Google took to Twitter on 17th November 2021 to announce the rollout of a broad core update.
In this message, the tech giant stated that it will be called the November 2021 Core Update.
When approached, tech and marketing experts described these core updates as changes that Google makes to its ranking algorithm and are intended to better the quality and relevance of searches in Google Search.
These experts went on to explain that webpages ranking high based on their keyword inclusion may rank lower after a core update.
Reports indicated that this would be the third core update for 2021, and that, on average, it takes approximately two weeks for a Google update to fully roll out.
Search Engine Land found this move surprising and unexpected, as the announcement and action came less than two weeks before the commencement of the busiest online shopping time of the year.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, experts fear the impact of this core update on search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine results rankings on already indexed pages, especially if this rollout adheres to the expected two-week period.
Google addressed these concerns in the past when similar concerns surfaced.
In an August 2019 statement, the most-used search engine in the world said that there is “nothing wrong with pages that may perform less well in a core update. They haven’t violated our webmaster guidelines nor been subjected to a manual or algorithmic action, as can happen to pages that do violate those guidelines. In fact, there’s nothing in a core update that targets specific pages or sites. Instead, the changes are about improving how our systems assess content overall. These changes may cause some pages that were previously under-rewarded to do better.”
When asked about the timing of this particular core update, Danny Sullivan of Google echoed the above reassurances on Twitter.
However, the reassurances did little to assuage the fears of web designers and content marketers, and this prompted the Google spokesperson to reply that the tech company would consider timing issues with future core update rollouts.
In view of the above, content marketing professionals are keeping a close eye on the performance of their content to see if any index rankings occur.
These professionals explained that if the keywords contained in marketing content to hit SEO targets are not recognised or cause a drop in a page’s virtual visibility and exposure, it can seriously affect the online holiday season revenue of these pages.
Industry professionals, such as Purecontent, always keep an eye on updates and changes such as these to create or change content as needed.
People in the know advise that webpages wishing to attract customers during this peak online shopping season monitor their analytics and rankings.
