According to data obtained from various tracking tools, a significant Google algorithm update likely occurred on June 25.
Google admittedly makes updates every day, but this one is believed to be significant in the sense that it has affected ranking positions in a noticeable way.
While checking client sites in SEMRush, I saw this message popping up for every site I checked.
As you can see in the screenshot above, this particular update received a score of 9.5, which is the highest I have personally seen all year.
All other Google updates SEMRush has tracked this year fell between the 5-7 range, which is a further indication of the significance of this update.
Ranking Positions 6-10 Hit Hardest
RankRanger, another tracking tool, provided further analysis of the June 25 update in a blog post published today. The company says this appears to be a long running update, the likes of which has not been seen since October 2016.
Analysis from RankRanger indicates Google’s recent algorithm update primarily targeted sites that were ranking in positions 6-10.
RankRanger also broke down its analysis by niche. While there were fluctuations across all niches, the food & beverage industry appears to have been hit the hardest. This is followed by sites in the health & fitness, gambling, retail, and travel niches respectively.
Why the Lack of Chatter?
While this seems to be one of Google’s more volatile updates, industry chatter has been relatively muted compared to what usually follows an update of this magnitude.
Why is that? It could be because, as mentioned earlier, the greatest fluctuations were seen amongst sites ranking in positions 6-10. That means there has been minimal to moderate fluctuations amongst sites ranking in the top 5 positions.
It’s not uncommon to see ranking positions 6-10 fluctuate more than ranking positions 1-5. With that said, SEOs and site owners may have noticed ranking changes only to brush them off as business as usual, so to speak.
However, data from tracking tools indicates this is not just “business as usual,” and ranking positions 6-10 have been fluctuating more extensively than normal.
No Confirmation from Google
Google has gone on record saying there’s no confirmation of a major update, so once again statements from the search giant conflict with what the tools are telling us.
Have you noticed any ranking changes lately that appear to stray from the norm? Feel free to reach out to us on any of our social media channels.
UPDATE: What You Can Do Now
Looking for some advice on how to figure out whether your website was hit by Google’s June 25 update, or improve your website to avoid being impacted by future algorithm updates? Beau Pedraza offers some great advice in The June 25 Google Update: What You Should Do Now.
