Google may have released yet another unconfirmed Google search ranking update this weekend. I am seeing some signs of ranking movement from the third-party Google tracking tools and the SEO chatter spiked a bit this weekend. This includes movement on the 18th and 19th of July.
The last time we reported on a Google update was the 7-Eleven Google update, which was also unconfirmed. That update seemed to push out some reversals from the January 2026 unconfirmed updates we tracked back then.
Now, some are saying what happened on 7/11 is now reversing, while others are just noticing big swings with the search queries they track in Google Search.
The last confirmed Google search ranking update was the June 2026 spam update which started on June 14 and completed on June 26. Prior to that was the Google May 2026 core update that started on May 21st and completed on June 2nd.
So what are we seeing with this July 18th and 19th weekend Google update?
Google Tracking Tools
Here is what the tools show. You can clearly see a blip on Saturday, July 18th. But you can see that overall, the volatility has been way more heated this past week than what we saw on July 18th and 19th. Note I updated the charts and story date on July 20th:
Google Volatility Chart
AWR:
Wireboard - this report shows the aggregate of the tools above and plots them on one chart:
SEO Chatter
Along with that, we have some early weekend chatter. I assume the SEO community on Monday will check things out and notice the volatility and the chatter should increase. But here is what I see so far on WebmasterWorld and on this site:
I am not sure yet, but I think yesterday something has shifted.
For the last 5 days, plus so far today, traffic has increased so that I'm "only" -33%. Traditionally, this weekend is the first of the getaways for several European countries for those who can afford to.
Yep, something is definitely going on in the last 24-ish hours. My Google traffic is up 400%. Haven't published anything new nor touched the site. I haven't even checked the rankings - they mean F all these days. But when everyone else is saying they're down, probably means that my "up" will be even more transient than normal and I'll be down the same or more when the dust settles - or even before that.
Yes, something is going on. Ranking and CTR dropped the last week, came back to where it was now. But impressions going down.
Same here, I am finding the very good sales levels from before July 11 again (which was a record July compared to previous years, which bodes well for a record high season).
What are you all noticing with this unconfirmed Google update?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Update: Sunday, July 19th looks even more heated:
Sunday, July 19th looks even more heated - unconfirmed Google Search ranking update https://t.co/JVw93Kz9z1 https://t.co/IscjUClHep pic.twitter.com/BZRKzYvYYr
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) July 20, 2026
