Google announced the launch of the August 2023 core update.
The company stated that it will update its ranking release history page once the update’s rollout is complete.
Google regularly releases core updates to ensure people always get the most helpful and reliable results.
While core updates aren’t designed to target specific sites or pages, they may cause previously lower-ranked pages to gain visibility. In contrast, pages that were once rewarded may slip in rankings.
Impact & Recovery From Core Updates
A core update can affect a website’s search performance positively or negatively, or it may have no impact at all.
Google stresses that if you see a decline in performance after a core update, it doesn’t indicate an issue with your website.
A drop could be due to adjustments made by the core update rather than anything wrong with your content or site structure.
Google encourages those who see drops in rankings to focus on improving website quality rather than looking for technical fixes.
How To Recover
To improve your search performance after a core update, Google recommends the following:
- Look closely at pages that aren’t performing well.
- Check what search terms led people to those pages.
- Compare your content to the questions Google provides on its help page.
This will show you where your content falls short in answering people’s questions. Take what you learn to prioritize improving your content to meet what searchers look for.
Google cautions that improvements aren’t guaranteed to aid in recovery, and no pages have a static or guaranteed position in Google’s search results.
Recovery Time
It typically takes several months for pages to recover rankings lost due to a core update if improvements warrant it.
However, Google is constantly tweaking its algorithms. It may release more minor updates between the broader core updates that can positively impact pages that have made changes.
Looking Ahead
While the impact of Google’s August 2023 core algorithm update is unfolding, businesses and SEO professionals should remain patient, focus on improving website quality, and avoid quick fixes.
This article will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
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