Late in the afternoon on May 4, Google’s official Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, posted a tweet that shocked the SEO community – that they in fact have released a new core update in midst of the coronavirus pandemic:
The May 2020 Core Update is now rolling out live. As is typical with these updates, it will typically take about one to two weeks to fully roll out.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 4, 2020
Per usual, we can expect to see changes to search over the next coming weeks, so be sure to stay alert and keep an eye on your rankings as the update takes effect.
Community Response
Almost immediately, Google received backlash from digital marketers who know the damage that core updates can do. This is the second update of 2020 after their broad core algorithm update in mid-January.
When Google roll out a core algo update on May the 4th and don’t give it a Star Wars-y name pic.twitter.com/5cIG6Je59z
— Izzi Smith (@izzionfire) May 4, 2020
What We Know
As this update is so recent, we do not have much to report yet on what will be coming, as Google has not specified what exactly is going to be changing.
However, SERoundtable posted what they are seeing so far across various ranking tools, with the most severe spike being from Rank Ranger:
Source: www.seroundtable.com
Stay tuned for more news about this core update on our blog. In the meantime, keep in mind Google’s general advice when it comes to their core updates:
- Continue to focus on quality content
- Provide content that answers questions, provides expertise, and is original
- Understand the E-A-T method and take it into consideration
- Updates happen often, so as long as you are doing your due diligence, your site should not be negatively impacted
If you have any concerns about this update and would like assistance enacting search engine optimization, we’d be happy to help.
