So, without getting tied up in tech language, what do you need to know about this most recent Google core update?
May 2020
Released on May 4th, the “May 2020” update to Google’s core algorithm is the second update this year (the first being in January) and is a particularly large update. While we can’t know the full impact of this update just yet (it takes about two weeks for an update to be released completely), we are starting to notice changes taking place and they’re not all good…
A Stronger Algorithm
Already, the update has shown to be stronger than the previous update in January and it’s impacting many more SERPS and positions.
Most noticeable when it comes to changes, the new update has resulted in considerable volatility in search category traffic. SEM Rush notes that the categories that seem to be most heavily impacted include: Travel, Real Estate, Health, Pets & Animals, and People & Society. As fewer people search under these categories during the lockdown period, those pages and posts related to these industries are seeing a drop in traffic as well as rankings.
While those industries above have been hit hard traffic-wise, however, the news category has been (unsurprisingly) booming. As this traffic has surged, so too has the response of Google to these sites.
When mapped it’s clear to see that the change has impacted more than smaller websites, too. In fact, one of the biggest groups in terms of the ranking changes seen with this latest update is that of websites receiving 1 million visitors monthly or more.