SEARCHENGINES
Google November 2023 Core Update Is Live
Only two weeks after the October 2023 core update finished rolling out, we have a new core update rolling out – the November 2023 core update. This is a different update to the core update, Google said, “We have different systems that are considered core to our ranking process; this month’s core update involves an improvement to a different core system than last month.”
The new Google November 2023 core update started to roll out yesterday, November 2, at 3:09 pm ET. Like most Google updates, it can take about two weeks to roll out. This is the fourth core update of the 2023 year, and the eighth official Google algorithm update of the 2023 year.
Google wrote it, “Released the November 2023 core update. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.” Here is the tweet with the announcement:
Today we released the November 2023 core update. We’ll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete: https://t.co/hgjEkfpbA2
Related to this, we’ve posted a Q&A on Google Search updates as a refresher about how updates work: https://t.co/N5p3KsJ0ta
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) November 2, 2023
Felt It Coming
Yesterday, I wrote about the bug with the October 2023 core update and noted how it was unusual for the charts to spike with a fix to Google Discover issues. Well maybe that was signs that the new core update was brewing?
Some might think Google is fixing the October core update or that this bug with Discover is related to this November core update but Google is saying it is unrelated. Who really knows…
Google says no:
It’s separate and was resolved already.
— I am John – ⭐ ⭐ LIVE ⭐ ⭐ (@JohnMu) November 2, 2023
Oh and we have a reviews update coming next week.
Google November 2023 Core Update Quick Facts:
Here are the most important things that we know right now in short form:
- Name: Google November 2023 Broad Core Update
- Launched: November 2, 2023 at around 3 pm ET
- Rollout: It will take about one to two weeks to roll out
- Targets: It looks at all types of content
- Penalty: It is not a penalty, it promotes or rewards great web pages
- Global: This is a global update impacting all regions, in all languages.
- Impact: Google would not tell me what percentage of queries or searches were impacted by this update but so far, this seems to be a typical core update that reaches wide and the impact is fast.
- Discover: Core updates impact Google Discover and other features, also feature snippets and more.
- Recover: If you were hit by this, then you will need to look at your content and see if you can do better with Google’s core update advice.
- Refreshes: Google will do periodic refreshes to this algorithm but may not communicate those updates in the future. Maybe this is what we saw the past couple of weeks or all those unconfirmed Google updates.
Recent Google Search Updates
Google has been busy with pushing out search updates. Google is rolled out the October 2023 spam update. Google also rolled out the October 2023 core update last month. And Google fixed a bug with that core update that was impacting Google Discover traffic a couple of days ago..
We had an unconfirmed update on October 25th and October 27th and also around October 1st. Google did not confirm this update, but some are speculating it is either a tremor from the helpful content update or an early spam update consequence.
The September 2023 Google helpful content update started on September 14th and finished rolling out on September 28th.
And it was only 6 weeks ago when Google started to roll out the August 2023 core update. That update started on August 22nd and was completed on September 7th, only four weeks ago.
Plus, to add to all of this, Google had a massive indexing issue on October 4.
If that isn’t enough for you we have a reviews update coming next week.
You got your work cut out for you, SEOs…
Previous Broad Core Updates
Here is a list of the most recent core updates we’ve seen since Google started to confirm them. Previously we nicknamed them Phantom updates or unconfirmed updates.
- October 2023 Core Update: October 5, 2023 through October 19, 2023
- August 2023 Core Update: August 22, 2023 through September 7, 2023
- March 2023 Core Update: March 15, 2023 through March 28, 2023
- September 2022 Core Update: September 12, 2022 through September 26, 2022
- May 2022 Core Update: May 25, 2022 through June 9, 2022
- November 2021 Core Update: November 17, 2021 through November 30, 2021
- July 2021 Core Update: July 1, 2021 through July 12, 2021
- June 2021 Core Update: June 2, 2021 through June 12, 2021
- December 2020 Core Update: December 3, 2020 through December 16, 2020
- May 2020 Core Update: May 4, 2020 through May 18, 2020
- January 2020 Core Update: January 13, 2020 through mostly January 17, 2020
- September 2019 Core Update: September 24, 2019
- Google June 2019 Core Update: June 3, 2019 through June 8, 2019
SEO Chatter On November 2023 Core Update
Here is some of the chatter from WebmasterWorld and the comments here:
Seeing drops in the SERPs since yesterday. Anyone know what’s going on?
