The August 2023 Broad Core Update Has Finished: What To Know Now

As of the 7^th of September, around 9:03 pm in the UK (4:03 pm ET), the August Broad Core Update finally finished rolling out after 16 long days since the update first came about on the 22nd of August. Google predicted it would take around 2 weeks to roll out completely. The last biggest update SEO professionals and businesses alike saw occurred back in March of this year and followed similar focuses on algorithm quality.

If it took you some time to recover from this last update, you may be concerned about what it will mean for your website now this August update has finished. We are here to guide you on what you should be doing now it has finished.

Why Did This Update Come About?

With Google always wanting to improve the user experience, it is no surprise that we have seen another core update this year about improving search results. The aim was to improve the algorithm’s quality to provide users with relevant, helpful search results.

What Does The Completed Update Mean For Your Site?

You may not have seen much volatility in the first few days of the update, but by the 25^th, many reported movement. This happened again between the 30^th of August and the 1^st of September. So far, there has been no official word from Google on how many searches have been impacted by this update, but as with all core updates, it tends to make an impact far and wide.

As the update looked at all content types in all languages, it meant every business with content on their website worldwide would have been affected somehow. It is important to note that the update didn’t target specific pages or sites but did impact Google Discover, featured snippets, and rankings. As a result, many higher-ranked sites may have found a slight dip in their position. Although there is this impact, fortunately, Google is not handing out any penalties if you aren’t quite hitting the standards they expect since releasing this update, so you won’t find yourself deindexed. What this update can mean on a positive side is that lower-ranked websites could gain more visibility, particularly if competitors have lowered in rankings because of the update.

If you’ve seen a dip, that doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong with your website’s structure, linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages., or technical aspects. The reason for the drop will revolve around the fact that another website’s content provides more quality and relevant information to the searcher. This is simply the nature of a constantly moving world – new content will have been developed and introduced, providing a refreshing take with helpful insight that the present-day user is searching for. However, there are actions you can take to recover.

Our Advice For Bouncing Back

If you’ve dropped down in rankings, the best thing you can do is focus on improving the quality of your website content. First, uncover which of your pages has dropped and isn’t performing as well as you’d like. You should then check the search terms people used to get to those pages. Once you’ve done this, pull up the content you need to improve and check whether you meet the standards Google expects. For example, does it have original research? If it doesn’t, schedule in time to get this primary research complete. Is it using exaggerated click-bail titles? If it is, it’s time to reassess and make some changes. You can check out this list of questions from Google that helps you assess your content’s quality, expertise, and presentation. They even provide a few additional questions involving comparing your content to a competitor.

Whether you’ve stayed where you are or have risen, it is still good to check out these questions to ensure any future content you produce meets these expectations. Remember, all those websites that dipped will be doing all they can to earn back their spots, and if you let your content slide, you may slip yourself at the next update.

Once you’ve answered all these questions, you may think you are ready to start recreating your bigger and better content. However, take some time to enhance your knowledge of the E-A-T and quality rater guidelines. Although the latter does not impact ranking algorithms, Google uses them to see how well their systems work, so it is good to check out.

Key Takeaway: You must aim for high-quality content with a people-first focus for optimal site performance. If you aren’t sure if you can complete the content to this expected standard, you can always turn to our expert Content Writers.

When Will Recovery Happen?

There is no exact timeline for when you will recover from the update. You may not see changes until the next broad core update. However, Google does release smaller updates that they don’t always announce publically, so you may find that when these get released, the hard work you’ve put into improving your content is reflected in the rankings. Remember, this improved ranking isn’t always a guarantee. If there is better quality content out there, this will rank higher. The goal should always be to produce the best web copy, blog articles, and more to increase your chances of dominating the SERPs.

Contact our team today if you have seen a decrease in search visibility and you need help with a SEO strategy to improve your search visibility.