Sifting Through the Fallout: Google’s June 2019 Core Update
Rollan Schott
Google’s most recent broad core algorithm update finished its five day roll-out period on the 8th of June, Search Liaison Danny Sullivan has confirmed. Sullivan also put the SEO world on notice that the update would be “noticeable”.
Well, the update has arrived, and SEO specialists have had time to collect and analyse the data. After all that, we can conclusively say that yes: we noticed.
The Broad Core algorithm update hasn’t yet earned a nickname from the online community. That may be in part because a clear pattern hasn’t yet been identified in the search performance changes it produced. However, plenty of changes did occur! Let’s take a closer look at them below.
Who was affected by the June Broad Core update?
So far, many sites have reported significant changes in search performance following the update. What’s more, the sites affected come from a broader-than-usual spectrum of industries.
YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) sites, i.e. websites that could impact your financial and overall wellbeing, are often impacted by Google’s updates, given their precarious niche between consequential lifestyle advice and e-commerce. According to Sistrix, plenty of these sites have been hit by the June update as well, such as Mercola and MindBodyGreen, but so too have some traditional news sites like the Daily Mail and Crypto Currency Network. Vimeo, the official site for America’s National Football League, and even Spark Notes have also reported declines of 17% or higher after only one week since the update began.
Not every site dropped in performance, of course. While the Daily Mail dropped in the UK, rival media outlets Mirror and The Sun noted sharp improvements in their SERP performance. ASOS, who recently had suffered a dramatic decline in search engine performance, also noted a major jump.
Can you “fix” broad core update issues?
As per usual, Google has insisted that your search performance cannot be fixed with action specific to the latest broad core algorithm update. Google is famously covert about changes to their secret sauce algorithms, and do not offer tips to overcome them for fear of users cheating the system.
Updates are made to ensure that every website achieves the performance it’s earned based on the core values of all websites:
Accurate and informative content,
great user experience, and
earned authority.
In other words, a drop in rankings after an update is rolled out suggests that some other websites probably deserved to be higher up on the SERPs, not that you are suddenly being penalised for something you can quickly fix.
Make sure that your website delivers on the promise of your brand. Keep a close eye on older content to avoid duplicating material and, as always, stay abreast on the latest news and advice from the top specialists in SEO Auckland wide.
Rollan Schott is a copywriter with Pure SEO. Rollan was born and raised in the United States, having moved to New Zealand after 4 years teaching and writing in Asia. When he's not churning out quality content at breakneck speed, Rollan is probably busy writing the next great American novel. He may also be idly watching true crime documentaries in his Auckland Central apartment with his wife, Lauren. The latter is more likely than the former.