Why Does Google Alert Us to Minor Search Updates but Surprise Us with Major Changes?
Did you ever wonder why Google pre-announces search algorithm updates that have minor ranking impacts?
I’ve been monitoring Google’s algorithm updates for nearly two decades, and consistently the updates that Google announces months or even years in advance tend to have the least amount of impact on rankings in search results.
The most recent example is the page experience update. It was announced in May 2020 but didn’t begin rolling out until over a year later. We also have the desktop version that was announced in November 2021 but won’t roll out until next month. Google even indicated that the page experience update is a minor factor and you shouldn’t see significant changes from it.
This situation mirrors the intrusive interstitials penalty, where we received months of notice but saw little recourse after it launched. The same pattern followed with the page speed update – months of notice but minimal actual impact. This goes on and on with virtually all these long lead-time search algorithm updates.
In contrast, it’s the updates that Google doesn’t give us much time to prepare for that impact the rankings the most. Examples include core updates, the Penguin and Panda updates from the past, and many updates that remain unconfirmed or unannounced.
So, why does Google keep us busy with updates where the outcome in ranking is minor? Google might argue that these pre-announced updates require technical changes to our sites, which we can act on. Core updates and quality updates, however, are about the content and quality of your site; there isn’t a single technical change to address. But again, there isn’t much substance in these pre-announced updates. Should we panic and invest significant effort into them when we could focus on overall site quality improvements?
Why should we care? As SEOs, should we allocate so many resources to these pre-announced updates if they have minimal impact on rankings? Wouldn’t our time be better spent focusing on the next core update, which demands more effort and resources on improving overall site quality, better content, and the myriad other elements needed to enhance your site?
