Google Updates and SERP Changes - January 2020

[seomotionz]

The following 11 messages were cut out of thread at: https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4974557.htm [webmasterworld.com] by robert_charlton - 10:10 am on Jan 2, 2020 - (PDT -8)

20 years of data show that updates have created MUCH more than a "twitch" in traffic.

Its not a twitch if it costs you a significant amount of money.

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 6:20 pm (utc) on Jan 2, 2020]
[edit reason] cleanup after split to new thread [/edit]

[RareBit]

I have been seeing mine all week until today - they went live on the 14th/15th for me

[RedBar]

update: and just checked ddg, OLD favicon, headline, and description.

Not using Firefox by any chance?

If so you'll need to clear your cache etc, FF is terrible for this.

[frankleeceo]

Favicon update takes me about a week to 10 days to be reflected on serp.

[Shepherd]

Not using Firefox by any chance?

used them all, edge, chrome, fox, DDG way behind.

Favicon update takes me about a week to 10 days to be reflected on serp.

That's about what we saw.

[renatovieira]

@RareBit

Favicon disappeared for me too!

Good thing they went back ...

[engine]

FYI, Google has decided to backtrack on the ads and favicons.
Google Backtracks on Favicon and Ads Together [webmasterworld.com]

[renatovieira]

@StupidIntelligent
@sk7411

Also here. Big drop in traffic since the 22nd.

[RedBar]

All gone for me too plus my widget SERPs has also changed.

[No5needinput]

They just wanted to see who rushed to change their favicons so they can add them to the naughty list...

[universenet]

They just wanted to see who rushed to change their favicons so they can add them to the naughty list...

No5needinput you are original..and I think you are not far from true

[TeresaD]

favicons are gone but a new weird breadcrumb layout?

[RedBar]

They just wanted to see who rushed to change their favicons so they can add them to the naughty list...

OK, I'll play dumbo ... What naughty list?

If you know / feel that changing one's favicons is somehow "naughty", then please explain.

[glakes]

now I see that can not see that link too direct..just if come from Google search

It used to be searchers had three visits before they would hit the paywall. I haven't kept up with what changes have been made, but I don't like them. Especially on long stories, I may bookmark the link and come back later. Returning to read the story, when I have time, and hitting a paywall is a bummer.

[EditorialGuy]

They just wanted to see who rushed to change their favicons so they can add them to the naughty list...

What's naughty about a favicon?

[worker]

While I didn't change my favicon, I did consider:
1) A Gold Star
2) An arrow pointing to the right towards the search result
3) A favicon that said AD like the Google Ad notices

Basically, if they have kept icons for a few months, I would have explored icons that might have caught the eye of the viewer and helped with the search result.

Fortunately, none of that seems necessary now as Google seems to be refocusing on results rather than visual tricks.

[goodroi]

Mods Note: Please stay on topic. If you want to talk about Google's business, start a new thread instead of posting in here.:)

[glakes]

Here's the effect Google's terrible traffic had on dragging down our entire site's conversion rate. According to GA:

We forecast Ecommerce Conversion Rate of 0.24% to 1.15% for Jan 13 – 19, 2020 but your actual Ecommerce Conversion Rate of 0.23% is lower than this range.

A .23% conversion rate? That's pathetic! Mind you our conversion rate from Bing is 3%+. Heck, even Facebook has been producing more conversions then Google since the second week of November. Google seems to get worse by the day. Needless to say I'm very frustrated with Google right now.

[samwest]

Wow...from the penthouse to the outhouse...again. whatever happened in the past 48 hours has transformed a normal traffic pattern to drip traffic and 1 page visits that all bounce....again. pathetic. The money is going somewhere...but not here.

[Cyril TechWebsites]

Same here. Conversions dropped drastically today.

[mondoinweb]

A question from the search console when it turns out that your site has moved to the "mobile first index"?

It appears to me 10 days before the start of the collapse

[samwest]

It's so effing discouraging to see how they screw with traffic today. Before Google was the manipulating monster they are now, you could set your watch by the reliability of traffic patterns and conversion rates.

[ichthyous]

This past week things were looking rather normal again on the 20th/21st with new inquiries coming in. Then from 22nd-26th silence. This is not a normal traffic pattern, Google is always manipulating...you get a day or two of good traffic toward the beginning of the week then Google clamps down. By Thursday / Friday my traffic is at weekend levels every week now.

[StupidIntelligent]

I believe another update started today the 26th. Again, we'll know its impact coming week.

[samwest]

^ agreed

[edited by: samwest at 2:51 pm (utc) on Jan 26, 2020]

[samwest]

^ exactly ichy. Now...is that a site specific issue or a system wide issue. I vote the latter. Throttling slants traffic in their favor which seems very wrong...but hey, it's their playground...yeah..the internet is basically their domain simply by their domination (monopoly) of what should be an open community... but it's not.

On a more positive note...I see a change on mobile that I finally like...It seems they are grouping pages from the same site withing a bounding box...so it appears as one listing rather than separate listings. Hope that one sticks. (Checked 2 seconds later and it's gone)

Funny after 20 years Google still looks so much like it did in 1996. Besides throttling, and hogging above the fold, little has changed format wise.

[MayankParmar]

Not yet seeing any hints of a new update, but there are some weird results.

[hopepro]

Same thing happened here like what it did to Samwest

I think there's another update on the past week (maybe favicon?)

Grouping pages on the same result, position counts

Traffic throttling

Differences in statcounter comparing to GA on some day, when Statcounter shows high traffic, GA show less and vice versa

edited: Search Console has a new color for avg pos

Google has been spinning us all around since NOV 7 and doesn't seem to stop

[glakes]

Google has been spinning us all around since NOV 7 and doesn't seem to stop

Same with us to the day.

We used to have a good day or two per week, but only one time since the second week of November. Except for that day, nothing but garbage.

[samwest]

Funny, right after I posted here I had a spike in traffic and a double conversion (two in the same minute, go figure), then poof, back off all day. I can just see some young Googler laughing in his cubicle saying hold my quad long shot grande in a venti cup half calf double cupped no sleeve salted caramel mocha latte with 2 pumps of vanilla substitute 2 pumps of white chocolate mocha for mocha and substitute 2 pumps of hazelnut for toffee nut half whole milk and half breve with no whipped cream extra hot extra foam extra caramel drizzle extra salt add a scoop of vanilla bean powder with light ice well stirred and watch this.

[hopepro]

Today, I see a spike in traffic too, same as you Samwest. But I'd rather hold the joy. Since I guess google removed the icon making it adjust the algo. When it feels that removing icon doesn't make sense, it might roll back anytime they want and that would make another dance (in my opinion)

Conversion up, traffic up, today, not sure how many more days this will last.