A new broad core update began rolling out Wednesday – this one named the June 2021 Core Update, Google’s search liaison Danny Sullivan announced, adding that we should also expect a July 2021 Core Update next month.
Historically, Google has released a core algorithm update every few months. It has been just about six months since the last core update, the December 2020 Core Update. Before that, it was seven months since the May 2020 core update on May 4, 2020. This recent update took longer to roll out, and another update is expected in about a month.
Two core updates. Why is Google pushing out two different core updates one month after the next? Google explained that some planned improvements for the June 2021 update were not fully ready. Therefore, Google decided to release the completed parts now and push the rest to the July 2021 core update. The company will keep us posted on the July 2021 core update release.
“Of course, any core update can produce drops or gains for some content. Because of the two-part nature of this release, it’s possible a very small slice of content might see changes in June that reverse in July,” Google stated.
What to expect. As with any Google algorithm update, your rankings may go up, down, or remain stable. If impacted by the June 2021 core update, the effect could reverse with the July 2021 core update. Generally, most sites won’t notice the updates, but SEOs managing many sites will likely observe significant changes in search results. The two-part nature of this release means sites might see changes in June that reverse in July.
This update is a global rollout, impacting all languages, and will take about two weeks to complete. Google will confirm when the rollout is done, likely before the page experience update slated for mid-June.
The announcement. Google announced it via a tweet, stating, “Later today, we are releasing a broad core update, as we do several times per year. It is called the June 2021 Core Update…”
Rollout started later today. Google updated that the June 2021 core update rollout would begin later today, on June 2nd. These core updates typically take about one to two weeks to fully roll out. The rollout began at 6:40 pm ET.
Previous updates. The most recent previous core update was the December 2020 core update, which was even bigger than the May 2020 core update. Then we had the May 2020 core update, which was big and broad and took a couple of weeks to fully roll out. Before that was the January 2020 core update, followed by the September 2019 core update, which had a lesser impact. There was also a November update specific to local rankings.
What to do if you are hit. Google has provided advice on what to consider if negatively impacted by a core update. There aren’t specific actions to take to recover; a negative rankings impact may not signal issues with your pages. However, Google has offered questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update. Recovery might be seen between core updates, but the most significant change would come after another core update.
Why Google releases these updates. Google explained in a blog post accompanying the June 2021 core update why it makes these search changes. Google receives billions of queries daily from countries around the world in 150 languages and must continually improve to stay competitive and serve its users. “Delivering great results at this type of scale and complexity requires many different systems, and we’re always looking for ways to improve these systems so we can display the most useful results possible,” Google added.
The web is growing, sites are changing, and content is constantly being published. Google said, “As new sites emerge and the web changes, continued updates are key to ensuring we’re supporting a wide range of publishers, creators, and businesses, while providing searchers with the best information available.”
With that, Google is always pushing out updates. In any given week, it may “implement dozens of updates that are meant to improve Search in incremental ways.” That is why the company cannot “share details about all” of the updates. But with broad core updates like these, Google tries to announce them.
Why we care. Whenever Google updates its search ranking algorithms, your site can do better or worse in search results. Knowing when Google makes these updates helps us understand whether it was something you changed on your website or something Google changed with its ranking algorithm. Today, we know Google will be releasing a core ranking update, so keep an eye on your analytics and rankings.
