The start of February 2020 has certainly been an interesting month with regards to a potential Google algorithm update. There has been plenty of low lying chatter throughout various chat rooms and forums. This is also reflected in sensors which are picking up signs of volatility. These shock waves do not, as yet, appear to be anything major but there is certainly still some movement.
The UK has been showing SERP volatility on both desktop and mobile viewports beginning Feb 1st 2020 and continuing through the weekend and into the early stages of the week. We do not yet quite know the implications of these shock waves and as ever Google is typically mute on the topic! We will continue to monitor the sensors and search engine result pages and see if we can discover more. From our end we can only see positive movements for rankings and traffic!
February 8th Search Update – Something Big Happening?
Through the weekend beginning Saturday 8th February 2020, sensors have been picking up signs of a potentially massive Google algorithm update. SEMRush sensor has been throwing up some massive scores well in excess of 9.0/10 throughout the UK! This is consistent throughout locations in both Europe and the US on both desktop and mobile viewports. Whatever Google is rolling out, it is safe to assume it is going to be a big one!
There has been speculation as to whether Google’s featured snippet update (see below) could have some impact upon fluctuation. However, it has been confirmed this update is unlikely to impact scores. The scores that are being thrown up by sensors appear to be correct. Google is yet to comment on the matter. As the rollout continues and more becomes clear we are sure to learn more about its impact and intentions. Until then, sit tight until it blows over!
Quick update on this. I contacted @semrush and the Sensor data should *not* be affected by the recent featured snippet changes. They are looking into the spike, but said the volatility should be accurate… This matches what @dr_pete said about Mozcast data. Just a heads-up. https://t.co/MWisOkBueG
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) February 8, 2020
January 2020 Core Update
With the release of the January 2020 Core Update, as named by Google themselves, we can be sure that 2020 promises to be another interesting year. Although they are typically vague when explaining what aspect of search this update will impact, it would be wise to follow previous guidelines. As the emphasis on search intent and context becomes ever more prominent, be sure to optimise your content for the user!
Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the January 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this blog post for more about that:https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 13, 2020
January 2020 Featured Snippet Update
Another interesting development that January 2020 brought us was their change to featured snippets. Featured snippets are the boxes of information that will summarise a search query and can be found at the top of the organic listings. Before this update it was possible to be able to hold the featured snippet position for a given search term and also rank in the organic listing with the same URL for the search term. Sadly this is no longer! Danny Sullivan, of Google, announced that they would no longer be repeating web pages in the search results. They claim it will help to declutter the result pages and help users to locate relevant information more easily. Makes sense! This makes the importance of clear, concise and well structured content even more important!
If a web page listing is elevated into the featured snippet position, we no longer repeat the listing in the search results. This declutters the results & helps users locate relevant information more easily. Featured snippets count as one of the ten web page listings we show.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) January 22, 2020
Google Algorithm Updates – Are They Ruining Your Digital Strategy?
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Digital Account Executive at US Digital with an avid interest in SEO and all things Digital Marketing. I’ll be updating you with any news on Google Algorithms and latest technology updates.