2023 Updates
November 2023 Core Update — November 2, 2023
ConfirmedLess than a month after the last Core Update, Google rolled out another Core Update on November 2. MozCast spiked at 115.4°F on November 6. Interestingly, Google confirmed that this update impacted a "different core system," confirming the existence of multiple "core" algorithms.
October 2023 Core Update — October 5, 2023
ConfirmedLaunching just a day after the Spam Update, the October 2023 Core Update also rolled out over two weeks. The overlap of the two updates made separating their impact nearly impossible. As usual, Google did not provide specifics about this Core Update.
October 2023 Spam Update — October 4, 2023
ConfirmedGoogle officially rolled out a Spam Update over about two weeks, and peaking at 111.1°F on October 9. Officially, this update improved spam detection in a number of non-English-speaking markets. Unfortunately, it overlapped completely with the October 2023 Core Update.
Indented Results Drop, Part 2 — September 20, 2023
ConfirmedAfter a partial drop in August, indented results disappeared from Google SERPs (in MozCast tracking) entirely on September 20. Google confirmed this change a few weeks later. This resulted in less clustering of results from a single domain, with indented results dropping to their original rankings.
September 2023 Helpful Content Update — September 14, 2023
ConfirmedThe third official Helpful Content Update (and first of 2023) officially rolled out over 13 days, peaking at 110.6°F on September 14. Industry consensus was that this HCU hit harder than the previous two, possibly in the wake of AI-generated content.
August 2023 Core Update — August 22, 2023
ConfirmedGoogle confirmed the second Core Update of 2023, beginning on August 22 and officially lasting 16 days. Unfortunately, due to massive July and August ranking flux, specific details are unclear. MozCast peaked on August 23-24 at 122.7°F.
Indented Results Drop — August 18, 2023
UnconfirmedAugust 18 registered massive ranking flux, with MozCast measuring 127.4°F. The prevalence of page-one indented results dropped 50%. Since some indented results are promoted from lower ranking positions, this caused substantial shake-ups in page-one rankings.
How-to and FAQ Changes — August 8, 2023
ConfirmedGoogle announced that rich results based on How-To and FAQ structured data would be reduced in some situations. As of September 2023, these changes had only partially materialized, with FAQ results showing no reduction on desktop searches.
Massive Summer Heatwave — July 17, 2023
UnconfirmedMozCast registered a spike of 122°F on July 17, and this was just one of a number of record days across the summer of 2023. Other flux-tracking tools showed similar spikes, even in the absence of confirmed Google updates.
Search Generative Experience — May 25, 2023
ConfirmedGoogle officially launched the Search Generative Experience (SGE), adding "AI" results (powered by Google Bard) to the top of some searches. This initial rollout was only to opt-in, signed-in users.
April 2023 Reviews Update — April 12, 2023
ConfirmedGoogle rolled out a new Reviews Update, expanding the scope of these updates beyond product reviews and into businesses, services, destinations, and media. This rollout lasted just under two weeks.
March 2023 Core Update — March 15, 2023
ConfirmedGoogle confirmed a Core Update, beginning on March 15th and officially lasting for 13 days. On the first day of the roll-out, MozCast peaked at 108.7°F, and six days measured above 100°F. As with most Core Updates, Google's guidance was non-specific.
February 2023 Product Reviews Update — February 21, 2023
ConfirmedA Product Reviews Update rolled out over two weeks, peaking at a whopping 112.2° on MozCast on February 28 , with four days in that period exceeding 100°F. This PRU also expanded beyond English-language queries, adding 10 languages.
Unnamed Update — February 15, 2023
UnconfirmedMozCast measured two days of very-high flux (February 15-16), peaking at 106.4°F on Febtuary 16. While there were some reports of ranking shake-ups, Google did not confirm an update.