Insights
Search Volatility Leaves Site Owners Frustrated
The voices of discontent got louder last week.
Website owners are on a rollercoaster ride, as rankings have fluctuated wildly since the August core update.
Some site owners who saw modest increases after the update are now reporting that those gains have been wiped out.
Ranking changes happening in waves
Barry Schwartz has regularly reported that volatility has happened in waves, with significant changes occurring around September 6, September 10, September 14, and September 18.
And, the fluctuations have continued between and after those dates, making it difficult for site owners to keep up.
Barry consistently monitors what's happening using several Google tracking tools, and makes this observation:
…the volatility really has not calmed in most of these tools. Some of the tools are calmer but still show spikes around these dates. I wonder what is going on at Google, and I suspect Google wonders as well. :)
Surges and drops across different sites
These swings have affected different niches in various ways.
Some sites that dropped with the initial tremors on August 24 are now surging back, while others are just starting to surge or drop for the first time.
This uneven impact has left site owners feeling like they're at the mercy of Google's algorithm (aren't we always?).
Frustration, confusion, and uncertainty reign
The situation is frustrating for those who have poured time and effort into building their websites.
This post from Brandon Saltalamacchia mirrors the thoughts of 100s, if not 1000s of business owners:
He followed up with a comment stating that 2025 is the year he's trying to "algoproof" his publishing business, calling it his "last resort before I throw in the flag" and describing the industry as "truly exhausting" and "brutal".
And, what about the promised boost to small publishers?
On the August 15, John Mueller (Search Advocate at Google) said:
"This latest update takes into account the feedback we've heard from some creators and others over the past few months. As always, we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content, when relevant to users' searches."
So what's happened?
Numerous independent publishers and SEOs have raised their voices on this topic.
Lily Ray posted:
"Pretty weird that the framing around this update was specifically to help small publishers who have improved their sites. Guess they didn’t mention the part about reversing those gains for many sites a week later."
Brandon, again:
Niche Site Lady feels the same:
In his 'open letter' to Google on X, Cyrus Shepard made the following points:
Here's what we'd love to see instead:
1) Increase site diversity, so we see different sites with more focused expertise
2) Apply the same content standards of "Helpful Content" to big and small sites alike (you know the standards I'm talking about)
3) Reduce any punishment of sites with small brand footprints
Ongoing monitoring and tracking
Despite the frustration, industry experts continue to monitor and track the situation.
Keep an eye on Barry's posts at Search Engine Roundtable, and Glenn Gabe's regular updates on LinkedIn.
Glenn's recent video on search volatility (what might be happening and why) is also worth a look. He offers useful tips on monitoring and adapting your SEO strategies.
Lack of communication from Google
Even with the outcry online, Google has remained silent on the issues.
It's no wonder we're questioning what's going on behind the scenes.
Is there a quiet update going on?
Since Google can decouple algorithms from broad core updates and run them separately, I suspect they might be playing around with selected components of their algorithms.
These smaller algorithms could include:
- Content quality evaluation
- Link analysis
- Page speed impact, or
- Spam detection systems
Many of these smaller, decoupled updates might not be publicly announced.
In that case, we may be seeing shifts in ranking that aren't related to the August Core Update.
And, because these updates can roll out without prior notice, it makes it harder for us all to prepare for changes.
As always, do the basics:
- Monitor your website's ranking changes closely and identify any significant shifts in visibility
- Look at competitors who have experienced similar or opposite ranking movements
- Identify patterns or strategies that may be contributing to their success or failure
- Track important queries to assess changes
- Review the quality of your content and update or remove as needed
What are you seeing on the sites you own or manage?
Hit reply and show me what's happening.
Additional resource
Update on the updates:
- Since I wrote the above piece, Barry Schwartz also questioned whether we are experiencing an unconfirmed adjustment. This was in response to the continued search volatility seen last weekend.
- Aleyda Solis interviewed Danny Sullivan (Google Search Liaison). I’ve linked to the post so you can view the eye-popping comments.
I hope these insights help. For more tips, follow me here.
Related: Short of a rabbit hole to dive into this week?
This seemingly innocent Reddit question will make you smile, induce eyerolls, and confuse you—sometimes all at once.
What’s the deal with people saying that Google is unusable now?
