August 2023 Google Core Update compared to the March 2023 core update

We wanted to dig deeper into how the Google Core Update August 2023 differed from the previous core updates. Specifically, the broad core update. This update was a major one and it caused significant ranking volatility in Google’s search results. This update was accompanied by weeks of high volatility, which made the actual update feel more muted.

Core update for August 2023. Google’s August 2023 core update began rolling out on August 22, 2023 and ended 16 days later, on September 7, 2023.

Data providers on August 2023 core update

Semrush. Semrush data revealed that August 2023 core update reached a peak of 9.3 on Semrush Sensor data volatile, which happened on August 25th. This was a few days following the official rollout of the update. Comparing that with the March 2023 Core Update, only reached around 8. Take a look at both updates’ peaks over the time period they were rolled out.

It is clear that the volatility spikes in the core update of March 2023 were much larger than those seen in the core update of August 2023. The volatility spikes were constant before, during, and after the August 2023 core update. There were some higher peaks on the 25th of August and the 7th of September, when the update was completed.

This graph shows the maximum volatility in verticals for the core updates between March 2023 and August 2023.

It is difficult to determine which Google update had the most impact because Google’s search engine results are so volatile. Mordy Osertsein, representing Semrush, told me that the March 2023 core update saw a greater increase in overall volatility compared to August. It makes sense to look at volatility trends, because the rank volatility levels had already been quite high by the time August’s update was released. ”

This chart compares the core updates from March and August by the total change per verticle:

Comparing the Core Updates of March 2023 and August 2023, there was also a notable difference in the number of URLs that now rank in the top 10 Google search results compared to those that ranked in the twenty-first or higher position prior to the update:

“When you take it all into consideration, it’s quite a mixed bag.” Mordy Obsertein stated that August’s peak volatility was greater than the Core Update of March 2023. “However if you compare the rank volatility to that of the pre-update volatility, the March 2023 core update seems more significant.” “However, even in this case, it was evident that more than a handful of verticals experienced a dramatic increase in volatility with the latest update,” he said.

RankRanger. The RankRanger Team also sent us data comparing the August 2023 Core Update to the March 2020 core update. This was a major update. The RankRanger Rank Risk Index also showed high volatility on the 25th of August, a few weeks after the update began to be rolled out.

RankRanger is a Similarweb Company and plotted all of the Google core updates that have occurred since December 2020. They found that the average fluctuation for the August update was the second largest update, only topped by the update of June 2021, in terms of position change.

The data shows that the August update is more volatile when compared to the March update.

Shay Harel, from Similarweb, told us: “Comparing niches, the retail niche suffered the most in the top three and top five positions, followed closely by the finance niche.” The health niche also saw the lowest fluctuations.

seoClarity. Mark Traphagen, from seoClarity, shared the seoClarity Ranking Fluctuation Tracker. This is a look at the company’s internal US keyword data. He said: “Interesting, we saw a spike of 51% volatility on final day which tapered off during the weekend.”

This chart was shared with me by a friend:

Mark has sent me another graph from their data set.

Sistrix. Steve Paine, from Sistrix, did his own analysis. He told Search Engine Land that “Overall this was a relatively quiet core update compared to others but there were notable losses and gains.”

Steve Pain stated, “The large spike seen in July on our Update Radar wasn’t confirmed by Google as an algorithm update but overall had a larger effect on domain visibility than August Core Update.”

Sistrix provides a list of the winners and losers in these Google updates. These are the sites that have seen the most visibility changes.

Winners of the Top Prizes

Top losers:

Moz. Moz also picked up on core update volatility. Mozcast also documented the spikes in ain volatility, as can be seen from this screenshot.

Dr. Pete Meyers, from Moz, told us they “saw peak-flux on MozCast between August 23-24” (around 122degF). “Core updates are already multisignal and a little mysterious. This one is even more difficult to decipher than most,” he said.

Update on August 2023 core update

Community. I did a little roundup of what the community had noticed in several different stories on the Search Engine Roundtable. The combined stories had around 500 comments, including the slow start of the update, the first big impact on August 25, then another tremor several days later, and then the final wave surrounding the day the update finished, as well as some minor tremors.

This update, based on what I’ve seen from the community and the Google search volatility over the last few months, was significant but not as hot.

What to do when you’re hit. Google has provided advice for what you should consider if your site was negatively affected by a core upgrade in the past. It’s not necessary to take specific steps to recover from a core update. In fact, it may be that a negative ranking impact does not indicate anything wrong with your page. Google has provided a list questions that you should consider if you are hit by a core update. Google said that you may see some recovery in between core updates, but the most significant change would come after another core update.

Why we care. It can be difficult to determine what to do in order to reverse an algorithmic impact your website may have experienced. It is even more difficult to reverse Google core updates. This data, along with previous experiences and advice, has shown that core updates are wide-ranging and cover many quality issues. This is confirmed by the data. If your website was affected by a major update, you should take a step back and look at your entire site.

This update should have been a success for your business and clients.

Google Updates: More Information

Read more about our coverage on Search Engine Land’s Google Algorithm updates history.

The article Google core updates August 2023 compared to March 2020 first appeared on Search Engine land.