Google Updates and SERP Changes - Sept 2015

[silentneedle]

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System: The following 17 messages were cut out of thread at: https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4760634.htm [webmasterworld.com] by robert_charlton - 10:16 am on Sep 3, 2015 (PDT -8)

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So is/was Panda 4.2 a "slow rollout" or "no rollout"? For me it looks like they just announced 4.2 so that the webmaster community shuts up.

[glakes]

Kratos, I can see the difference in traffic quality from Adwords just as I can from organic. In fact, conversions from Adwords are far more easy to monitor. And with whatever happened last weekend, Adwords traffic quality is greatly diminished to a similar degree as Google's organic traffic. The week before that both paid and organic traffic were converting reasonably well.

[Kratos]

Did you see the decline in desktop traffic, mobile traffic or both? It seems like Google is testing different layouts for their mobile SERPs so there could be something going on there.

[Nutterum]

Speaking of mobile. I have gained considerable momentum since mid August. What I noticed was that on second of Sept there was BIG hit. like 40% of the traffic gone. At the same time the SERPs were very stable position wise. As if certain portion of the traffic searched for something we do rank for. From that point onward it the traffic normalized and reached previous levels up until the 17th where it reached its 3 month highest point. I never looked at mobile as it is of modes interest for the niche I operate in. However your start of September drop, I can hands-down confirm it within my mobile traffic.

[reseller]

As expected Google would neither confirm nor deny the rolling out of recent data update since around 2nd September 2015. The said data update has been noticed and monitored by WebmasterWorld members on this thread.

We might need to find a short name instead of keep writing "Google data update which has been rolling out since around 2nd September 2015). I wish to mention that in the good old days it was Brett Tabke (founder of WebmasterWorld) who use to choose names for Google data updates.

Any suggestions?

[mirrornl]

You choose a name Reseller

[RedBar]

Phantom 2 ?

[johnhh]

@reseller
Yep, you choose. Over the years you have always been correct on most of these updates, for which I thank you for, even though the updates where hardly ever in my favour.

We have noticed an uptick in our traffic in the last few days, commencing 21.09, but I will give it a week to confirm this.

_{<aside>as long as the name makes me laugh</aside>}

[Kratos]

The "Casper" update.

[reseller]

Folks

Thanks for the kind words.

I would suggest the name "Tedster", in memory of WebmasterWorld Ted Ulle (Tedster) [searchengineland.com...]

Google data update Tedster : It has been rolled out around 2nd September 2015 and has been monitored and registered on this thread by WebmasterWorld members!

It has been suggested on this thread by several memebers that Google data update Tedster is related to backlinks and long-tail search queries.

For the record. Google has neither confirmed nor denied Google data update Tedster.

[samwest]

Sorry, but I'd have to disagree. Tedster was a kind person so associating yet another vile, sneaky and punitive update with such a nice person seems more of a dishonor to the man. I'd prefer to call it Page, Brin, Cutts or Schmidt.

[petehall]

I'm seeing som fresh results here in the UK. Not all verticals but where there is movement it's looking to me like Panda activity...

[jambam]

I agree with samwest.. maybe call these updates at end of quarters the "pocketliner updates"?

I see changes amazon getting a boost... if that was even possible.

truth be told I have broken the google habbit. I dont actually use google search other than to check my rankings and it feels GOOOOOOOOOOD! Pitty everyone else uses this google monopoly and small sites are dead.

[aok88]

I too am seeing some movement with a Panda site of mine. Not much, but the last 24 hours or so, the site is getting a little more visitors day over day, and the conversions/sales seem to be improved a bit too.

Anyone else noticing possible Panda movement?

[samwest]

I'm still finding some of my listings on page one, but site traffic is at zero. Ahrefs shows a clear decline in organic traffic starting around the first of September, totally the opposite of what it usually does. I think they've finally pegged our seasonal patterns and are adjusting to flatten them....and thus harvest our peaks. The apparent "correction" has over shot the target by about 30 to 40% though...but who cares, right? This is the worst week of the year so far, even worse than mid June which was traditionally my low point. What's the point of even keeping a site online these days?

[reseller]

Wherever Ted is…I'm sure he's happy to see us calling the data update of around 2nd September 2015 as: Google data update Tedster

For those who wish to learn more about differenet Google data updates and their names since 2002 [moz.com...]

[reseller]

@samwest

Have there been changes in backlink profile of your site recently?

[Leosghost]

@Reseller..great choice :)))

[reseller]

@Leosghost

Thank you :)

[samwest]

@reseller, nothing I've had any control over. Ahrefs shows a drop of 43 back links out of 1,200 since August. Hardly enough to justify the total cessation of traffic and sales.

[reseller]

@samwest

I'm not convinced at all that Panda has anything to do with what happen to your site on 1st September 2015.

Forgive me for asking more. Does your site has mobile usability issues according to Google webmaster tools?