Some sites are seeing gains and lot seeing drops. Is this the new norm?
I’ve been doing quite well with all the updates except for whatever is going on right now.
OK, I’m gonna be serious – is this the single most heated-up timeframe in terms of algo updates?
That makes it 3 core updates in ~2 months, not to mention the HCU and spam. I’ve been around since early 2015ish and I don’t remember things going as haywire.
And in the next few weeks we can look forward to another review update as well…
What does Google’s search team actually do between updates? Soon, that will only be enough for a trip to the toilet.
regarding the core update released today, there’s always that feeling of hope it’ll be the core update that improves things. 0 for 3 so far in 2023 core updates. no negative impact with HCU though, so there’s that.
I’m also worried now… The past 24 hours when many of us reported a sharp drop in rankings and traffic… Was this the effect of the core update? If it is and it stays like this, we’re fucked. Time will tell… Guess we will wait a few days.
Awful day, again. Cheap AI created YouTube videos and webpages, even books are now outranking genuine content.
I’m actually seeing a slight uptick in traffic since the update was announced. It’s obviously super early.
I knew something was up…traffic up 22% today
Looks like attendance is dropping again today… I’ve already lost 50% anyway. attendance and 50 percent of revenue. What happens next? Maybe I will lose 100% attendance and 100%. percent of revenue?
New update, so that’s what I’m tanking this time, let’s see after the rollout complete. I’m doing also some clean up on website, not for SEO but for me, and customers :D
But my overall traffic from the hosting is increasing, so google going down (-20%), traffic going up (+30% since a few days) from WP Engine billable visits. Traffic should come from somewhere…. (They don’t counts bots).
increased traffic +15% but all Zombies (FZM).
google doesn´t care about quality anymore.Its just a weightning where is the negative break even point that “normal” poeple are
overwrought with ads.
Crazy drop today, I hope they undo the mess they did with the Oct update.
Are you kidding me? Another core update was released today. https://t.co/1nmH2ZDhho pic.twitter.com/w8WwoR871K
— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) November 2, 2023
Wow
It is not even BFCM yet
✅ 3 More major updates
SGE rollout next?https://t.co/CAQ2AS6LMS pic.twitter.com/u8wHm63MA8
— Andy Beard (@AndyBeard) November 2, 2023
The Alligator November Update is here 🐊😱 https://t.co/7kIVV6R4Cq
— Aleyda Solis 🕊️ (@aleyda) November 2, 2023
OMG, the Nov core update is rolling out! -> “We have different systems that are considered core to our ranking process; this month’s core update involves an improvement to a different core system than last month.” AND, a reviews update is rolling out next week. Then no more… https://t.co/V6pSrTZ3EB
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) November 2, 2023
Guys I’m running out of funny jokes to make when you release these updates, please let me rest https://t.co/C3hGX2muSl
— Chloe is doing #NaNoWriMo (@chloeivyroseseo) November 2, 2023
Google: QUICK, how do we distract from the 🐊-gate?
⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/f8wPyI8VDa— Areej (@areej_abuali) November 2, 2023
The day after the @verge article??? https://t.co/8TzN864w1v pic.twitter.com/80DBsDz85T
— Shiver Maker Jason Brown 🇺🇦 (@keyserholiday) November 2, 2023
Google Tracking Tools On November 2023 Core Update:
Here is what the tools are showing so far from the tools:
Cognitive SEO (seems stalled):
I should also note that there are some noticing big local pack changes, here is what the BrightLocal Local RankFlux tool shows:
Google posted a bit more detail over here with more Q&A.
Forum discussion at X and WebmasterWorld.
AI
How AI is Transforming SEO and What Website Owners Need to Know
The digital landscape is changing fast, and artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of this transformation. One of the fields AI is impacting significantly is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In recent years, search engines have become increasingly intelligent in how they rank content, and AI is playing a major role in these changes.
