SEARCHENGINES
Unconfirmed Google Search Algorithm Ranking Update On October 25

I am seeing signs of another possible Google Search ranking algorithm update today that kicked off last night into today (October 24 and October 25). This is an unconfirmed update, Google has not announced any official update yet but maybe this is the first set of tremors post the completion of the Google October 2023 core update and spam update?
I am currently watching a large spike in chatter without the SEO community as of this morning. Generally that chatter will continue to increase as SEOs in the West wake up and check their analytics and tracking tools.
Plus, some of the automated Google tracking tools are showing volatility already. I assume by tomorrow and later today, the tools that are not showing the search result volatility will see it then.
Here is what I am seeing.
Tracking Tools On October 25, 2023 Unconfirmed Google Update
Here is what the automated tracking tools show for October 25, 2023 iuncofnriemd Google update over the two-week or so period.
SEO Community Chatter
Here is some of the chatter from within the SEO community around this unconfirmed update. I am getting these comments from WebmasterWorld and the comments on this site:
Was there a SERP update recently? The reason I ask is because my traffic has jumped about 23%. However, I don’t know of any updates.
I can answer my own question, the answer was 19.00 UK time yesterday. Traffic was completely normal and then almost off the edge of the cliff and back to the levels seen duing the updates.
UK. big shuffling today.
UAE: I saw a slight drop in my keywords…
Something is definitely happening for the past 2 days.
2 days back, I reported traffic was a bit low but my conversions improved.
Yesterday, not a single conversion from Google’s traffic while traffic became even lower than before (50% difference).
Did a quick check on my keyword rankings and they’re fluctuating crazily, especially any product or buyer-intent keywords. You all may want to check it out too.
I reported yesterday a 3x boost in traffic before noon. It declined rapidly after that (to well below normal), so I can only assume they were then pushing that traffic boost to other sites at my expense.
you’re right about something happening. just checked the semrush sensor and it’s at 8.0. and your prediction makes sense. these things always start well before they announce.
agree. Quick one: did ytd spike you seen translate into conversions as well, and if the trend is keeping for today ref. traffic? Asking as I think for couple of business we run today is settling to normal again, and conversions for ytd though traffic was up nicely were not following the trend with traffic?
Traffic is so low today, Google engineers trying so hard to get 1% of the traffic they left from bloggers and publishers and turning all the traffic to big companies and quora reddit.
Early on yesterday we had a very high rate of conversions. Far more (3X) than I would usually expect. Later on in the day they really dropped off (below normal). Same low traffic/conversions today.
@rustybrick Are you getting any reporting from people seeing rankings return then leave repeatedly over the last few weeks? We are seeing this.
— Donna Rougeau (@donnathecoach) October 25, 2023
Are you noticing any reversals or changes in your Google search rankings since yesterday?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
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.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Core Update Done Followed By Intense Search Volatility, New Structured Data, Google Ads Head Steps Down & 20 Years Covering Search

Google’s November 2023 core update finally finished rolling out this week, and it was the longest core update rollout. Then, a day later, we saw more intense Google search ranking volatility and chatter. Google added new organization structured data and also added a new profile page and discussion forum structured data, both with Search Console and Rich Results test support. Google’s crawl rate setting is going away soon. Google Search Console went down a couple of times this week. Google spoke about the SEO value of bringing back 404 pages for links. Did you see the Google patent for what appears to be SGE? Microsoft is working to bring GPT-4 Turbo to Copilot and Bing Chat. Google Ads won’t allow personalized ads for consumer finance topics in February 2024. Google Local Service Ads has new impression metrics. Google Ads released its Ads API schedule for 2024. Google is testing Gray accepted labels in the search results. Google is testing line separators between sitelinks. Google is testing an interview label for news results. Google local photos is testing hearts and other emotion reactions. Google is testing removing the cache link from the search result listings. Google’s head of search ads, Jerry Dischler, is stepping down after 15 years. And I’ve been covering the search industry and search for 20 years now. 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.
Sponsored by BruceClay, who has been doing search marketing optimization since 1996 and also has an amazing SEO training platform.
Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast player to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed. For the original iTunes version, click here
Search Topics of Discussion:
Please do subscribe on YouTube or subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!
-
SEARCHENGINES7 days ago
Google Merchant Center Automatically Creating Promotions
-
SEO5 days ago
Google Discusses Fixing 404 Errors From Inbound Links
-
SOCIAL3 days ago
Musk regrets controversial post but won’t bow to advertiser ‘blackmail’
-
MARKETING7 days ago
3 Questions About AI in Content: What? So What? Now What?
-
SEARCHENGINES5 days ago
Google Search Console Was Down Today
-
MARKETING6 days ago
10 Advanced Tips for Crafting Engaging Social Content Strategies
-
SEO6 days ago
Site Quality Is Simpler Than People Think
-
MARKETING5 days ago
How to Schedule Ad Customizers for Google RSAs [2024]