SEARCHENGINES
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update & Volatility Heated

I am really trying not to cover the Google search ranking volatility and not report on another Google search ranking update but today things got super heated again. And don’t get me wrong, the Google search results have been very heated for over a month but today, things spiked above those new normal levels.
And I sit here, refreshing the “official” Google ranking updates page, expecting to see Google announce a new update but now, nothing since the April 2023 reviews update has been announced – yet.
Previous Recent Unconfirmed Updates
Just to catch you up, we last reported about an unconfirmed Google update around June 28th and 29th and then again June 23rd then on June 19th we reported about ongoing heated volatility with Google Search. We also reported on an update on June 14th, one around June 14th and ongoing, then June 6th then around May 22/23rd, then around May 17t, then on May 10th and the other around early May.
But again, the past couple of months have been of the charts. Let me share those charts.
Google Tracking Tools
Here are what those tracking tools are showing over the past month or so, especially today’s volatility:
SEO Chatter
There has been a spike in chatter also amongst the SEO community both at WebmasterWorld and the comments here.
Here are some random quotes:
Wednesday’s traffic almost came back to my new, lower level at 97% with today seemingly continuing in a similar way. July 2022 was my lowest traffic month of 2022 after a 17% drop from June, it will be interesting to see if July 2023 will achieve similar.
I have had better, higher and more consistent traffic since Monday, but it started dropping again last night…especially USA, AU, and CA traffic. Traffic to my home page suddenly dropped this week by 74% and then has stayed suppressed since then, but traffic to other pages has been much higher so it compensated. It seems that this is an endless merry-go-round of constantly assuring that some part of the site drops off a cliff, no matter how well it ranks.
And here we go again … Yesterday I achieved 97.7% of my OLD average with good traffic all day UNTIL 23.00 and then it fell of the cliff edge until 07.00 this morning, we’ll see how Friday goes however I doubt it will do much.
What Happen Dude. I Lost All of My Sites Traffic 3000 per day to 200 one of my site and other site ZERO Traffic
Seeing another possible updates already in my niche
Only 2 impression today, can’t figure out where I went wrong , yet unconfirmed update it seems for now
Looks like another shake up is happening. Weird traffic patterns and massive fluctuations in impressions over the last 7 days.
Looks like it’s getting some things right, and a heck of a lot wrong.
I have a strong feeling another confirmed update will be announced in the next few days.
Something definitely happened again today…
Like others reported, a huge drop in traffic AGAIN.
Anyone experiencing a sudden drop in traffic again?
SERP volatility heated again today 7th July
Are any of you seeing anything?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Hanukkah Decorations Are Live For 2023

Hanukkah (aka Chanukah) starts this coming Thursday night, December 7th. Google has added its Hanukkah decorations to the Google Search results interface to celebrate. Google does this every year and I expect to see the same rollout in the coming weeks for Christmas and Kawanzaa but for now, since Chanukah is in the coming days, we have the Hanukkah decorations live at Google Search.
Here is a screenshot of the Chanukah decorations as they look like on the mobile search results.
You can see it yourself by searching on Google for [chanukah], [hanukkah], but not yet [חֲנוּכָּה] or other spelling variations yet but it should soon. It looks better on mobile than it does on desktop results.
To see the past, the 2023 decorations, 2021 decorations, 2020 Chanukah decorations, 2019 Google holiday decorations, the 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and so on.
Happy Chanukah, everyone!
Forum discussion at X.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Pay Accepted Icons In Google Search Results

Google seems to be testing a Google Pay Accepted label or icon in the Google search results. This label has the super G logo followed by the words “Pay accepted” words next to search result snippets that support Google Pay and notate such in their structured data.
This was first spotted by Khushal Bherwani who shared some screenshots of this on X – here is one:
Here are some more screenshots:
Here is test and without test window for same query. pic.twitter.com/n9cYWBOsro
— Khushal Bherwani (@b4k_khushal) October 20, 2023
Brodie Clark also posted some screenshots after on X:
In continuation from the test from October, Google is now testing out a new Google Pay label associated with organic results. Last month, Google was testing Pay Accepted text, with this month changing it to Pay encrypted checkout. More details: https://t.co/MvFNoPmMDR pic.twitter.com/WDVVc4RbTO
— SERPs Up 🌊 (@SERPalerts) November 30, 2023
I tried to replicate this but I came up short.
This is not the first time Google had similar icons like this in its search results.
Forum discussion at X.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Discover Showing Older Content Since Follow Feature Arrived

Typically, Google Discover shows content that is less than a day old, but it can show content that is weeks, months, or even years old. However, typically, Google will show more recent content in the Discover feed. Well, that may have changed with the new Google follow feature.
Glenn Gabe, who is a very active Google Discover user, noticed that since the Follow feature rolled out, he has been seeing content that is weeks and months old way more often than before the follow feature rolled out. Glenn wrote on X that “this could also be playing a role. i.e. Google isn’t providing as much recent content, but instead, focusing on providing targeted content based on the topics you are following.”
It makes sense that if you follow a specific topic and if Google Discover only shows the most authoritative types of content, it might be hard for Google to find new content on that topic. So it does make sense that Google may show older content more often for that specific topic you follow.
Here are screenshots Glenn shared:
Have you noticed this in your Discover feed?
Forum discussion at X.
-
SOCIAL5 days ago
Musk regrets controversial post but won’t bow to advertiser ‘blackmail’
-
SEO6 days ago
SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research]
-
MARKETING6 days ago
Revolutionizing Auto Retail: The Game-Changing Partnership Between Amazon and Hyundai
-
SEO5 days ago
A Year Of AI Developments From OpenAI
-
SEO3 days ago
GPT Store Set To Launch In 2024 After ‘Unexpected’ Delays
-
PPC5 days ago
5 Quick Tips to Increase Referral Traffic
-
SEARCHENGINES6 days ago
Most SEOs Believe Google’s November Core & Reviews Updates Will Complete In December
-
PPC6 days ago
Facebook Ads Benchmarks for 2024: NEW Data + Insights for Your Industry