Google Updates 2023#Changes in Algorithms

What are Google Algorithms?

Google’s algorithms are a complex system used to retrieve data from its search index and instantly deliver the best possible results for a query. The search engine uses a combination of algorithms and numerous ranking factors to deliver webpages ranked by relevance on its search engine results pages (SERPs).

In its early years, Google only made a handful of updates to its algorithms. Now, Google makes thousands of changes every year.

Google Launches August 2023 Core Update

Google announces rollout of August 2023 core search update, which may take weeks to complete.

Google has launched its August 2023 core update, aiming to improve search results.
A drop in page performance post-update doesn’t indicate an issue; it’s about content relevance.
Recovery from a core update is not guaranteed and can vary; continual content improvement is crucial.

Google announced the launch of the August 2023 core update.

The company stated that it will update its ranking release history page once the update’s rollout is complete.

Google regularly releases core updates to ensure people always get the most helpful and reliable results.

While core updates aren’t designed to target specific sites or pages, they may cause previously lower-ranked pages to gain visibility. In contrast, pages that were once rewarded may slip in rankings.

Impact & Recovery From Core Updates

A core update can affect a website’s search performance positively or negatively, or it may have no impact at all.

Google stresses that if you see a decline in performance after a core update, it doesn’t indicate an issue with your website.

A drop could be due to adjustments made by the core update rather than anything wrong with your content or site structure.

Google encourages those who see drops in rankings to focus on improving website quality rather than looking for technical fixes.

How To Recover

To improve your search performance after a core update, Google recommends the following:

Look closely at pages that aren’t performing well.
Check what search terms led people to those pages.
Compare your content to the questions Google provides on its help page.

This will show you where your content falls short in answering people’s questions. Take what you learn to prioritize improving your content to meet what searchers look for.

Recovery Time

It typically takes several months for pages to recover rankings lost due to a core update if improvements warrant it.

However, Google is constantly tweaking its algorithms. It may release more minor updates between the broader core updates that can positively impact pages that have made changes.

Looking Ahead

While the impact of Google’s August 2023 core algorithm update is unfolding, businesses and SEO professionals should remain patient, focus on improving website quality, and avoid quick fixes.

Google: There Is No Way To Prevent Search Traffic Loss From A Website Revamp

Google’s John Mueller was asked if there is a way to prevent search traffic loss while launching a new website revamp. This specific case has URL changes with folders and subfolders. John Mueller was quick to say no; there is no way to prevent loss of traffic.

In fact, John’s response was a simple “no.”

Gary Illyes said something similar earlier this year, saying if you redesign your site, your rankings may go nuts. John also said earlier that website design changes often lead to content changes, even if that is not your intent.

This is not to say you shouldn’t redesign and improve your site – you should – as should I.

Poll: Most SEOs Won’t Use AI To Translate Sites Into Multiple Languages

A new SEO poll shows that over 60% of SEOs would not use AI, in its current state, to translate their websites into multiple languages. The rest would, which might be a concern.

The poll was published on https://twitter.com/petermindenhall/status/1696555359010271721X by Peter Mindenhall. Peter asked, “SEO If you could translate your sites into multiple langs using AI in its current state – would you?” For over a decade, Google said machine translation is against Google’s webmaster guidelines, including the use of Google Translate. If you use Google Translate to translate content, do not let Google index that content. Matt Cutts, former Google spam fighter, published a video a year later going into that in more detail. And Gary Illyes said almost a decade later that Google does not want machine-translated content in its index.

Respected and super smart international SEO, Aleyda Solis posted, “There was a poll the other day asking if they should translate their content with AI. The answer is no without validation of native translators.”

John Mueller from Google replied to that on Mastodon saying, ” I don’t quite understand the AI angle — is it just automatic translations like they’ve been possible for years?”

Seems like John is equating AI translation to what we would call machine translation.

So, I guess using AI for website translation is not a good idea.

Forum discussion at X.