Google Updates and SERP Changes - May 2020

[RedBar]

The following message was cut out of the April, 2020 thread at:
https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4990589.htm [webmasterworld.com]
by robert_charlton - 1:39 am on May 1, 2020 (PDT -8)



A quick review of a few of my sites' this past month:

1. Global trade directory site about -10% but with increasing PVs as the month has gone on.

2. Global B2B widget site, -20% v Jan / Feb however +15% v March and over the past 4 weeks a nice, steady increase with this week probably being the highest of the year.

3. Global B2B widget site that was hardly affected at the start of lockdowns and has shown a steady PVs increase to the extent that April has been it's highest-ever month at +17% v 2020 average and +8% v March. Good quality enquiries continue.

4. UK B2C widget site has seen a dramatic recovery. Overall PVs are still -20% for the month however since Easter PVs have been completely normal. I need to investigate the actual business performance of this site for more details.

5. UK hotel / pub site, understandably still on its back at -90%, all rankings fine, awaiting lockdown to be eased however I do know future accommodation enquiries are consistent.

6. UK urganic meat and bakery site. This has maintained its +400% increase in PVs and its actual business has now gone national rather than just regional. I'm really surprised with this business since its products are NOT low cost!

Several other sites mostly down in varying amounts however they're all brochure / informational sites so that's not a surprise.

Anyone else with interesting stats?

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 9:47 am (utc) on May 1, 2020]
[edit reason] split thread to new month [/edit]

[ichthyous]

My guess is that they spotted the rising sites and targeted those for harvest.

I've noticed since Sept 2018 that Google has systematically put a hit out on my highest converting terms. One by one, traffic to those landing pages has been snipered by Google. Lately they hit my most important few related terms and the impressions dropped by more than 50%... That is while most everything else is flat or rising now. I find it interesting that this always affects my most important terms which bring in the most revenue...theres no way its just chance. The only good news is that it does tend to recover, but in the meantime you are out the business for a while.

With regards to impressions VS Clicks... I am seeing impressions taking a big downturn but number of clicks holding steady or only slightly down. So therefore have a higher CTR... Something I haven't seen in a long time.

[gatormark]

Has anyone else noticed strange featured text in their search results title? For example, on my key pages, heading 2 is displaying as the title link in Google's search results. Why wouldn't they use heading 1 or the Title data? This is new to the May update, for me.

Also, like many of you, my highest ranking and main keywords have been systematically removed or heavily devalued by Google. While Bing and DuckDuckGo rankings have kept "relatively" stable, Google SERP has been depreciating all of the historically major players in my art & entertainment sector. While I understand new players coming into a sector and potentially moving the old guys down, I don't understand the sudden and precipitous drops from page 1 to page 5 or out of the search rankings completely.

[ichthyous]

I don't understand the sudden and precipitous drops from page 1 to page 5 or out of the search rankings completely.

It depends on how long it lasts. From time to time I will suddenly have terms drop out completely, but not usually on terms that I rank highly for and usually I'm back the next day. If you are seeing high ranking / high traffic terms disappear completely then there is a problem or perhaps indication of a penalty I would say.

Google has not been honoring the title of my home page for more than a year, nor the image embedded as the site image in the schema tags. It has chopped my website title to just my name for most searches and is using the first thumbnail image it finds on the page....which annoys me to no end.

[koan]

I normally wait it out a bit with Google Updates before digging in but as a test, I just checked a keyword search in Google Search Console that used to send me some traffic and now it's gone: a forum page on that same topic with a single small comment referring my page with a link (nofollow) to it is ranking before mine. It really feels like a site-wide penalty, or an experiment. Talk about kicking someone when they're down.

[Cyril TechWebsites]

My view to situation: I've lost traffic from one of my top-traffic keywords. After update I decided to try to update the dropped article with the latest information. I've sent URL from Google's SERP to my best author (the URL that outperformed me in SERP), the keyword is related to manual on how to activate Windows with KMS server (it's not so common for most of you, but MayankParmar will surely undrestand what I'm talking about). So the situation before the update was like: 1 spot - official Microsoft page on this topic, and then 2 spot - my website. I have a fully legal deep instructions on how to activate Windows using LEGAL methods. My best author took a look at article that outperformed me when comparing with the article on my website that faced drop. Here is the answer from my author:
"In the article you've sent the activation is described with using hacked software and illegal method (pirate software). I can do the same, but it's illegal method. The article you have on the webiste right now is totally full, I can't find anything I can add".

