Google released its part 1 of two part core algorithm update this June naming it the ‘June 2021 Core Update.’ Did you know that Google tweaks its search algorithm around 500 to 600 times each year?
Every year, Google updates its core algorithm every few months or so, to make the life of its hundreds and thousands of end-users easy and trouble-free. There have been times when Google made such updates that caused obvious changes in keyword rankings and website traffic.
The June 2021 core algorithm update that rolled out on 2nd June 2021 is one such update that may have an impact on websites that do not follow search engine guidelines. The update will be rolling out in two parts within a span of one month. Google says that it wanted to pack more changes into the June 2021 update, but not all updates are ready yet. So the next part of the core update will be live in July 2021.
Part 1 – June 2021 Core Update
The first part of the core update will be affecting the search engine results pages (SERPs) to help improve search results for its users. Here’s what Google Search liaison Danny Sullivan said on Twitter,
“Later today, we are releasing a broad core update, as we do several times per year. It is called the June 2021 Core Update. Our guidance about this update is here:
The update will be followed by the July 2021 Core update. Some of our planned improvements for the June 2021 update aren’t quite ready, so we’re moving ahead with the parts that are, then we will follow with the rest with the July 2021 update. Most sites won’t notice either of these updates, as is typical with any core updates..
Of course, any core update can produce drops or gains for some content. Because of the two-part nature of this release, it’s possible that a very small slice of content might see changes in June that reverse in July.
The June 2021 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. The June 2021 Core Update rollout is complete as of June 12, 2021.”
After the update came into effect, both desktop and search results saw changes similar to each other, in terms of volatility. At the peak of the update, on 4th June, the average SERP volatility across all sectors had scores of 9.2 (for desktop) and 9.3 (for mobile).
Here’s what Google has to say about the things site owners should know about core updates.
Gains and Losses after the June 2021 Update
There was an evident pattern with how this update affected websites in specific categories and how it was unique from core updates of recent months and years. While there are hundreds of factors at play in the changes you see to website rankings during a core algorithm update rollout, these changes are not permanent. Note that another core update is rolling out a month later, so the gains or losses may reverse themselves next month. Nevertheless, here is the list of the top 5 websites that gained and lost.
Domains that gained:
These 5 domains saw the greatest total increase in visibility between June 4 and June 14, 2021:
- wikipedia.org
- amazon.com
- cambridge.org
- lifewire.com
- dictionary.com
Domains that lost:
These 5 domains saw the greatest total decrease in visibility between June 4 and June 14, 2021:
- tripadvisor.com
- wiktionary.org
- quora.com
- techradar.com
- youtube.com
Apart from this, the sites that saw the biggest visibility gains mainly belonged to the Food & Drink, Law & Government, and Internet & Telecom sectors.
Now, businesses, publishers and industry experts are confused as to which update is for what?! Should they make changes to their websites if they’ve lost rankings/traffic? Or just wait out this period (July-August) to see what happens since another algorithm update named “Page Experience Update” is already being rolled out. What to do?! And what the heck is a page experience update anyway?!
Our Suggestions
Google has already begun with their delayed core update, “Page Experience Update” and it’ll be completed in the next couple of months. There’s a high possibility that this performance data will change over the next few months. To monitor and keep an eye on these updates, you can use the following tools:
While you cannot futureproof your site against algorithm updates that affect your organic visibility, some things we suggest you should do are:
- Avoid fixing what is not broken yet
- Keep an eye on the official announcement from Google
- Work on “on-page” & make your website/app a great experience for users
- Work hard to build backlinks from authoritative & trustworthy websites as it is one of the most important ranking factors. To know why link building is important, click here.
In the end, if all of this seems too confusing and tough to grasp, just reach out to us and we’ll help you with your digital marketing objectives & business goals.