For website owners, understanding how AI will impact SEO is essential to stay competitive and visible online. This article explores how AI is influencing SEO today, what we can expect in the near future, and the practical steps website owners can take to optimize their sites in an AI-driven SEO landscape.
The Role of AI in Modern SEO
SEO has evolved from keyword stuffing to a more complex practice involving quality content, user intent, and technical optimization. Today, search engines are looking at more than just keywords; they are focusing on understanding the intent and context behind a user’s search. This shift has been made possible by advances in AI and machine learning technologies.
AI helps search engines process and rank enormous amounts of data, allowing them to better interpret what users are looking for. Some notable AI technologies shaping SEO include:
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP enables search engines to understand language more naturally, helping them interpret search queries more accurately.
- Deep Learning: This subset of AI allows search engines to improve their understanding over time by learning from vast amounts of data.
- Machine Learning Algorithms: Algorithms like Google’s RankBrain and BERT analyze search behavior and content to provide more relevant results.
These technologies are improving how search engines analyze content, making it crucial for website owners to keep up with AI-driven changes in SEO.
Key Ways AI is Impacting SEO
AI is already changing SEO in various ways. Let’s look at some of the main areas impacted by AI and what it means for website owners.
1. User Intent and Content Relevance
One of the biggest impacts of AI on SEO is how it helps search engines understand user intent. Modern algorithms don’t just match keywords; they analyze user behavior and context to provide results that answer the user’s underlying question.
This means that website owners need to prioritize content that addresses specific user needs. Instead of focusing solely on keywords, it’s essential to create content that answers common questions, solves problems, or fulfills a particular need that users may have.
Tip for Website Owners: Use AI-powered tools like chatbots and analytics platforms to understand what your users are looking for on your site. Tailor your content to align with those needs for improved relevance and engagement.
2. Personalization
AI allows search engines to personalize results based on individual preferences, search history, and location. For instance, someone searching for “best restaurants” in New York might see different results than someone searching for the same term in Los Angeles.
For SEO, this means a greater focus on localized and targeted content. Website owners need to consider how their content can appeal to specific demographics or regions to make the most of AI-driven personalization in search results.
Tip for Website Owners: Use AI-powered SEO tools to understand your audience’s demographics better. Consider adding location-based keywords or creating content specific to your main audience groups.
3. Voice Search Optimization
As AI-powered voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant become more popular, voice search is changing how people interact with search engines. Voice searches tend to be longer and more conversational than text-based searches, and they often focus on local queries.
This shift toward voice search requires website owners to optimize for natural, conversational phrases and questions. Content that mirrors spoken language and answers specific questions has a better chance of ranking for voice search queries.
Tip for Website Owners: Consider using “long-tail” keywords and question-based phrases in your content. Tools like Answer the Public and Google’s “People Also Ask” feature can help identify popular questions related to your niche.
4. Content Quality and User Engagement Signals
AI has enabled search engines to assess content quality in ways that were previously difficult. Google, for example, uses AI to monitor user engagement metrics like click-through rates, bounce rates, and time spent on a page. Content that engages users is ranked higher because it’s more likely to be valuable.
This shift makes it critical for website owners to focus on content quality. Engaging and informative content not only attracts users but also keeps them on the page longer, which signals to AI-powered search engines that the content is valuable.
Tip for Website Owners: Focus on creating high-quality, easy-to-read content that keeps users engaged. Add visuals, infographics, or videos to make the content more interesting and shareable.
5. Image and Video Recognition
Search engines are now capable of recognizing and indexing images and videos through AI-driven technologies like image recognition. This means that visual content, once overlooked by search engines, is now a critical component of SEO.
For example, Google Lens allows users to search for information about objects simply by taking a photo, which has opened up new SEO possibilities for image-based content. Website owners can optimize images by using descriptive file names, alt text, and relevant captions.
Tip for Website Owners: Optimize images and videos by adding descriptive alt text and captions. Consider using AI-driven image recognition tools to ensure that visual content aligns with keywords and SEO strategies.