So, as I see - I can't do nothing. I don't know the reasons, but right now algo decided that post with pirate methods is better than legal. Thanks God, Google didn't decided yet that Microsoft official guides are bad too... It's the next step as I understand?)) I just can't do nothing with that.

[StupidIntelligent]

Barry needs to confirm with Danny if the core update has been fully rolled out.

[whoa182]

Some of my keywords are rising back to the top again. Traffic is going up again too.

Could be just their daily updates or maybe it hasn't fully rolled out yet. But some of these keywords were dropped to 5th + and now are the featured snippet.

[jmorgan]

Yeah, I'm noticing some changes too, I think.

[Cyril TechWebsites]

"message cleared"

[MayankParmar]

Unfortunately, good sites like Seroundtable.com also hit by the May update
[twitter.com...]

[samwest]

Google must be grooming Pinterest for acquisition.

[frostitomik]

I have a theory about this whole update:

From my own experience and from some of the comments in this thread, I have come to a conclusion that this update might have something to do with different types / categories of the search results for the exact search term.

I will give a few examples:
As Cyril said: His site ranks for a search term related to Windows activation and his article is 100% legal guide, which is competing for the same keyword as other site that has illegal guide on the same topic. More people might actually be looking for the illegal guide and therefore Google bots might see a much higher CTR, return visits and time spent on the other site site, so it decides to favour the illegal guide instead of his guide.

Another example is from one of my own sites. It is ranking for a search term related to online games for kids in a specific category. However, more people searching for the same keyword might actually be interested in multiple different categories of content (online games, PC games, sports games on TV, or fun activities etc.).

Google might have given much more importance to CTR and higher relativity to the search intend. But this still doesn't explain why there are so many results leading to suspicious sites etc.

This might have been caused by an overreaction to the problem of Coronavirus and unrelated sites ranking for some hygiene terms etc. and caused a complete chaos in 99% of search results.

I still think this will be at least partially reverted in the future.

[edited by: frostitomik at 11:32 am (utc) on May 14, 2020]

[pavf6]

No new content is getting indexed on google. Noticing this from the past 2 days. Help, please. Or anyone else facing a similar issue?

[KaseyM]

Anyone noticed any new changes in the past few days? Seen a big traffic drop yesterday and into today.

[TeeKay]

Nope.
For the past week, the now butchered SERPS, are as inactive as I've seen them in years.

[samwest]

What is the advantage or benefit for Google to be packing the SERPS with Pinterest listings?...Just pushed down one more spot due to another Pinterest listing. Ad density also seems to be an important ranking factor ATM. The higher the better and that points directly to a Gorg money grab. Quality my a$$.

[SteveWrz]

Anyone thinking this update will be reversed soon is fooling themselves. Expect your rankings to stay right where they are for the next few months until Google decides to release another update (and likely devastate them further.)

[TeeKay]

@SteveWrz

I don't expect Google to reverse what they've done. I'm just here to try and figure out my own kinds of trends and patterns from those affected, with slim hopes that I can figure out how to make 'Queen G' fall back in love with me.

[edited by: TeeKay at 1:09 pm (utc) on May 14, 2020]

[seomotionz]

No new content is getting indexed on google. Noticing this from the past 2 days. Help, please. Or anyone else facing a similar issue?

@pavf6 Getting indexed is a relative term now. For example a few new pages of mine. Got indexed soon after publication. Within (3-4) few hours they were in the SERP's. Since they were in a high competitive niche they were ranking at the 5 or 6th pages. So, I told myself that wasn't so bad given the fact that they were published on the very same day. On the next day they completely disappeared from the SERP's. Even till now they are no where to be found and this happened last Saturday. In webmasters tool too its showing only the data as a dot for May 9.

Now I am wondering whether a few links pointing to them shall work? Not to get ranked but to get back a position in the SERP's.:P

[samwest]

HERE's YOUR MOST LOGICAL SERP UPDATE EXPLANATION:

First, please read: [abc.xyz...]

Then notice the bold section below..

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – April 28, 2020 – Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced financial
results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.
“Given the depth of the challenges so many are facing, it’s a huge privilege to be able to help at this time,” said
Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet and Google. “People are relying on Google’s services more than
ever and we’ve marshalled our resources and product development in this urgent moment.”
“Our business, led by Search, YouTube, and Cloud, drove Alphabet revenues to $41.2 billion, up 13% versus last
year, or 15% on a constant currency basis,” said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google.
“Performance was strong during the first two months of the quarter, but then in March we experienced a significant
slowdown in ad revenues. We are sharpening our focus on executing more efficiently, while continuing to invest in
our long-term opportunities.”

