Google Core June Update

From June 3 – 8, Google rolled out a broad core algorithm update that is now called the 2019 Google Core June Update. This update shook the SEO world because a few big-time sites took big-time hits (The Daily Mail, anyone? ?). One site that looked pretty darn reputable even had to shut its doors because the loss in search visibility cut their revenue by as much as 90%. (That’s not a typo. More on that later.) So, what the heck happened? What did this Google Core June Update do, and who did it affect? More importantly, how can you rebound from this Google update if your site tanked in the SERPs? We’re exploring all of that today. Google Core June Update: Table of Contents What Did the Google Core June Update Do? The Google Core June Update is Broad and Not Specific to One Area It May Have Affected Site Relevance to User Searches What Sites Did the Google Core June Update Impact? Cryptocurrency News Sites Health, Travel, and General News Media Sites Retail and Image Sites How Can Site Owners Recover from the Google June Core Update? Double-Down on Quality… …But Understand What Quality Actually Means to Google Think of Your Users First, and Strive to BE Useful Takeaways from the Google Core June Update: What Can We Learn from This? [bctt tweet=”Big-time sites dropping their search visibility big-time this 2019?! Oh no! ? @JuliaEMcCoy explains more about what happened in the 2019 Google Core June Update and how site owners can recover. ” username=”ExpWriters”] What Did the Google Core June Update Do? We can only speculate as to what aspects of ranking the Google Core June Update actually affected. That said, there have been rumors and guesses aplenty circulating the web. 1. The Google Core June Update is Broad and Not Specific to One Area The Google June 2019 Core Update was largely broad and not specific to one area of SEO or search, according to statements from John Mueller, Webmaster Trends Analyst for Google, and Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison. That means rushing to add more biographical information to your content or cutting out intrusive ads to improve your site’s E-A-T isn’t the answer for regaining rankings. 2. It May Have Affected Site Relevance to User Searches More specifically, Mueller said there was “nothing to fix” for site owners or SEOs – instead, the Google Core update had more to do with a broad range of factors outside of what webmasters can control, including their content’s relevancy to user searches. As Mueller said in a Google Webmaster Hangout summarized by Search Engine Journal, user expectations for searches change all the time. Google is trying to make sure they meet those expectations: “Sometimes what users expect evolves and similarly, sometimes our algorithms are, the way that we try to determine relevance, they evolve as well.” Danny Sullivan also plainly stated on Twitter that the Core June Update was broad, and that people should think more broadly about how their site could improve: We tell lots of things to do. Improve site speed. Consider secure. Etc. But that’s not what this update was about. It’s broad. And respectfully, I think telling people there’s no particular thing to “fix” is indeed helpful. It means, hopefully, they think more broadly… — Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) August 1, 2018 What does a “broad” update mean in this context? SEOs like Roger Montii have posited it means your site and content aren’t to blame for any rankings you lost. Instead, perhaps user search intent has changed for the specific queries you’re targeting, and your content is no longer relevant or useful for the questions people are asking. “…it’s not a problem with your site, but rather a change in user habits that may be reflected in the kinds of pages that Google shows in the search results.” [bctt tweet=”What did the Google Core June Update do? Rumors say that 1) the update is broad and not specific to one area of SEO and 2) it may have affected site relevance to user searches. ? It’s not your content or website, it’s just Google.” username=”ExpWriters”] What Sites Did the Google Core June Update Impact? This update affected several BIG sites in a major way. What happened, and which sites were hit hardest? Here’s what we know and what SEOs are speculating. 1. Cryptocurrency News Sites According to CCN, major sites that saw the brunt of hits from the Google June Core Update were news media sites centered on cryptocurrency. In fact, CCN itself has been forced to close its doors because of the steep, dramatic decline in search visibility they saw after the update rolled through. Their mobile traffic from Google searches dropped by over 71% within 12 hours. Other cryptocurrency news sites affected include Cointelegraph, U.today, and CryptoPotato, according to CCN and Forbes. [bctt tweet=”The 2019 Google Core June Update affected cryptocurrency sites such as CCN, which dropped its mobile traffic for over 71%! ? Check out @JuliaEMcCoy’s post about Google’s latest shocking update. #SEO” username=”ExpWriters”] Here’s a chart showing other domains with major drops in search visibility from the data Sistrix gathered: 2. Health, Travel, and General News Media Sites Other websites that saw a major impact from the Google Core June Update include those publishing news media for industries like health, travel, and general topics. As you can see in the chart above, the second website in the column of names is The Daily Mail, which saw up to 50% decline in search visibility. Other major publishers affected include NFL.com, Conde Nast Traveller, Mercola, Dr. Axe, Mind Body Green, and Prevention. According to Sistrix, NFL.com’s search visibility dropped by 24%. Travel news media sites like CNTraveller.com dropped by 18%. Health news sites like Prevention and Mind Body Green dropped by 29% and 30%, respectively. [bctt tweet=”Popular sites like The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller, and Mind Body Green dropped their search visibility too after the 2019 Google Core June Update! … Read more