Google has confirmed that the May 2022 core update is now finished rolling out. The update took 15 days to complete, starting on May 25, 2022, and ending on June 9, 2022.
The announcement. Google posted on Twitter early this morning at 3:44am ET that the update has completed rolling out:
May 2022 core update. As a reminder, the May 2022 core update started to roll out at about 11:30 a.m. ET on May 25, 2022. This update took 9 days to roll out after it was announced and finished rolling out on June 9, 2022.
When and what was felt. Based on the data, this update was significant and rolled out quickly for many queries that data providers track. We observed some “tremors,” or shifts in volatility, after the initial update, with the largest tremors occurring around June 5th. These shifts should be the final sets of volatility from the initial broad core update release.
More on the May 2022 core update
The SEO community. The May 2022 core update seems much more significant than the November 2021 core update. Unlike the November 2021 core update, which had less optimal timing during the busiest online shopping season, this update was better scheduled for retailers. The community reaction was initially covered in one blog post on Search Engine Roundtable. It included early chatter, ranking charts, and social shares from some SEOs.
On Twitter, plenty of SEOs have shared charts from their clients – mostly showing winners but also showing losers with this update.
What to do if you are hit. Google has previously provided advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update. There aren’t specific actions to take to recover, and a negative rankings impact doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem with your pages. However, Google has offered a list of questions to consider if your site is affected by a core update. Google has noted that you can see some recovery between core updates, but the most substantial changes would be after another core update.
Why we care. Whenever Google updates its search ranking algorithms, it means that your site may perform better or worse in search results. Knowing when these updates occur helps us understand whether changes in site performance are due to our actions or changes in Google’s ranking algorithm. The May 2022 core update was released on May 25th and is now complete. It is time to analyze how your site(s) performed and take steps to continue improving in the future.
More on Google updates
You can read more about our coverage in Search Engine Land’s Google Algorithm Updates history.
