Google has launched the December 2020 Broad Core Update yesterday afternoon, this comes after SEOs eagerly awaiting an update since the May 2020 core update seven months ago. Some thought we might not get another core update in 2020 but we did.
This update, so far, and it is early, seems to have the teeth of a true Google broad core update. Some sites are reporting huge wins or losses, like over 30% or more and it is less than a day since it began to roll out.
We have been tracking many Google algorithm updates that have gone unconfirmed since the May 2020 update, including one over the past few days. It seems the updates we noticed earlier this week are unrelated to this December 2020 core update.
Google said yesterday on Twitter “later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the December 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.”
Roll Out Started At 13:00 December 3, 2020
The roll out started at about 1pm ET on December 3, 2020. Google said on Twitter “the December 2020 Core Update is now rolling out live. As is typical with these updates, it will typically take about one to two weeks to fully roll out.”
Yes, last time it took about two weeks to fully roll out but most noticed the last update within 24 hours after the update started to roll out. The May core update started on May 4th and ended on May 18th. So that is a full two weeks, although like I said, most people noticed the impact very early on.
So keep an eye on it!
Timing The Core Update
The previous core update was 7 months ago on May 4, 2020, the May 2020 core update. The one prior to that was on January 13, 2020, the January 2020 core update and the one before that was on September 24, 2019, the September 2019 core update. Oh, before that was on June 3, 2019, the June 2019 core update and I can go on and on.
The fun thing is that SEOs have been bracing themselves for this update since August. So instead of getting about four of these updates each year, in 2020 we had three – I mean, it makes sense, it is #2020. I mean, Google had its share of search bugs this year.
Many are surprised Google released the update now, before the holidays. But it is after Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping, so my gut feeling was they would release it in early December because late December everyone is off at Google. I was just talking about this with someone a couple of days ago that my gut feeling was Google would release an update soon before the end of the year. Of course, if a business got hit by this right before the holidays, that will make for one sad holiday season for that family.
As Marie Haynes notes that in 2013 Google’s Matt Cutts said the company tries to minimize updates before the holidays. In mid December, Google took a Panda update holiday break in 2011.
At WebmasterWorld Brett Tabke, the founder of WebmasterWorld, wrote “Google does it again. Releasing an update during Cyber week – during a pandemic – during the holidays when people are just trying to survive. It is clear, the only result will be Google increases their bottom line – takes more SERP share, and has no more care or concern how many people lose their jobs.”
But at the same time, sites hit by the May 2020 core update have been waiting to see a reversal and waiting a long time:
Brett wants to be clear:
Yet, Google did pre-announce this core update before it started rolling out. But maybe the tremors and fluctuations we saw December 1st, 2nd and 3rd was Google testing this rollout? I know many SEOs wanted an update since March but timing it is complicated, espesially this late into the year.
What SEOs Are Seeing
So what are SEOs seeing with this update so far and keep in mind, it is super early. The chatter at WebmasterWorld, Black Hat World, and Google Webmaster Help since yesterday afternoon says this:
As you look through the posts, the more time you let pass, the more serious this update becomes. So yes, it does appear to be rolling out and this, like other core updates, can be huge for sites. Some are seeing over 30% gains or decreases, some even way more!
Here are some tweets:
Search Tracking Tools Show
Here are the tracking tools are showing, keep in mind, there was a lot of movement the previous few days as well. I’ll try to update these charts later on in the day as some tools will update after I publish this. But so far, as of this morning, most of the tools are spiking like it was a core update.
We will keep an eye on it but let us know how you did with this update.
Forum discussion at Twitter, Google Webmaster Help and WebmasterWorld, Black Hat World.