How AI Will Shape SEO in the Future
As AI continues to advance, we can expect even more changes in SEO. Here’s a look at some potential future trends and what they mean for website owners.
1. Predictive SEO
In the future, AI may enable “predictive SEO,” where algorithms can forecast popular keywords or trends before they peak. By analyzing data patterns and user behavior, AI could help website owners predict what users will search for, allowing them to create content proactively.
What This Means for Website Owners: Predictive SEO could make it easier to stay ahead of trends and anticipate the content users are likely to search for. Using predictive analytics tools, website owners can be more strategic about the content they create.
2. AI-Generated Content and Content Curation
AI is increasingly capable of generating high-quality content. Tools like GPT-3 and other advanced language models can write coherent articles, product descriptions, and more. While AI-generated content isn’t yet perfect, it could be a valuable tool for generating SEO-friendly content quickly and efficiently.
What This Means for Website Owners: In the future, website owners might use AI tools to supplement human-written content, allowing for quicker content creation. However, quality control will still be essential, as search engines are likely to favor content that feels authentic and engages readers.
3. Advanced User Behavior Analysis
AI-powered algorithms will become even better at analyzing user behavior, tracking every click, scroll, and interaction. This advanced tracking could lead to a more dynamic SEO landscape, where search engine rankings adjust in near real-time based on user engagement data.
What This Means for Website Owners: Continuous user engagement will be essential for maintaining high rankings. Website owners will need to be proactive in analyzing user behavior and refining their content to keep up with what resonates most with their audience.
4. Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Multilingual SEO
NLP capabilities in AI are advancing quickly, and search engines will become more adept at interpreting language, meaning SEO may become more language-neutral in the future. This could allow websites in one language to rank well in another, depending on user demand and relevance.
What This Means for Website Owners: To maximize reach, website owners might need to focus on multilingual SEO. Investing in high-quality translations and optimizing for a global audience can open up new SEO opportunities.
Practical Tips for SEO in an AI-Driven Future
Given the changes AI is bringing to SEO, website owners can take proactive steps to stay ahead:
- Focus on User-Centric Content: AI prioritizes content that genuinely answers users’ questions. Rather than focusing only on keywords, make sure your content addresses specific user needs and is easy to understand.
- Utilize AI Tools for Content Strategy: AI-powered tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SurferSEO can help you analyze data trends, identify keyword opportunities, and optimize content effectively.
- Optimize for Voice Search: As more people use voice search, optimize your content for natural, conversational language. Include phrases that match how people speak rather than how they type.
- Enhance Visual SEO: Use descriptive file names, alt tags, and captions for images. Consider incorporating more videos and graphics to improve user engagement.
- Monitor User Engagement Metrics: Track metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and click-through rates to assess content quality. Make improvements based on user behavior to keep your content relevant.
- Experiment with AI-Generated Content: If your site needs frequent updates, consider using AI-generated content as a supplement to human-written content. Ensure it’s well-edited to meet quality standards.
Final Thoughts
AI’s impact on SEO is only beginning, but it’s clear that it will continue shaping how search engines rank content and how website owners approach optimization. By staying informed and adapting to these changes, website owners can not only maintain but improve their visibility in search engine results. Whether it’s optimizing for user intent, embracing predictive analytics, or enhancing visual content, AI provides numerous tools to create a richer, more engaging user experience.
For website owners willing to stay ahead of the curve, AI offers exciting new possibilities for SEO – transforming it from a keyword-driven strategy to a dynamic, user-centered approach that enhances both site performance and user satisfaction.
This article was written by the Entireweb Team.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Search Ranking Volatility October 26th & 27th & 23rd & 24th
While I was offline, it seems we had two bouts of Google Search ranking volatility, one starting around Wednesday, October 23rd and 24th, and then again in the past 24 hours, starting on October 26th and 27th. I mean, this is a lot of the same as my previous Google Search ranking algorithm update coverage.
Again, I am seeing new intense chatter from the SEO community about big ranking changes in the past 24 hours and also from when I went offline on the 23rd and 24th of October.
