Early Signs Of A Google Search Algorithm Ranking Update On September 23rd

Sep 23, 2020 - 7:59 am 63 by
Filed Under Google Updates

Google Update

I am seeing signs both in terms of SEO community chatter and the automated tracking tools of another Google search ranking algorithm update. Unlike the last one, where all the tools were spiking but the community chatter was at the same level of the tools, this one seems to have support of both the community and the tracking tools.

The chatter at WebmasterWorld began early this morning and also there is chatter in the Black Hat World forums. Here are some quotes from these forums:

Anyway, I see the sensor tools are spiking somewhat again. SERPS are moving for us a bit, but not that much more than expected.

Seeing some shifts this morning, particularly on mobile.

I'm seeing odd and unrelated results for some queries

Same here. More unrelated and strange than usual, too. Also seeing complaints about Search Console being down.

Big drop in traffic here first after may update lost 70% of traffic didn't manage to recover, now lost again 50-60% of traffic so last 2 days website with 400+ articles in which I invested a lot of money and time is now good for nothing.

Lost 50% of my traffic in the May 5 update (went from average ranking of 2.4 to 5.7 overnight. Down 70% as of last week (average rank if 8.1). In the last 48 hours I've lost additional ranks. Only common denominator I see in my industry (e-commerce, gaming) is every US site getting tanked while foreign (mainly Chinese) sites are getting a huge boost.

Here are screen shots from the various tools, keep in mind, not are all updated yet.

SEMRush:

click for full size

Cognitive SEO:

click for full size

RankRanger:

click for full size

Accuranker:

click for full size

Algoroo:

click for full size

The other tools don't seem to be updated as of yet, if there are updates, I'll try to add them later.

Mozcast is now updated:

click for full size

SERP Metrics as well:

click for full size

Advanced Web Ranking:

click for full size

RankRanger showing spikes more now:

click for full size

Cognitive SEO also:

click for full size

These new charts were added within 24-hours of posting this story and the chatter is much higher as well.

Do you notice any big shifts this morning in your space? Let us know.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and Black Hat World.

Update: Turns out this was likely related to a now confirmed indexing issue with mobile-indexing and canonicalization.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Search Engine Optimization

Video On Google Exploit With End Points Reveal Interesting Ranking Signals

Dec 18, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Forbes Fires Freelancers Over Google's Site Reputation Abuse Policy

Dec 18, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Search Tests Rich Things To Do Image Carousel

Dec 18, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google

Google Search Shadow On Hover Of Search Results

Dec 18, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Tests Double Serving Ads From Same Advertiser On Same Page

Dec 18, 2024 - 7:11 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: December 17, 2024

Dec 17, 2024 - 10:00 am
Previous Story: Google Doesn't Rank Sites Hosting On Google Cloud Higher