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February 4th Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update

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Google Algorithm Update

There may have been another unconfirmed Google search ranking algorithm update – this one also on the weekend, around February 4th, maybe kicking off on February 3rd. I am seeing signs from both chatter within the SEO community, and also, some of the tools are showing big swings around February 4th.

The previous updates we reported about was an unconfirmed update around January 26th, then on January 18th, then January 14th – you can see the full list over here.

SEO Chatter

Let’s start by looking at some of the chatter within the SEO community. There is chatter both at WebmasterWorld and here in the comments areas:

Global site traffic continued firm all day Thursday for me and ended at 140.3%. Today has started ok for a Friday.

Seeing some sharp increase in traffic as well. Tech based sites are performing really well. Around 40% increase overall. Although a good share of Chinese bot like traffic is also present.

So, my site got a lovely boost a couple of weeks ago. Keywords I hadn’t ranked for in years plus some I had never ranked for particularly well were appearing. Two weeks later and google have yanked the rug out from under me again. A keywod I was on page 1 for is now bottom of page 4. Another that I was page 1 for – page 8 now.

I’m seeing ranking hold relatively steady, but traffic has been much worse this week. The previous two weeks were unusually high though. Yesterday search was down 17% and the day before that it was flat, but traffic to my home page has dropped considerably again. Most of the decline is USA traffic

Feels like Google released another update on Saturday 4th, no?

I noticed big changes on all my websites around 4 pm GMT onwards.

Massive volatility spotted. Seeing crazy fluctuations in rankings too.

Maybe a G Update is just around the corner?

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Got hammered yesterday – almost as bad as any core update.

The fluctuation that started 24-36 hours ago is increasing gradually.

Traffic was up this morning, up until 6am UK time, then zero traffic for 4 hours. 4 hours?? How is that even possible if throttling isn’t the case?

All this chatter was between February 3rd and February 5th.

Google Tracking Tools

Here are what the tracking tool are showing:

RankRanger:

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Cognitive SEO:

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Mozcast:

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SERPmetrics:

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Advanced Web Rankings:

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Semrush:

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Accuranker:

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Algoroo:

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Have you seen any big swings in rankings or traffic with your site since the weekend?

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.



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Google’s Search Liaison Urges Patience As The March 2024 Core Update Continues To Rollout

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Yoda Google

Google is urging site owners and SEOs to have patience as the Google March 2024 core update continues to roll out over the coming weeks. Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison, said on X to wait for the update to complete before deciding on what changes you may want to make.

He wrote, “I would let the update complete before deciding if there are any fundamental changes you might want to make.” In fact, he said, “There might not be any to do at all,” and maybe whatever ranking declines you are seeing now won’t be there when the update is done rolling out.

As a reminder, the March 2024 core update started officially on March 5th, then we first saw ranking shifts on March 8th and 9th, then some reversals on March 12th and then more movement on March 15th. The update can take a full month to roll out, so it may go into April 2024.

Sullivan then went into what other changes or factors may lead to a site seeing less search visibility and traffic.

Your site seems clean and nice. Going through the site, I see [steak pie] as one of your featured recipes. You’re in the carousel and second in web links for that. That’s a pretty solid sign that we like your content.

If you were previously first, trying to move up from second by doing a lot of technical and content stuff wouldn’t be something I’d recommend. Second is super successful. Rankings can also change for various reasons, so you might move back up.

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You might also look to see if there’s any seasonal change. IE: instead of looking at rankings, look at your traffic. If it was higher previously, what for? Perhaps you had some seasonal recipes a few months ago that people are looking for less. We have a page about debugging traffic drops that talks about seasonality here.

Here are those posts within context:

Please be kind in your responses.

Forum discussion at X.

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Google Core Update Rumbling, Manual Actions FAQs, Core Web Vitals Updates, AI, Bing, Ads & More

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Google Core Update Rumbling, Manual Actions FAQs, Core Web Vitals Updates, AI, Bing, Ads & More


For the original iTunes version, click here.

This past weekend (a week ago) we saw the first ranking volatility likely from the Google March 2024 core update. We also some saw possible reversals or recoveries a few days later. Then today, Friday, March 15th, I am seeing more ranking volatility likely related to the core and spam updates. Google posted its official FAQs for pure spam manual actions. Google has clarified its page experience and core web vitals help documentation and how it relates to rankings. Google has replaced FID with INP as a core web vital metric, as expected. Google said sites use AI for some articles but don’t specify which are the lowest quality pages. Google explains that double down on AI content may be a bad idea now. John Mueller’s site dropped out of the Google index this week, no joke. Bing Webmaster Tools may provide up to 24 months of data. Bing Webmaster Tools’s new top SEO insights report can tell you if you have inadequate links. Bingbot now supports Brotli compression. Google Top Stories has this “more context” section written by AI. Google image search is testing like buttons. Google Local panels are testing numerous interface changes. Google local reviews can show photos related to reviews and related photos to photos. Google is testing placing website links next to hotels and restaurants. Google Business Profiles shows services with book now buttons. Google Merchant Center Product Studio released themed templates, with the first being for St. Patrick’s Day. Microsoft Advertising is testing a new advertising console. Microsoft Copilot is now using GPT-4 Turbo. Copilot is now in that Microsoft Advertising console. And if you want to help sponsor those vlogs, go to patreon.com/barryschwartz. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Daily Search Forum Recap: March 15, 2024

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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.


We’re seeing more ranking fluctuations likely related to the Google March core and spam updates. Google Merchant Center Product Studio has new AI generated themed templates, one ready for St. Patrick’s Day. Google Image search is testing thumbs up like buttons. Google tests dishes near me. Google has trending icons in the people also search for section. Plus, I posted the weekly SEO video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:


  • Google March 2024 Core & Spam Update Movement Today


    Today is day 10 of the Google March 2024 core update rollout and Google March 2024 spam update. We believe we saw the core update touch down on March 8th and 9th and some possible recoveries or fluctuations on March 12th. Now I see more signs of Google search ranking volatility likely related to the core and spam updates today.

  • Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Core Update Rumbling, Manual Actions FAQs, Core Web Vitals Updates, AI, Bing, Ads & More


    This past weekend (a week ago) we saw the first ranking volatility likely from the Google March 2024 core update. We also some saw possible reversals or recoveries a few days later. Then today, Friday, March 15th, I am seeing more ranking volatility likely related to the core and spam updates. Google posted….

  • Google Merchant Center Product Studio With Themed Templates Including St. Patrick’s Day


    Google Merchant Center has added new themed templates to the Product Studio. The new theme was for St. Patrick’s Day, which is coming up this Sunday. But Google will soon add Easter, Spring, and Mother’s Day themed templates to the Product Studio as well.


  • Google Image Search Results Testing Like Button


    Google seems to be testing a like, thumbs-up, button on image search results. The thumbs-up icon is near the share and save button and below the image, description and visit button.

  • Google Search Dishes Nearby Carousel


    Have you seen the “dishes nearby” carousel in the mobile Google Search results? I am not 100% sure if it is new, but I don’t think I’ve covered it before. But Google will show dishes served by nearby restaurants in a carousel interface.



  • Google People Also Search For Trending Icons


    Google is placing trending icons on some of the people also search for people in the knowledge panel. We’ve seen various forms of this and I don’t think this is specifically new, but I don’t think I covered this specific example.



  • Wall Of Superstars At Google


    Here is a photo from the Google Hong Kong office of a wall that says “Superstars at Google” and it then shows photos, names and descriptions of specific Googlers.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

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PPC

Other Search

Feedback:


Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.



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