Microsoft looks to have pushed out a Bing Search ranking algorithm update around May 29th. I don't track Bing Search ranking volatility that closely anymore but Glenn Gabe looked back at some data and believes that around May 29, 2024, there was a big Bing core update (if you will). Fabrice Canel from Microsoft responded by saying, no, "nothing unusual was released around this date."
Glenn also spotted a Bing Search ranking update in January 2023, which Microsoft later confirmed. In this case, Microsoft did not confirm the update. Fabrice wrote on X, "FYI, nothing unusual released around this date." "Bing constantly tests features and rolls out successful ones almost daily. Some may impact some sites more than others," he added.
Glenn wrote on X, "I think Bing launched a big update on May 29th. I'm seeing a ton of volatility across sites starting right on that date. The last time I saw something like that, Bing confirmed there was a broad core ranking update. So if Bing is important for your business (yes, it still drives a good amount of traffic for some sites), then check your stats. You might find some surprising things there."
He then posted some charts showing these changes:
Sadly, there seems to only be one tool that tracks Bing volatility in aggregate anymore, at least that I know of. But it doesn't show me the data back to May.
Glenn also responded to Fabrice Canel explaining that there was a GPT-4o update in mid-May, so maybe that is what caused it?
Here are responses to Glenn's posts over the weekend:
Right, I'm seeing a ton of volatility right on that date (across sites and verticals). Were your changes right at the end of May into early June??
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 3, 2024
5/29 drops or surges have remained for a number of sites. So maybe changed back for you that day, but stuck for others. See my screenshots again. :)
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 3, 2024
It seems like whatever it was, it helped my site.
— Eric Novinson (@enovinson) August 3, 2024
Glenn even shared more sites as more evidence:
And more from BTW for the 5/29 changes. I would check BWT for your site(s). You might be surprised with what you find. pic.twitter.com/JajCOkZVrx
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 5, 2024
This is what the traffic from Bing organic search to this site looks like, but this is a news site, so things spike and die here all the time:
Look back at your data and let us know.
Here is Microsoft's Fabrice Canel's response:
@glenngabe FYI, nothing unusual released around this date. Bing constantly tests features and rolls out successful ones almost daily. Some may impact some sites more than others. SEO best practices: monitor performance via Bing Webmaster Tools often and act on our top insights.
— Fabrice Canel (@facan) August 5, 2024
Glenn's response about the GPT update:
Also, just wanted to make sure there wasn't a change like what happened in Jan 2023 when a new AI model was applied to Search? I see OpenAI released GPT-4o in mid-May (right before the crazy volatility I'm seeing on 5/29). Would that have anything to do with Bing's core search… pic.twitter.com/dnd3D31EeF
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 5, 2024
So this was not some sort of core update but maybe something else triggered big movement around then?
The Data For SEO tool shows Bing movement starting around August 2nd - by the way:
Oh, meanwhile, Google was relatively calm this weekend.
Forum discussion at X.
