Google Core Updates and Your Website: How to Assess Traffic Changes Correctly

Intro

Several times each year, Google introduces core updates that make broad changes to its search algorithms and ranking systems. These updates are designed to improve how Google surfaces helpful, relevant, and reliable content across the web.

Most websites are unaffected in any noticeable way and may not even realise a core update has occurred. However, if you observe a traffic or ranking change that aligns with the timing of a confirmed core update, it’s important to understand how these updates work and how to evaluate their impact correctly.

How Google Core Updates Work

Core updates are not targeted at individual websites, pages, or industries. Instead, they adjust how Google’s systems evaluate content overall.

As the web evolves, Google continuously reassesses what content best satisfies user intent. Core updates reflect those reassessments at scale.

A useful way to think about this is ranking recalibration rather than punishment. Content that moves down is not necessarily low quality. It may simply be that other content now better matches searcher expectations.

Google frequently uses the analogy of updating a “best of” list. Over time:

• New content becomes available
• Existing content improves or declines in relevance
• User preferences shift
• Context changes

As a result, rankings change even when nothing is technically wrong with a page.

How to Check Whether a Core Update Affected Your Site

If you suspect a ranking or traffic change is related to a core update, avoid reacting immediately. Instead, follow a structured assessment process.

Step 1: Confirm the update has finished

Before analysing performance, verify that the core update rollout has completed using the Google Search Status Dashboard. Drawing conclusions during rollout often leads to false signals.

Step 2: Compare the right time periods

Wait at least one full week after the rollout ends. Then compare:

• One full week after the update
• Against one full week before the update began

This approach reduces short-term volatility and gives a clearer picture of sustained changes.

Step 3: Review your most important pages and queries

Look at the pages and search queries that previously drove the most traffic or rankings. Assess whether changes are minor or substantial.

A small movement, such as dropping from position 2 to position 4, is generally not a cause for concern. Large drops, such as moving from page one to page three or beyond, require deeper evaluation.

Step 4: Segment by search type

Analyse performance separately across:

• Web search
• Image search
• Video results
• News visibility

This can reveal whether the impact is isolated to a specific search surface.

How to Assess a Large Ranking Drop

If your site experiences a sustained and significant decline, Google recommends assessing overall site quality rather than focusing only on individual pages.

Key principles to keep in mind:

• Evaluate the site as a whole, not just isolated URLs
• Be objective and, if possible, ask impartial reviewers to assess your content
• Compare impacted pages against current top-ranking results for the same queries

In many cases, ranking losses occur because other content now does a better job of satisfying the searcher’s intent.

Making Improvements the Right Way

When responding to a core update, avoid short-term or reactionary SEO changes.

What to avoid:

• Removing elements simply because they’re rumored to be “bad for SEO”
• Making mass edits without understanding intent changes
• Deleting content prematurely

What to focus on instead:

• Improving clarity, structure, and usefulness
• Making content easier to read and navigate
• Ensuring the content genuinely helps users achieve their goal

Deleting content should only be considered when it cannot realistically be improved. If large sections of a site feel disposable, that’s often a sign they were created for search engines rather than users.

How Long Improvements Take to Show Results

There is no immediate feedback loop after making changes.

Some improvements may influence rankings within days, but in many cases it can take weeks or months for Google’s systems to reassess a site’s overall quality. Sometimes, noticeable recovery only occurs during a future core update.

That said, Google makes continuous smaller updates throughout the year. Improvements don’t always require waiting for the next major rollout to have an effect.

Why Ranking Changes Are Normal

Search results are not fixed. Rankings naturally fluctuate because:

• User expectations change
• New content is published
• Existing content is updated
• Google’s systems evolve

Both gains and losses are a normal part of organic search performance. Not every drop indicates a problem, and not every gain is permanent.

Monitoring Core Updates with Ranktracker

During core updates, accurate rank tracking is essential to separate real performance shifts from short-term volatility.

Ranktracker allows you to:

• Monitor keyword movement throughout update rollouts
• Track changes across regions and devices
• Identify pages most impacted by algorithm adjustments
• Compare performance before and after confirmed rollout periods

This makes it easier to make informed decisions once the update has fully settled.

Final Takeaway

Google core updates are broad recalibrations, not penalties. Most sites don’t need to take action, and when changes are needed, they should focus on long-term quality rather than quick fixes.

If rankings change, measure carefully, wait for rollout completion, and improve content with users in mind. Over time, alignment beats reaction.