Google Updates and SERP Changes - April 2018

[kewlchat]

System: The following message was cut out of thread at: https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4889357.htm [webmasterworld.com] by robert_charlton - 5:32 pm on Apr 1, 2018 (PDT -8)


Seems after 3 years traffics picked up some, should we dare to dream?

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 1:39 am (utc) on Apr 2, 2018]
[edit reason] Moved and reformatted message to new month [/edit]

[Spiekerooger]

Rollercoaster.

Some of yesterdays (April 17th, GMT) winners are todays (April 18th, GMT) loosers and vice versa according to semrush.

Google is dancing again. So I'm waiting for the status when the dust settles (next monday?).

[jasodo]

No differences between mobile / desktop ranking. For sure is not a mobile first update.
I've checked more movements on BR than in other countries.

[keyplyr]

@jasodo - Not all sites have transitioned to the Mobile-first index.

Google says:

... we transition sites slowly to ensure a good experience for site owners and users. We evaluate each site individually on its readiness for mobile-first indexing based on the best practices [developers.google.com] and transition the site when the site is ready.

[Cralamarre]

I doubt it has anything to do with the mobile first indexing, as Google has said repeatedly that mobile first won't affect anything. This thread is always 1% facts (something happened) and 99% personal opinion (why it happened). All I know is, both my desktop and mobile traffic saw an increase yesterday, and it looks like it's continuing today.

Edit: When I combine yesterday's update with the update from March 8 (or whatever day it was), my Google traffic was up 21% yesterday (nearly 2000 visitors) over what it was before the March update.

[Rlilly]

@keyplyr

Can one tell if ones site is transitioned to the Mobile First Index? How does one tell if its included or not?

[MayankParmar]

Google will post a notification on console if a site switched to Mobile First Index, isn't it?

[in31]

Hi guys, my website has dropped from 2 to 8 for its keyword since yesterday, which has had a massive impact on the business. Some low quality websites are now ranking above it which is frustrating! I've never experienced a drop as drastic as this - my website has consistently been in the top 3 for the past few months. Does this sound like a case of the 'Google dance' after an algorithm update? Many thanks

[Rlilly]

@MayankParmar - so you saying if there is no notification, then a site is not in the Mobile Index?

[advancedBeginner]

Has anyone gotten the notification in GSC that they are in the mobile-first index? Or has anyone seen any examples of sites that are currently in the mobile-first index?

[JesterMagic]

@mayankParmar According to Search Engine Round Table Google will notify users through the Search Console of the change to Mobile-First Indexing. Remember it is the same index, Google has just changed the way they view the content (through a mobile device instead of a desktop).

[seroundtable.com...]

They even include an example of the message you will receive.

BTW our niche is jumping around as well and I have not received any message yet.

[BushyTop]

This is a real spicy update, we're seeing a lot of movement in our sector... automotive, UK

[Cralamarre]

Mobile-first indexing and Google algorithm updates are two completely different things. This was obviously an update. Mobile-first indexing has nothing to do with ranking, as Google has said over and over again.

[BushyTop]

@cralamarre, whilst I agree wholeheartedly, I wouldn't buy anything Google says about any of its updates. It would not surprise me if there are some ranking implications with mobile first - in fact, i'd bet my house on it. Of course, its all opinion.

[penitentman]

Same here @BushyTop.
Here is how I know when there is an update negatively affecting my business (for me it's been Fred, Maccabees, Yesterday). Without looking at moz, semrush, etc.

I have 10+ blogs and all of them are doing 1 of 2 things. A. traffic has gone down by a lot B. traffic is almost identical to the day before (within 3-4 users, and this is with high volume). And there are zombies across the board. Low conversions all day.

This dance usually happens for up to a week and then things even out going back to the normal cycle. By normal I mean- Monday is the biggest traffic day of the week and things gradually fall until the next week begins. This is at traffic levels of higher or lower than the previous range before the update. So yes @Spiekerooger we won't know till next Monday after the dance.

How does everyone else define an update? I know some webmasters/seos look at their vertical as a whole, by analyzing keyword positions or avg positions. I can't analyze individual kw's because all my kw's are very long tail. Others look at desktop vs mobile. I myself barely even look at desktop data separately anymore.

[Cralamarre]

@BushyTop, It certainly wouldn't be that much of a stretch to think that the mobile-first index would affect rankings. But I don't know of anyone who's had their site moved to the mobile-first index, and I haven't received any notifications about my site being moved. I think that the mobile-first index has simply replaced https and structured data as the new straw that everyone is grasping at.