If you are looking for other explanations...you can stop worrying about technical issues with your content.
Its not your content, it's "focus on executing more efficiently"...from the horses mouth.
I think we all are smart enough by now to know what that means.
It's disgustingly obvious.

One of the biggest changes they made was to remove all our images and replace them all with Pinterest images.
Now a see a new "[search term] on Twitter" block...smh
It's a constantly changing roulette wheel of a mess.

Total clamp is on...you can't get more than 2 consecutive visits at a time.
Last few weeks the site was natural, strong flow of converting traffic.
Gorg has stolen all of that...it didn't just go "poof" and disappear.
I can see the evidence clearly in the few ads we run.
Even on a trickle of traffic, they are steering more ad clickers our way.
No converting sales at all. Last few weeks it was dozens per day.

[jmorgan]

Unfortunately, good sites like Seroundtable.com also hit by the May update

Schwartz has a direct line to Google. I'm sure he'll be in their ear about this.

[RedBar]

Question

When people complain about not getting new pages indexed within 2/3 days and leaving our breaking news articles etc, do they mean:

1. Simply being indexed before the page's steady improving rank?

or

2. Indexed and ranking first page within a couple of days?

The first situation for me is completely normal, new / updated pages usually indexed within a few days but anywhere from 2-5 months beofre its full effect is known.

The second situation I have never experienced in Google for maybe 20 years for regular business pages.

Which do they mean? Expecting instant ranking for regular terms is not "normal" surely?

[samwest]

For us this "update" was basically a 6 month rollback with all gains thus far eliminated.

Once Gorg saw traffic increases due to the changing socioeconomic conditions, they appear to have adjusted to harvest those gains for themselves.

This is one case over the years where we can see their corporate statement exactly match the outcome.

Heartless action in a world thrown into turmoil.
Buy hey, they gotta maintain 20% gains for themselves to keep lobster on the cafeteria menu.
Guess we wouldn't be so bitter if they started paying a dividend on the stock we hold.

[ichthyous]

My site seems to be pegged at a new, lower normal for impressions reported by GSC. The drop came on the 4th and is now staying within a new lower range. The only good thing about these updates is that it is forcing me to find new (non-Google) partners to work with, and also giving me a break to work on other marketing methods that I have let lie for a few years. Unfortunately...absolutely nothing has been as profitable organic traffic from Google. Social media seems to be a big zero, but I am not paying for ads just building a natural following.

[gatormark]

My largest website is an arts and literature community. What’s funny is that this month is the worst Adsense month in 9 years for me (now down 50% in the last month), but it has been the BEST month for my paid memberships, which has made up the difference. I wonder if that is due to the fact that, because of COVID, I started to focus my advertising efforts primarily on the USA to decrease advertising costs - No more global advertising. I also removed advertising that didn’t focus on acquiring members. I may have stumbled upon a new marketing model because of coronavirus.

[Portland79]

Obvious act of economic terrorism on American entrepreneurs carried out by foreign invaders in control of large California based tech companies.
We are at war and our government doesn't even realize it yet so there is no one to protect us.

[RedBar]

Things seem to be settling down for my widgets now, After 7/8 days of frenetic activity Thursday and this morning seem to be much more "normal".

It's been interesting with enquiries emanating from countries we've never dealt with before.


.

[ichthyous]

It's been interesting with enquiries emanating from countries we've never dealt with before.

@RedBar Yes, and countries you never will do business with. I've noticed that Google is constantly hitting my visibility in USA, where the great majority of actual customers live for my business. But now I get many inquiries from far away, underdeveloped countries where my prices seem outlandishly high...they will never become customers. I think that this is an intentional strategy to squeeze the business while not leaving obvious bruises...akin to the mafia whacking you with a sack of oranges. One could argue that USA is a much more competitive market, but my traffic from UK, EU, Canada, Australia hasn't changed one bit...those are quite competitive too. Its only USA that has dropped. I thank god for my UK/Aussie customers...

[RedBar]

Yes, and countries you never will do business with.

And just how wrong can you be! One order already secured and the other is looking pretty good too.

I have an international business and supply from many countries to even more countries.

Why are you always so pessimistic?

Sure things may not look great right now however a constantly negative attitude will get you absolutely nowhere.

[RedBar]

And what the heck is it with all these Pinterest listings?

I am looking at the results for a specific search and there are five (5) Pinterest displayed:

2 x ie
1 x fr
1 x ca
1 x gr

Believe this or not it is for a USA origin product!

Browser cache / history clean.