News Analysis
The Gist
- Frequent updates. This is Google’s fourth core update of the year, following closely on the heels of a November update.
- Uncertain impact. The actual impact of Google’s core updates on traffic and rankings will remain unknown until the rollout is complete.
- Google’s advice. Following a core update, assess traffic and ranking changes without rushing to make significant alterations.
Not another core update…
As if SEOs weren’t scrambling enough to understand exactly what makes Google rankings tick, the search giant has gone and released its fourth core update of the year.
The rollout began on December 12 and should take around two weeks to complete — just in time for the new year.
Inside the December 2024 Core Update
As per usual, Google is pretty tight-lipped about what changes they’re making.
The canned response is that these updates are designed to make sure search results are reliable and helpful for searchers — sticking to Google’s stated promise to prioritize high-value and human-centric content.
If you’re wondering why another update so soon (there was just one in November), Google claims: “...we have different core systems we’re always improving.”
The Dec. 2024 core update is rolling out, and we expect it will complete in two weeks.
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 12, 2024
If you're wondering why there's a core update this month after one last month, we have different core systems we're always improving. This past blog post explains more: https://t.co/N5p3KsJyiI
In fact, the search giant makes thousands of updates each year, we just don’t know about them (though sometimes we do…). But it only shares news of updates deemed notable.
Google typically tries to avoid having updates during this time of year — late November to mid-December — due to the holiday shopping season. Sometimes, however, that’s not possible. According to Google, “If we have updates that can improve Search, that have been developed over the course of several months, we release them when they’re ready.”
Will This Update Impact Traffic and Rankings?
The short answer is: maybe.
There’s no way to tell if a core update will impact your traffic and rankings until the rollout is complete. And even then, you might not be able to say with certainty that is was the update that caused changes.
Here’s Google’s advice:
- Wait until the core update has finished rolling out. Then wait another week for good measure.
- Next, compare weekly stats. More specifically, you want to compare the week before the update began rollout and the second week after.
- Look at your top pages and queries. Have you seen drops in rankings?
- Is the drop small? If so, Google says don’t do anything drastic (or maybe make no changes at all).
- Is the drop large? It’s time to do a deeper assessment.
- Look at different search types. You’ll want to look at web search, Google images, video mode and/or the news tab to get a more complete picture of what’s happening.
A new “24 hours” view with hourly data will be coming to performance reports in Search Console. This feature should allow you to better assess your site’s performance amid these big updates.
What to Do If You See a Big Drop in Rankings
What constitutes a big drop in rankings? It’s a notable change, like a page dropping from 10 in search results to 29.
If you’ve waited a full week after the update’s rollout and you see some big drops, you can use Google's self-assessment to check if your site is delivering the type of content it prioritizes. This assessment includes a number of questions around content, quality and expertise.
Questions include:
- Does the content provide original information or reporting?
- Does the content provide a complete or comprehensive overview of the topic?
- Is the page title descriptive and helpful?
- Is the page something you’d bookmark or share with a friend?
- Does the content have any spelling or style issues?
- Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it?
- Is the content written or reviewed by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well?
What’s a small drop in rankings? This is a less noticeable (though still concerning to SEOs) change, like a page dropping from position 2 to 4.
In this case, Google cautions not to take drastic measures, especially because small fluctuations can happen at any time, not just during core updates. If you’re only seeing small changes, it’s best to hang tight and not make any updates.
Ultimately, Google claims it rewards content that provides a good page experience. That means a good user experience, as well as people-first content that’s created primarily for humans — not search engines.
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How Many Updates Has Google Made This Year?
This is Google’s fourth core update of the year, though it’s also made updates to its spam and helpful content parameters. You can read more about these changes here:
- The November 2024 core update released on Nov. 11 and ended on Dec. 5
- The August 2024 core update was released on Aug. 15 and ended on Sept. 3
- The June 2024 spam update was released on June 20 and ended on June 27
- The March 2024 core update was released on March 5 and ended on April 19
- The March 2024 spam update was released on March 5 and ended on March 20
