We are expecting Google to announce that the Google August 2023 core update has been completed any minute now. But yesterday, I believe we saw another wave of volatility, maybe the final wave of fluctuations before Google calls this Google algorithm update as being done.
The issue is that the tools are not picking up on this change, so maybe it was just a traffic change from the Labor Day holiday weekend.
As a reminder, the Google August 2023 core update was announced on August 22nd, we didn't really see much movement until August 25th. Then we saw another wave of movement around the 30th through the 1st.
Now, I am seeing a larger spike in chatter within the SEO community on September 5th, yesterday. Some suspect the volatility is related to ranking changes due to this core update, while others think it might be to layout changes in the Google search results.
To be fair, the tools seem pretty calm but the chatter did 100% spike. Was it the Labor Day rush? Maybe? I am not sure.
SEO Chatter
The WebmasterWorld forums and the comments here have some people noticing big swings yesterday, September 5th. Here are just some of those comments:
This past holiday weekend was good traffic...today it's dropping like a stone. USA and Canada are -50%+ at 11am, while every other country is much higher. Strange how it's always USA and Canada that drop off a cliff. It all appears to be "direct" traffic (down 60% today), not search (up 32%). Typically that means Google Images.
Over here too. Dropping like a rock today, USA and Canada...
Yup, 10am and exactly the same results. Currently -33% over the same period yesterday. Was picking up at 9am but at 10 a complete nose dive. So I guess G hasn't finished wrecking everything yet. Despite yesterday being the ''apparent'' last day of the G update.Though, if the update started on the 22nd of August, maybe today is the last day? I can never keep up with these updates *sigh*.
Worst drop over night ever. We are at 33% of normal level.
Google is a roulette now
Massive drop today, anyone else experiencing this?
Google Search Tracking Tools
The tools, at least on September 5th, are not showing huge volatility. Maybe they will show later, I am not sure... Either way, this gives you a quick look at the volatility they tracked over the course of this core update release.
Here are screenshots.
Here are some recent charts from Glenn Gabe but they show it mostly before this time frame that I am talking about:
And here are just a few examples of visibility drops and surges. There were some huge changes here for sites across verticals. Again, the update is probably close to done rolling out. And we'll see if another update is waiting in the wings (like the next HCU or reviews update): pic.twitter.com/4fvjgfr4jO
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) September 5, 2023
Again, I expect this update to be completed soon but did you notice any big changes yesterday or today?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Update on September 7th: The day after, some of the tools are now picking up on this movement:
