A Glimpse into Google Algorithm Updates in 2023
With constantly evolving technology, the user’s behaviors and needs have also changed. It is important for marketers and business owners to stay up-to-date with the latest Google algorithm updates. These updates are critical for most brands and businesses as they can impact how their site performs in the search results.
Knowing when Google makes updates helps you better understand the change in your ranking or traffic to your site. It also helps to identify any potential issues with your site that may prevent you from ranking higher on search engine results. Before we move further, let’s understand the basic distinction between Google algorithm updates and core updates.
What are Google algorithm updates?
Algorithm updates are basically changes made to Google’s search algorithm with the goal of improving the quality of search results. Such changes can be small or huge and they can also be focused on some specific aspects of the algorithm, such as link building or the quality of the content. For instance, some of the algorithm updates in 2023 were as follows:
• September 2023: Helpful Content Update
• August 2023 Core Update
• April 2023 Review Update
• February 2023 Product Reviews Update
What are Google core updates?
Google core updates are a type of Google algorithm update that is broader and significant. These updates are aimed at improving the overall quality of search results by making changes to the underlying principles of the algorithm.
Core updates are typically released less frequently than other algorithm updates; for instance, March 2023 Broad Core Update is a significant algorithm update, and hence it is regarded as a core update. It is important to keep in mind that Google does not announce all of its algorithm updates. However, webmasters and SEO professionals can monitor their website’s performance in search results to see if they have been affected by the updates.
Here is a table to give you a quick glance of the updates taken place in the year 2023 till now.
| Google Core Algorithm Updates | Release Date | Update Duration | Official Announcement Link |
| February 2023 Product Reviews Update | February 21, 2023 | 2 weeks | |
| March 2023 Broad Core Update | March 15, 2023 | 2 weeks | |
| April 2023 Core Update | April 12, 2023 | 2 weeks | |
| August 2023 Core Update | August 22, 2023 | 2 weeks | |
| September 2023: Helpful Content Update | September 14, 2023 | 2 weeks | |
| October 2023 core update | October 5, 2023 | 2 weeks | |
| October 2023 spam update | October 4, 2023 | 2 to 3 weeks |
Let’s now understand 2023 Google algorithm updates in detail:
October 2023 Broad Core Update
On October 5, 2023, Google announced it was rolling out its October 2023 Core Algorithm Update. This update was aimed at improving Google’s ability to rank high-quality websites. Also, it is the third core algorithm update released in 2023.
The previous core algorithm updates were released in March 2023 and August 2023. Google has also released a spam detection update to address major quality gaps in spam detection for Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, Chinese, and other languages, compared to search results in English. “
- Announced: October 3, 2023
- Duration: Estimated to take 2 weeks to roll out completely
- Penalty: None
- Aim: To improve the system that assesses content overall, so that users can find the most relevant and helpful information.
Google has not released much information about specific changes made in the October 2023 Core Algorithm Update. However, Google has said that the update emphasizes improving the relevance of the search results and ensuring users are able to find the information they need quickly and easily. Like other updates, these updates are designed to improve the system and present helpful and reliable results for searchers.
October 2023 Spam Update
On October 4, 2023, Google released its October 2023 spam update, aimed at improving its spam detection system and targeted at spam detection in many languages, including Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, Chinese, and others. It is expected that the spam algorithm update will take 2–3 weeks to complete. The new update also brings significant improvements to spam detection for English-language results:
- Announced: October 3, 2023
- Duration: Estimated to take 2 weeks to roll out completely
- Penalty: It penalizes sites engaged in spammy practices that are against Google’s spam policies.
- Aim: To improve Google’s ability to identify and remove spam from search results.
If you were hit by Spam Update, Google has recommended to review its spam policies to ensure that your site is complying with it. Google will do periodic refreshes to the update and it may take many months to recover.
September 2023 Helpful Content Update
Google released a helpful content update on September 14, 2023. It was focused on improving the ranking of the content that was valuable to the users. Google has said that the update will focus on content written for humans by humans that is truly helpful for users.
- Announced: September 14, 2023
- Duration: Two week
- Penalty: None
- Aim: The aim of the update was to improve the Google’s ability to identify and rank useful content
The helpful content update is a broad update, which means it can affect websites of all sizes and industries. However, Google has said that the update is likely impact the websites that produce a lot of low-quality content. It is important to keep in mind that the update is focused on creating high-quality content and making sure your website is technically sound. This can also improve your chances of recovering from a negative impact.
Here is what Google said about the update
“On September 14, 2023, we launched an update to our helpful content system. This update is designed to better reward content that is written primarily for humans, first and foremost, and that is informative and comprehensive.
We know that people come to Google in search of high-quality content that will help them learn, make decisions, and complete tasks. We also know that people can get frustrated when they find content that is not helpful, such as content that is written primarily to rank in search results or that is thin and uninformative.
This update is designed to address these concerns. It will help us to better surface content that is written for humans, by humans, and that is truly helpful”.
The update specifically targets the content that seems to be created for ranking better on search engines rather than for providing value to the people. The purpose of the update is to find and reward the highest quality content that was written for humans and to help users. Google has shared about how to create people first content. In other words, Google wants people to see more original, helpful content written by people, for people.
As the core algorithm update and spam detection updates have been simultaneously rolled out, one may expect significant ranking fluctuations in the near future.
August core update 2023
August core update was the second core update of the year 2023. It started on August 22, 2023, and completed 16 days later on September 7, 2023.
- Announced: August 22, 2023
- Duration: Two weeks
- Penalty: None
- Aim: The aim of the update was to improve the overall quality of search results by making them more relevant and accurate.
The overall effects of the Core Update were low, however, it caused some significant domain movements. Google did not release any specific information about what changes are made during core updates. Here is what Google said about its core update 2023
“Google core updates are routine and they occur several times a year. These updates are not targeted at specific sites or pages, but the goal is to improve the overall quality of search results”.
“We’re always working to improve the quality of search results so that people can find the information they need as quickly and easily as possible. On August 22, 2023, we released a broad core update to our search algorithm. This update is designed to improve the ranking of high-quality content that is relevant and useful to our users.”
April 2023 Reviews Update
Google’s April 2023 reviews update was rolled out on April 25, 2023,
- Announced: April 12, 2023
- Duration: 13 days
- Penalty: None
- Aim: The update rewards or promotes high-quality review content that delivers value to the users
The update was released to its review system signifying that now it evaluates all types of reviews and recommendations content, beyond just product reviews. It emphasizes that reviews should be based on real evaluations of the products and services being reviewed. Some examples of the types of content affected by the April 2023 update are
• Reviews of services and businesses
• Reviews of destinations
• Reviews of media (e.g., games, movies)
• Recommendations of any kind
Google has updated its help document for reviews to reflect the scope of the April 2023 update that emphasizes on providing comprehensive, informative, and helpful reviews.
Google has also clarified that this update is not a penalty. It is a simple way to enhance the user’s experience, so they are able to find the most relevant and useful reviews when they search for reviews and recommendations on Google.
Google’s documentation on this ranking system says:
“The reviews system works to ensure that people see reviews that share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products, services or other things.
The reviews system is designed to evaluate articles, blog posts, pages or similar first-party standalone content written with the purpose of providing a recommendation, giving an opinion, or providing analysis.”
The March 2023 Broad Core Update
The March 2023 Broad Core Update was a major update to Google’s search algorithm that was released on March 15, 2023. It was the first broad core update in 2023, and it took 13 days and seven hours to roll out, which is longer than the previous updates.
It targets all types of content within all regions and languages and aims to promote or reward high-value web pages. The goal of the update was to improve the quality of search results by ranking websites that provide more value to users. It was a more volatile update than previous core updates. This means that there was more movement in search rankings during and after the update. In other words, it aims to prioritize web-pages that provide more value compared to those currently ranking on Google. As per Google, nothing within this (or any) core update targets specific pages or sites.
February 2023 Product Reviews Update
The Google February 2023 Product Reviews Update was a broad core update to Google’s product reviews system. It was rolled out with the aim of improving the quality of product reviews displayed in search results so that users get more genuine and helpful reviews for the products or services they are looking for.
The update was carried out in 11 languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish.
Google also updated its guidance for product reviews to better reflect the factors considered by its product review system for evaluating reviews.
Though Google is not directly punishing lower-quality product reviews, however they are trying to reward sites with more insightful review content. Also, technically, this update should impact only product review content and no other types of content.
Though Google has not mentioned anything specifically related to the update, it is believed that the update is focused on evaluating product reviews based on the following factors:
• Expertise and credibility of the review
• The quality and depth of the review content
• The usefulness of the content for the relevant user
Google has also mentioned best practices to write high quality reviews in its blog post.
2023 is already shaping up to be a turbulent year for Google algorithm updates as the search engine continues to implement several updates. It is important for businesses and webmasters to keep an eye on the latest Google algorithm updates and keep their website and SEO strategy adjusted as per the latest and best practices in the industry.
Tips to Create Google Algorithm Update Resilient Strategy
It is essential to future proof your SEO strategy, so your website is not crumbled by the algorithm updates. As Google algorithm updates are frequently changing, it is vital to implement SEO strategy that makes it easier for your site to keep up with new requirements and standards. Here are some tips to improve the stability of your rankings and formulate a more Google algorithm update-resilient SEO strategy:
1. Create an SEO strategy to match the user intent
Your SEO strategy must revolve around users and not the search engines. One must create and optimize website and content to match the search intent of the target audience. Keyword insights should be used to understand the needs, motivations and the pain points of the users and putting the users as your foremost consideration. Analyzing search queries, user intent and onsite behavior will help you to create a strategy to better connect with your target audiences. The better the user experience of a site, the better will be its chances to rank higher in search engine results.
2. Focus on high quality, engaging and informative content
Content is the most important element in a search engine strategy, and it will always remain one of the most important ranking factors. Thus, working on your content strategy is crucial to climb higher in search engine results. Focus on creating high quality, engaging, informative and people focused content created by humans, for the humans. In the recent years, the Google has been emphasizing a lot on helpful content. It will remain an important factor in deciding the ranking of your site regardless of how Google’s algorithm changes.
