Hey. Ilia here. And Google made an update to their core algorithm. How’s your site doing? If it feels like its been a rollercoaster for your site’s rankings, you’re not alone.

The tremours of Google’s Core Update have been felt all across the web. And as always, there are winners and losers. Let’s dive in.

What Happened?

On August 22nd, 2023, Google dropped its latest core algorithm update, following the March update.

What’s the goal? Just like before, Google’s core updates aim to enhance the quality of its algorithm for better search results. No need to stress; these updates don’t single out any specific sites. So, no penalties or de-indexing worries.

Timeline of Events

In 2023, we’ve had two core updates, two review updates, and a big product review update in February.

The Google August 2023 core update was announced on August 22nd. However, we didn’t notice much movement until August 25th. Then, there was another wave of movement around the 30th through the 1st. Finally, we observed a final wave of volatility over the past couple of days, right before it ended on September 7th.

Based on what I’m seeing from the SEO community, this update was significant but didn’t feel as intense due to the ongoing volatility we’ve been experiencing across Google search for the past few months.

What To Do Now?

Expect some ranking shifts; it’s part of the show. While some may see dips, others could rise. Quality sites might shine brighter. It’s Google’s way of giving everyone a fair chance.

If your site loses rankings, it doesn’t mean something’s wrong. It’s about relevance and quality, and of course your competition. Focus on content improvement and embody E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness).

Enhance content quality and keep moving forward.

TL;DR (Summary)

The August 2023 Core Update demonstrates Google’s continuous efforts to combat low-quality and artificial content while promoting sites that offer real expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. The winners? Reddit, educational institutions, and government entities. It demoted tactics like “Parasite SEO” as well as content farms relying heavily on AI-generated text.

Bottom line: if you’re working with us on content marketing, you’re covered! You know most of the above, and you have a plan forward. If you’re not, why?

😍 Want to know more? I made a list of Google’s advice for what is good content. Just reply with a quick note to this email and I’d love to share it. See ya!