A lot of these early changes in rankings may not be permanent, and you may find that your traffic levels actually revert back to their original levels within a couple of weeks. So it’s not recommended to make any big radical changes to your site until you have a clear picture of what’s changed. You can keep up to date with news about the update from the Google Search Liasion Twitter Feed.
Use data to identify improvements to your content. Once the rollout is complete and had a chance to take effect, now is a good time to identify the content on your site that may have been affected. You can use SEO tools such as Semrush and Ahrefs to spot rankings that have been affected.
Ensure you have high-quality content on your site. Keep your content fresh! These updates happen every few months, so make sure your website is kept up to date with high-quality content.
