Google announced that on July 1, 2021 it began to roll out the July 2021 core update. We knew we would soon see another core update, and Google delivered this one a month after the June 2021 core update - which launched on June 2, 2021. This one seems to have started out pretty strong and many are seeing big changes with this update.
Some think what we saw on June 30th through July 1st may be related to the release of the core update. But if I would ask Google, they would say no, because this core update just started yesterday - not two days ago.
This update does seem to have kicked off pretty quickly with a lot of chatter in the past 12 hours or so and the tools are showing changes. More of what we are seeing in the what we're seeing section of this story. I should note, the June core update was very slow to start out, unlike this July core update.
Danny Sullivan under the Search Liaison Twitter account posted "the July 2021 Core Update, previously announced, is now rolling out." Danny added that "these typically take 1-2 weeks to finish." Normally they take a full two weeks but the June core update ran on June 2nd and ended on June 12th - a 10 day period.
Here is the tweet announcing this rollout:
The July 2021 Core Update, previously announced, is now rolling out:https://t.co/6Xs77WDsur
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) July 1, 2021
These typically take 1-2 weeks to finish. Our guidance about such updates is here:https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6
Here’s more on how we improve search through updates:https://t.co/IBmInwGOiX
This core update, like the other core updates, is a global update impacting all languages across all regions.
Two Part Update: June and July Core Updates
As a reminder, Google said it released a core update in June on June 2nd through June 12th and planned to push out another core update next month - called the July 2021 core update, which happened on July 1st. Why didn't Google release both the same time? Google said not all of the pieces are ready for that, so they pushed out what is ready in June with the June 2021 core update and then released this July core update as the last parts are now ready to be released for the July 2021 core update.
What is not ready? I asked Google and Google would not say. Google did say that if your site rankings changes with the June 2021 core update, you may see a reversal or shift (or not) with the July 2021 core update. I wonder how many sites will see changes that saw changes with the June update?
Here is what Google said last month on this topic:
Of course, any core update can produce drops or gains for some content. Because of the two-part nature of this release, it’s possible a very small slice of content might see changes in June that reverse in July....
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021
Many Overlapping Updates
Even if you exclude the unconfirmed updates, including the June 30th update, the confirmed updates are many.
- Google product reviews update began on April 8th and concludes on April 22nd
- Google June core update began on June 2nd and ended on June 12th
- Google Predator Update around June 10th?
- Google page experience update started on June 15th and will roll out through the end of August
- Google Spam update part one was on June 23rd
- Google Spam update part two was on June 28th
- Google July 2021 core update started on July 1st
I had this cute graphic made of the recent updates, I didn't include all the unconfirmed updates in the graphic or the predator update since it was super specific (click to enlarge it):
The previous core update was a month ago on June 2nd named the June 2021 core update. The one before that was 6 months before the June update, on December 3, 2020 named the December 2020 core update. Before that was 7 month gap where on May 4, 2020, the May 2020 core update. The one prior to that was on January 13, 2020, the January 2020 core update and the one before that was on September 24, 2019, the September 2019 core update. Oh, before that was on June 3, 2019, the June 2019 core update and I can go on and on.
Improve After a Core Update
Did you get hit by this update, Google did give us advice on core updates and how to improve your site overall after seeing a negative outcome after a core update. Google reiterated that in this tweet:
As a reminder, nothing in a core update is site-specific. Those who seek to perform well with search generally, including with core updates, should look to our guidance here: https://t.co/Mk9xsiTw1B
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021
Google also posted a new blog post on how and why Google does these updates. Google wrote "because there are so many incremental updates, it’s not useful for us to share details about all of them. However, we try to do so when we feel there is actionable information that site owners, content producers or others might consider applying, as was the case with both of the updates mentioned above."
Just as computers & smartphones are regularly updated, the same thing happens with Google Search. In fact, Google Search is updated thousands of times per year with changes meant to improve the experience and the quality of results. More about the process: https://t.co/3EJAvaondz
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021
SEO Chatter: What We Are Seeing
Keep in mind, there is chatter from the June 30th through July 1st update that may be unrelated to this update. But there is renewed chatter from the past 20 hours or so at both WebmasterWorld and Black Hat World.
I see interesting fluctuations / changes in my niche in last few hours as well. Let me get my ice cold mineral water and sit down and watch.
My client's dental website got hit by this update!
Lost positions on a lot of keywords. But like previous times, hoping to recover them back as the initial dust settles down. Too early to comment right now.
Agreed, I've seen this type of thing before. I think it was the May 2020 update that really nuked many of my sites. But after a few weeks when the dust settled down, the algorithm seemed to be tweaked to where many of my sites recovered.
Starting to see the movements today - some big ups, some big downs across the whole world, not just EN.
I noticed that sites that had a boost from the June update got even more boost from this update. It is like amplifying the effect from the June update. This further confirms as one site that I had been tracking was tanked a little further after being hit from the June update.Again, too early to say as we need 1-2 weeks for it to fully roll out. And I must point out that this is from my observation and humble opinion.
But from my experience, as long as you feel the positive effects or benefits from the initial start of the update, you're very likely to have a positive outcome after the roll out is fully done... Because it just means your site has fulfilled whatever criteria the algorithm update is looking for.
I was hit during June core update with -20%. At 11:00 AM PST today my traffic is back to pre-june level. I hope whatever it is, my recovery sticks.
I am also seeing reversion of the June update insanity for the past ~10 hours, although it is too early to tell if this is a trend or just a blip before things get even worse.
June Core Update - 20% . I checked the serps this morning. Looks like another -10 -20%. Thought, surely they rolled out the July Core update and it's true.
I saw a recovery from a previous core update in June's update. And I'm seeing another boost in rankings now with July core update.
So far so good. Big recovery from the first part of this Core Update.Let's see if it's sticks...
I also asked on Twitter what people are seeing and you can see the thread of responses on Twitter.
Search Tracking Tools:
Of the tools that are updated for this morning, they are all showing pretty big changes. I'll update them as the day goes on. Here are what the tracking tools that have been updated this morning are showing so far:
Forum discussion at Twitter, WebmasterWorld & Black Hat World.