[glakes]

@ samwest and reseller:

I'm not convinced this is penguin or panda because links to our site are pristine and the pages are not keyword loaded. Though we receive a lot of traffic from mobile, we still get a lot of desktop traffic. Our overall visitors from Google are the same (fluctuates daily from slightly below to above normal), but the quality of traffic is absolutely abysmal. This traffic pattern started last weekend, and come Monday morning I am going to pause Adwords because paid is not converting either. Everywhere else we are highly visible at is converting well, so this problem is isolated to Google. And though the loss of quality organic traffic sucks, I'm not going to keep tossing money into Adwords for visitors that don't convert. From where I stand, it looks like Google is manipulating long tail searches. Whether this is an effort to get businesses to pony up more money for Adwords or an anomaly, I don't know. But I do know that Google has become so unstable in terms of ROI for paid advertising that it is to the point where it is not worth the effort. I'll double up my spends elsewhere to compensate for Google's current state of failure. And by failure, I mean we are receiving Google traffic from countries we don't even sell to, if those visitors are indeed real people.

[aakk9999]

Whilst it would be nice to name something in Ted's memory, naming update Tedster may not be appropriate. Here is why - when was the last time we discussed Penguin or Panda with kind words and fond memories? As far as I can see, updates are associated with dislike and I am sure this is not how we would like to remember Ted.

@reseller, have you got a second choice name?

[samwest]

@reseller - yes it's mobile friendly according to Google...that my be part of my problem, almost seem like they've taken away desktop in FAVOR of mobile only. I'm also SSL because I require a login to get to the paid content area. However my front end is extensive.

Today had another one of those crazy ON periods...no traffic all day then BAM! two sales within 5 minutes, then nothing all day thereafter. That's whack! When I get visitors my site coverts like mad, but "they" refuse to send me visitors.

Anyone else consider that project PRISM may be interfering with traffic...on purpose...?

[masterjoe]

A site that I have worked on for a very long time is seeing massive shifts in keyword rankings. It was hit by Penguin last year and the traffic has been capped even though its almost a completely different website to the one that got hit - it's much higher quality. I've disavowed as many bad links as I can in the mean time... however, this site was still getting 100~ visitors daily and making sales regularly.

Since the start of September, my traffic has also gone down the crapper. Google needs to get its act together because this is unacceptable. I am not as technically skilled as some webmasters here are, but we need to know whats going on so we can prove that Google is playing some very serious game in the background here. I've had odd moments where I make a lot of sales too, but its throttled before long.

[reseller]

@aakk9999

Whilst it would be nice to name something in Ted's memory, naming update Tedster may not be appropriate. Here is why - when was the last time we discussed Penguin or Panda with kind words and fond memories? As far as I can see, updates are associated with dislike and I am sure this is not how we would like to remember Ted.

@reseller, have you got a second choice name?

Ok. Here is a second choice name. I suggest we add another animal to Google Zoo. Orangutan!

Google data update Orangutan : It has been rolled out around 2nd September 2015 and has been monitored and registered on this thread by WebmasterWorld members!

It has been suggested on this thread by several members that Google data update Orangutan is related to backlinks and long-tail search queries.

For the record. Google has neither confirmed nor denied Google data update Orangutan.

[masterjoe]

I believe someone coined it the "pocketliner" update over on SER but both are suitable. I had a massive drop in traffic this weekend, but this whole month has been extremely unprofitable. I only have about 2/3 of the regular weekend traffic, and its non-converting at that. There was definitely an update or something that happened that we have not gotten confirmation of. I'm losing out big time here on a site that was once very profitable. Although it was hit by Pengiun last year, its been cleaned up, spent many, many hours to create quality content, and doing all sorts of following up with making it better.

[samwest]

It's pointless to name something you know little or nothing about...you might as well name every breeze that blows by. All we DO know is:
#1 Google operates in a "black box" mode....by design.
#2. Google or some other higher power has their hands in the control of what SHOULD be free enterprise e-commerce.
#3. Clearly nobody here knows squat about what to do or how to remedy the above problems. I don't, that's for sure.

IMHO, naming any of this garbage after notable, well respected individuals is whack. If you must, name it what it is, like "Longtail Killer".

[reseller]

For the last few years Google search quality team illustrated that the team prefers to have full control over events related to data updates and choosing names for those updates. No more. It seems Google search quality team has changed the way of its communications (or lack of the same) with webmasters/SEOs communities. The golden days where Matt Cutts use to keep the webmasters/SEOs communites informed of Google data updates has gone. Instead it seems Google search quality team has chosen to isolate itself, "Congrats" !

As you might have noticed on this thread, Google search quality team has chosen to keep very quite regarding the roll out of the recent Google data update Orangutan (around 2nd September 2015). Maybe those kind Googlers would wake up one day in near future and confirm data update Orangutan.

[masterjoe]

The scientific name for an Orangutan is "Pongo"...

[hasek747]

And "Pongo" kinda rhymes with "Kongo"...