Now that both the Google October 2023 core update and the October 2023 spam update have finished rolling out, a deeper analysis reveals how this core update differed from previous ones.
It’s important to note that these updates rolled out concurrently, which could skew the analysis. Google mentioned that spam sites were impacted by the spam update, and if non-spamming sites saw traffic drops, it was likely due to the core update.
Here is the timeline for the two updates:
- The Spam update started on October 4, 2023, and ended on October 10, 2023.
- The Core update started on October 5, 2023, and ended on October 20, 2023.
There was significant ranking volatility across many verticals in Google search results during this period, similar to most Google updates.
Data providers on the Google updates
Semrush: Semrush data indicated peak volatility of 7.9 in their Semrush Sensor. This peak occurred on October 10th. When compared to the Google August 2023 core update, there were calm periods interspersed with high volatility during the October update, whereas the August update had consistently high volatility.
“To that, peak levels of volatility were lower than in August. However, it’s important to remember that the entire environment was volatile in August, and it’s unclear how exactly that affected peak volatility levels,” said Mordy Oberstein from the Semrush team.
When comparing the increase in volatility relative to the baseline, the October 2023 core update was less impactful overall. The average movement of positions by URLs was about two and a half places, lower than the three position average during the August 2023 Core Update.
When observing the top ten position rankings, the October 2023 core update had similar volatility to the August 2023 update. Mordy Obserstein noted that the "drastic-ness" of ranking swings was comparable, with a similar percentage of URLs entering the top 10 that had not been in the top 20 before the update.
Was it a Reversal?
It’s debated if this update served as a correction or a reversal of previous core updates. Google claims these are continuous improvements, not reversals. However, some examined cases appear to indicate reversals, but this could also be the result of site improvements since the last update. "The big question is: Was this a reversal of some of the things rolled out with the August 2023 Core Update? The answer is, who knows? Manually examining some keyword-level and domain-level trends, I would anecdotally say no,” shared Mordy Oberstein.
RankRanger/SimilarWeb: Still conducting their analysis, they noted a comparable peak of volatility on October 10th, according to their SERP Seismometer. Shay Harel from SimilarWeb remarked, “our analysis is based on the massive spike we saw on the 10th.”
Examining average position changes for all core updates since December 2020, the October update showed the lowest average position changes since November 2021. The October update had lower rank volatility in the top 3 and top 5 positions compared to the August update.
seoClarity: Mark Traphagen shared their Rank Fluctuation tracker and some winners and losers charts. The notable spike occurred on October 10th. The charts depicted the largest estimated traffic gainers across nine industries based on comparisons before and after the October updates (core and spam).
Sistrix: Steve Paine noted that analyzing two concurrent updates makes conclusive analysis difficult, but observed that established reference sites faced significant losses. Losing domains were more widespread than winning ones.
Other Tools
Other analytics tools also showed volatility changes. These tools provided additional context for the changes seen in search results:
- SERPmetrics
- Advanced Web Rankings
- Accuranker
- Mozcast
- Cognitive SEO
- Algoroo
- RankRanger
- SERPstat
- Wincher
- SERPwoo
More on the October 2023 Core Update
Community Overview: The community observed noticeable changes beginning October 9th/10th, with larger movements on October 10th. There was significant discussion within the SEO community about these changes.
Next Steps if Impacted: Google has given advice on dealing with negative impacts from core updates. Generally, specific recovery actions are not outlined, but a negative impact does not necessarily indicate issues with your pages. Google has a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update. Recovery can occur between core updates, but significant improvements are usually seen with subsequent core updates.
Why We Care: It can be challenging to isolate steps to reverse an algorithmic hit from a Google core update. These updates are broad and cover various quality issues. The data supports this notion. If your site was affected, consider taking a broader view to improve the overall quality of your website.
Hopefully, the update has been beneficial for your company and clients.
More on Google Updates
You can read more about Google Algorithm Updates history for further insights.