3. Optimize site for core web vitals
Core web vitals measure page experience signals. These are key performance indicators that Google uses to measure the health and vitality of websites. It helps Google to understand how well your website is performing and identify areas of improvement.
In order to optimize your website for core web vitals, it is essential to ensure that your site is fast loading, easily navigable, and responsive across all devices. You can also use tools like Google Page Speed Insights or ESL Ranks Pro to analyze your website’s performance and identify areas for improvement. Here are some effective tips to improve core web vitals:
• Reduce Javascript execution
• Implement lazy loading
• Optimize and compress images
• Provide proper dimensions for images and embed
• Improve server response time
4. Use structured data for organizing website content
Structured data provide contextual information about your content to the search engines, making it easy for them to understand the context of your page. It may include schema markup for things like reviews, ratings, and prices. Structured data like product and FAQ markup can generate a rich snippet in search results.
In other words, structured data is a way of organizing the content on your site to make it easy for search engines to understand it. It is equally important to be aware of essential on-page SEO factors that must be worked upon to boost your website rankings.
Google has stated that structured data is a ranking factor and the websites with structured data are more likely to rank higher in search results. There are many different types of structured data, such as product data, event data, and recipe data. You can find a list of all supported structured data types on Schema.org.
5. Mobile first indexing
It is now expected that using mobile phones to search will surpass the desktop usage in the next decade. From shopping to fixing an appointment with a dentist to planning a vacation, mobiles are being used for almost everything and if your website fails to provide a great user experience on smart phones and tablets, you may lose significant customers as well as traffic and eventually rankings. It is crucial to optimize websites for mobiles. If the website doesn’t not load properly or is difficult to navigate on mobile devices, it creates a poor user experience which will lead to lower rankings.
6. Building high quality backlinks
Building high quality backlinks helps to establish authority of your site. Quality backlinks are your doorway to ranking, reputation and revenue. One of the effective ways to earn backlink to build relationship with other websites in your industry and create content that they will like to link to. It is simply about letting people know that your site is out there and establishing its authority in the industry. You can do this through social media such as Facebook Groups and forums, by local promotions, cross-promotions with other businesses, and many other techniques. It is equally important to keep in mind that not all links are valuable for a website, and know the types of backlinks that you must avoid in your SEO strategy to resist Google Algorithm penalty.
Here are some effective tips to attract backlinks:
• Create informative, engaging, and high quality content that users find valuable and like to link to it.
• Promote your content using social media, website, email marketing and other tactics
• Research for relevant and authoritative websites and reach out to the owners or editors and ask them if they would be interested in linking to your content.
7. Promote your website
Website promotion is essential to boost the awareness of your website as well as your rankings on the SERPS. When you promote your website, it gives you opportunity to build links from other high-quality websites, explore new regions and increase traffic to your site. It also helps to get more traffic from various sources. A website can be promoted through various channels, such as social media, email marketing, and paid advertising. It is also recommended to get involved in your community and participate in relevant forums and online discussions to build relationship with other people in your industry and generate interest in your website. It will also help to boost your website’s ranking in search results.
8. A comprehensive SEO strategy
When it comes to SEO, There are many signals Google uses to rank a site. One must create a comprehensive SEO strategy or take help from an expert to plan and implement successful SEO strategy for your business. Google may sometimes ignore the few links or spammy content to rank a site that is doing well in other aspects.
9. Keep yourself abreast with the latest Google Algorithm updates
For building a website that’s resistant to algorithm changes, it is important to stay updated with the announced changes to Google’s algorithm. Try to understand how Google is trying to help users with an algorithm change as it may help you to form an actionable ranking strategy.
10. Perform a regular site audit
It is important to regularly check your website for issues that may be affecting website performance such as load times, indexing, and site navigation. On page SEO is a process of optimizing parts of your web pages so they get higher rankings on search engines such as updating website content, title tags, internal links, and more.
Search engine inspects on page factors to check if a web page matches the user’s search intent. Performing a site audit provides you valuable insights to have a data driven SEO strategy. One of the easiest ways to analyze your page is by conducting site audits using a site audit tool. These tools crawl all the pages it finds on your website, flags all possible SEO issues and provides recommendation to fix them.
Are You Keeping your Site Resilient with Google Algorithm Updates 2023?
Even experts cannot always predict Google algorithm updates, but they always happen from time to time. A lot of businesses strive to maintain their SEO presence while juggling all of the other business responsibilities. However, understanding the latest Google algorithm updates and adjusting your digital marketing strategy accordingly is crucial to stay ahead in the competition.
The SEO experts at eSearch Logix can help you to stay on top of the frequent changes as well as in search results.
Conclusion
Google core updates are aimed at making search results more relevant, accurate and useful for the people. It is important to keep yourself abreast with the Google latest algorithm update so that you can make necessary adjustments to your website and SEO strategy.