As a reminder, we covered October 19th and 20th volatility and then on October 15th, October 10th and then before that on October 2nd which lasted a couple of days. The Google August 2024 core update started on August 15th and officially completed on September 3rd. But it was still super volatile the day after it completed and also weeks after it completed and it has not cooled.
We saw big signals on and around September 6th, September 10th or so and maybe around September 14th. We also saw movement around September 18th, last weekend and Septmeber 25th and September 28th or so.
Here is what I am seeing now.
SEO Chatter
Here is some of the chatter in the past 24 hours from both WebmasterWorld and over here:
Google shut down organic traffic completely today in Brazil. The Semrush sensor is normal(8,9), but the traffic is stopped.
Wow, traffic just died today. It’s like my traffic went on a weekend break too.
The worst thing is close to Christmas, it’s as if my website doesn’t even exist.
Why my category pages with little to no data getting indexed and appearing on first page while pages with content are no where to be found? This new update has totally messed up SERPs. Anyone else observing this behavior?
My “informational” site seems to be holding steady rank and traffic wise but seeing competitors drop from page one to 3 then back again to original position a few hours later, its like total flux and nothing I have ever seen, constant movement for months now, hour by hour…. What are they doing?
There is more but here is some of the chatter from Wednesday and Thursday:
Really low traffic today, according to GA.
Update today? Huge drop over here!
Does anyone understand the current chaos? Despite a good ranking, my traffic has dropped drastically since Friday and every day it gets less. The same applies to a number of other website owners I’ve spoken to in the last few days. Especially considering that Google traffic has increased dramatically since August. In the shop the same: until Friday, sales were good, now it’s just zombie traffic again.
Huge swings today again, yesterday it looked like they did a roll back to around March…. now the past few hours it looks like a roll back of a rollback. I think this is the new norm and another money grab by G to have organics in a constant state of flux to prevent any company/site having any sort of stability if not using ads?!
Drop today confirmed since yesterday.
Sheeesh. @rustybrick I’m seeing HUGE movement in last 24 hours, both gains and losses (naturally).— Taylor Kurtz (@RealTaylorKurtz) October 24, 2024
Yep, lots of volatility. For example, here’s a site heavily impacted by the September helpful content update (HCUX) that surged with the August core update, then dropped when a number of other HCUX sites dropped back down AFTER the August core update completed, but now surged… https://t.co/kBavOmX586 pic.twitter.com/f6O8S7YtuO— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) October 27, 2024
Google Tracking Tools
The tracking tools seem at their normal high levels, with nothing really jumping out as massive. So, it is a bit unusual not to see the spike in chatter along with the spike with the tools. Here is what they show:
SERPmetrics (not updated in a week or so):
So what are you all seeing?
I am covering this with a rare Sunday story as I catch up on other stories throughout the week.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Ranking Movement, Sitelinks Search Box Going Away, Gen-AI In Bing & Google, Ad News & More
This week, we had more Google search ranking volatility to report on – surprise, surprise. Google is deprecating its Sitelinks Search Box next month. Google may have penalized Fortune Recommends over site reputation abuse. Google is showing generative AI throughout the search results. Google has this People’s Insights box that shows online forums for unprofessional medical advice. Bing Search is adding AI-enhanced summaries to its search results. There are several bugs with the Bing Webmaster Tools API and documentation. Google Ads performance max won’t take priority over search campaigns when in the same account. Also, Google Ads has sharable ad previews, asset experiments for Performance Max with product feeds and test adding assets and using Final URL expansion. Google search ads now uses travel feeds for hotel ads. Google has a watch video icon for video ads in search. Google to pause ads from showing after the electoral polls close on November 5th. Google Local Service Ads is testing request competitive quotes. Google Merchant Center is testing audience insights. Google Ads API version 18 is out. Nick Fox is the new head of Google Search, he is replacing the super controversial Prabhakar Raghavan. There is a new SEO board game coming out for the holidays. And I am offline today, when this was published, for a holiday, this was pre-written, pre-recorded and scheduled to go live today.s That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.
SPONSOR: This week’s video recap is sponsored by Duda, the Professional Website Builder You Can Call Your Own.
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