Since we last reported on the update released Friday May 7, 2021, there have been even more algorithm shifts.
Here are some of the discussions taking place on WebmasterWorld.com:
ichthyous wrote at 1:20 pm on May 8, 2021
Woke up to find that Google wiped out one entire swath of my highest ranking terms this morning. Where I was ranking #1 for years I am now at #42. About five different terms including the same keyword (a place name) has dropped between 26 and 41 spots all at the same time. It has nothing to do with domain authority apparently, as mine is higher than some of the sites that stayed in the top five. Is anyone else seeing place related searches get whacked over time?
Woke up to find that Google wiped out one entire swath of my highest ranking terms this morning. Where I was ranking #1 for years I am now at #42. About five different terms including the same keyword (a place name) has dropped between 26 and 41 spots all at the same time. It has nothing to do with domain authority apparently, as mine is higher than some of the sites that stayed in the top five. Is anyone else seeing place related searches get whacked over time?
renatovieira wrote at 6:19 pm on May 8, 2021:
Another huge drop today. The rollercoaster has already become a standard in my graphics 😐
Another huge drop today. The rollercoaster has already become a standard in my graphics 😐
Samsam1978 wrote at 7:23 pm on May 8, 2021:
I’m dropping terms I’ve ranked for in first place for 5+ years now. Nothing changed. Not sure what they doing as lower-ranked spammy sites with terrible content ranking higher. Lowest users yesterday in years and dropping 3% every day, this update is not good its all over the place.
I’m dropping terms I’ve ranked for in first place for 5+ years now. Nothing changed. Not sure what they doing as lower-ranked spammy sites with terrible content ranking higher. Lowest users yesterday in years and dropping 3% every day, this update is not good its all over the place.
yollo03 wrote at 9:12 am on May 9, 2021:
For those that are watching their keywords evaporate, I experienced it for a long time since December core update. I lost thousands of keywords. They are now combing back (months later) at a turtle pace, 2 – 5 keywords per day and not every day. I calculated it will take several years to obtain these keywords back at current speed. I am not sure there is anything you can actually do.
For those that are watching their keywords evaporate, I experienced it for a long time since December core update. I lost thousands of keywords. They are now combing back (months later) at a turtle pace, 2 – 5 keywords per day and not every day. I calculated it will take several years to obtain these keywords back at current speed. I am not sure there is anything you can actually do.
RedBar wrote at 10:17 am on May 9, 2021:
Unusual yo-yoing traffic recently with yesterday, Saturday, for my main global site with its 3rd highest PVs in a month and back to the first week of March averages. … Seemingly crazy, crazy Gorg manipulation with easily the majority main views NOT from the USA … No interference whatsoever.
UK sites performing absolutely normally with steadily increasing traffic as we approach the summer season.
Unusual yo-yoing traffic recently with yesterday, Saturday, for my main global site with its 3rd highest PVs in a month and back to the first week of March averages. … Seemingly crazy, crazy Gorg manipulation with easily the majority main views NOT from the USA … No interference whatsoever.
UK sites performing absolutely normally with steadily increasing traffic as we approach the summer season.
KaseyM wrote at 6:56 pm on May 9, 2021:
Very flat for a weekend. Suspect more losses this week in store.
Very flat for a weekend. Suspect more losses this week in store.
yollo03 wrote at 7:07 pm on May 9, 2021:
I run multiple SEO audits and ‘fixed’ what I could. When the keywords started coming back I thought it was because of what I did. Until I noticed my competitors that were hit are rising too. You can argue that they also fixed things but it was probably an algorithm update. You can fix whatever you want but nothing will change until the next update and even then you have to guess what things needs to be addressed.
I run multiple SEO audits and ‘fixed’ what I could. When the keywords started coming back I thought it was because of what I did. Until I noticed my competitors that were hit are rising too. You can argue that they also fixed things but it was probably an algorithm update. You can fix whatever you want but nothing will change until the next update and even then you have to guess what things needs to be addressed.
ichthyous wrote at 3:20 am on May 10, 2021:
Traffic was just awful today…USA -35%, Canada -42%, Australia -65% from a normal Sunday. Traffic to my home page has declined 50% in a straight line over the last month, and today was down 32% from the norm.
Traffic was just awful today…USA -35%, Canada -42%, Australia -65% from a normal Sunday. Traffic to my home page has declined 50% in a straight line over the last month, and today was down 32% from the norm.
MaHi84 wrote at 4:39 am on May 10, 2021:
Bad weekend, worst Sunday. About 40% less than usual. Maybe because of Mother’s Day and good weather.
Bad weekend, worst Sunday. About 40% less than usual. Maybe because of Mother’s Day and good weather.
Samsam1978 wrote at 6:16 am on May 10, 2021:
Terrible weekend, the worst Sunday for entire 10-year website history about 40% down. Don’t know what is going on with Google AI but looks like old niche sites overtaken by spam, newly created sites with poor content and news spam articles. Not good.
Terrible weekend, the worst Sunday for entire 10-year website history about 40% down. Don’t know what is going on with Google AI but looks like old niche sites overtaken by spam, newly created sites with poor content and news spam articles. Not good.
mzb44 wrote at 7:27 am on May 10, 2021:
I can confirm the above. Lowest traffic in 2 years yesterday (Sunday). Not sure if an algorithm update or just weekend/mothers’ day or anything else. Was there some kind of major event/holiday?
I can confirm the above. Lowest traffic in 2 years yesterday (Sunday). Not sure if an algorithm update or just weekend/mothers’ day or anything else. Was there some kind of major event/holiday?
TalkativeEditorial wrote at 8:20 am on May 10, 2021:
Not quite as bad here as some others have mentioned – but things have been utterly devastating for some time now. That’s despite rankings being steady. In fact – decent improvement in rankings on Sunday = lowest CTR for a Sunday since Feb (LOL!)
Today, however, is very, very, very, very bad. To that point again where I have to constantly check to make sure the site has not gone down.
Not quite as bad here as some others have mentioned – but things have been utterly devastating for some time now. That’s despite rankings being steady. In fact – decent improvement in rankings on Sunday = lowest CTR for a Sunday since Feb (LOL!)
Today, however, is very, very, very, very bad. To that point again where I have to constantly check to make sure the site has not gone down.
yollo03 wrote at 11:58 am on May 10, 2021:
Something really odd is happening. My firewall is usually blocking bots all the time or hacking attempts. It’s been quiet there too, very few attempts in the last few hours. I’ve never seen anything like this. Traffic of course is zero, which is also unusual.
Update: Traffic just started coming in.
Something really odd is happening. My firewall is usually blocking bots all the time or hacking attempts. It’s been quiet there too, very few attempts in the last few hours. I’ve never seen anything like this. Traffic of course is zero, which is also unusual.
Update: Traffic just started coming in.
What The Heck is Going On?
With all of the industry discussions taking place, it’s no wonder the question that many are posing to Google is: what the heck is going on?
With traffic and rankings going haywire, could the page experience update be rolling out now instead of mid-June like they previously said?
Or could we be facing a core update before they run the page experience update next month?
The update itself is unconfirmed, and as Google does tend to keep the SEO industry abreast of core updates, it’s likely not that. We will wait and see what happens.
Either way, things are not going well in traffic and rankings this morning, according to industry discussions and rank-tracking tools.
Of course, as always, we will continue reporting as new information presents itself.