[Cralamarre]

@penitentman, I call it an update when I see that my Google traffic volume has suddenly changed, for better or worse, by a drastic amount, and I see reports here and elsewhere of other people experiencing the same thing. I don't expect to find credible, official or insider information here on what to do about it. I just come here looking for confirmation that others are suddenly experiencing the same thing. If they are, I call it an update. If it seems like I'm the only one who's suddenly lost traffic, I check to make sure the server is plugged in. :)

[penitentman]

@Cralamarre, Yup same here. Obviously updates target different signals and have different specific affects on your traffic. It's more than just "traffic volume suddenly changes" for me. There are patterns as I mentioned above. The patterns are interesting to me. I was just curious what other patterns people see. I may be in a unique position because I have 10+ blogs with a lot of traffic in the same vertical. I can compare the difference of how updates affect each one of them. I see that usually everything resets on Mondays. We are in the throws of a google dance and on Monday the new pattern of traffic begins.

[reseller]

So it seems most of us do agree that there has been a Google Algorithm Update on April 17, 2018.

I think those bright Google engineers are feed up and tired of their jobs at Googleplex and therefore they seek some excitements in launching those numerous updates :)

[analis]

-50% from December 2017
another -30% last week


my cache copy has been mobile for months mobile-first?

[mosxu]

This update made me feel the most useless person on this planet

No converting traffic mobile or else, the cheese disappeared

[keyplyr]

For many site models, the days of just waiting for sufficient traffic to come are over. With all the competition, even from the SEs themselves, it is necessary to go out and bring in the traffic.

• Designing pages to work will with mobile & desktop apps
• Creating OG images and Twitter Cards
• Advertising
• Being active on SM, FB Groups, Pinterest linked images, etc
• Targeting specific interest groups or geo regions with events, coupons and sales.

[Cralamarre]

"This update made me feel the most useless person on this planet"

Boy do I know how that feels. :( I've been feeling like that ever since updates in March and May of last year took away 50% of my traffic (and my revenue). Even though I've recovered somewhat with yesterday's update and with the update in early March, my traffic is still down 35% from what it used to be. I spent most of last year trying anything I could to get the traffic back, with no results. And now that I've given up and stopped caring, suddenly some of my traffic has come back. It has nothing to do with us. It's all Google.

[mosxu]

@cralamarre

I suspect that traffic will come and go there is always going to be less and less if we talk again in few months time.

My problem is unatural traffic that is on and off converting

[keyplyr]

@keyplyr
Can one tell if ones site is transitioned to the Mobile First Index? How does one tell if its included or not?

If you allow Google to cache your pages, you'll see the mobile version there if in the Mobile-first index.

As far as getting the message in GSC (as the roundtable blog suggested) I don't see any of the sites I watch getting that message, but I do see the mobile cache. If there is a GSC message confirming Mobile-first indexing, maybe it hasn't started to display yet.

[Cralamarre]

@keyplyr Not to stoke the mobile-first index fire, but what if your site doesn't have a separate mobile version? What if it uses a responsive design that works in both desktop and mobile? How would you know if your site has been added?

[keyplyr]

@Cralamarre - all the different site types & their indexing are explained in the
Best practices for mobile-first indexing [developers.google.com]

[meagain121]

Anyone noticed page crawl drops in the last few days? Pages crawls have dropped by 75% since 14th April for me.

Traffic wise, I've given up... I don't think there is anything I can do.

Biggest Google drop for me was on 8th Oct 2017 and has never recovered since....

Some noticeable stats at my end fyi:
- huge traffic drop on 8th Oct 2017
- traffic climbed and dropped again on Dec 13th
- climbed until drop on Feb 1st
- climbed until drop on Feb 21st
- spike and drop Mar 13th
- spike and drop Mar 25th
- spike and drop April 15th

Oh, and bounce rate has increased from avg 60% to 85% since April 15th so thanks for that Google!

Currently getting 90% less traffic than Oct '17 - Maybe my site is over rewarded or could it be that Google prefers to serve its own content instead?

I have tried everything to improve rankings (mobile responsive, full schema, 100% A+ rating in google speed test, pages load over 200% faster since last year, more valuable content etc etc) but just seem to get punished instead of rewarded for my hard work...

Also, I get really annoyed that I get 2 hits from a paused google ad campaign every month... It's as if Google are saying, "Hey, you've got to pay to play now! We're sending these hits to remind you". Well f**k you google, i'm not giving you a penny.

[keyplyr]

Anyone noticed page crawl drops in the last few days?

Just the opposite for the sites I watch. I've seen a significant crawl increase from Googlebot & especially the mobile version.

[samwest]

Last insight report said we had an increase of +2% (whoopie!) but now the new report says down 5%. That has been the typical pattern since 2010. Two steps forward, five back. Since my SERP's have been static over many years, I don't take this as any reflection of my website quality or performance. I take it more as a measure of Google's organic listing effectiveness, but since they consistently pull 20%+ profit increases every quarter, their ad slingin' AI must be doing something right, for them....but not most of us. Of course YMMV.

[Cralamarre]

@keyplyr Thanks for the info on the indexing

As for crawl rate, no significant changes on my site. Google traffic is still up, even slightly better than yesterday.