According to Google's official announcement, two search system updates are scheduled for November — the November 2023 Core Update and the Reviews Update. The first update is already underway, and webmasters are speculating about the outcomes of this latest system update. Let's attempt to determine what awaits us based on indirect signs.
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Unexpected November Update from Google
The November 2023 Core Update started on November 2. Its implementation will take several weeks. The actual adjustment of algorithms usually lasts for a couple of months, during which many resources may lose their positions, including well-established sites with a good track record.
The primary updates will not affect Google's ranking systems. The update will fine-tune the algorithms while ranking systems influence search results. In addition, the company has already fixed a previously detected error in traffic redirection, which affected the visibility of some sites in Google Discover, a customizable news feed.
Users from different countries note increased volatility in search results after the update. Many webmasters report a significant loss of traffic, a drop in site positions, and reduced conversions, while some people observe opposite trends.
Young websites in e-commerce, narrowly specialized services, and gambling-related resources are demonstrating an unexpected boost in search rankings and increased traffic. Positions are rising for those sites that previously did not reach certain positions at the top.
Experienced webmasters, however, are not quick to celebrate. According to them, the positive changes in the search engine are related to a temporary reshuffling of results and technical aspects of deploying the core update.
On November 8, Google Search Central announced the launch of the Reviews Update. The algorithms will now carefully analyze user responses to products and services: the update will affect comments, articles, blog posts, and other content related to reviews.
According to Google's official statement, the reviews system update will prioritize comments and ratings from reliable sources, increasing the relevance of search results for any queries.
The authority of reviews will now be influenced more by the commentator's expertise, the content of the review, and the personal profile of each reviewer.
To align with the new rules introduced by the Reviews Update, Google representatives recommend following their official guidelines for writing reviews.
Official Information on Google's Update
The November 2023 Core Update was launched immediately after the October update. Google explains that this is due to different ranking systems: the search engine will now update those that developers have not touched before. This marks the fourth basic update of Google's search system algorithms since the beginning of the year.
Search engine representatives note that a sharp drop in page rankings is a common occurrence. Owners of specific resources are not at fault — they don't need to take additional actions to improve their positions. A short period of recovery and a sharp rise may occur between core updates, but everything will ultimately return to normal after the completion of all the work.
Details of the changes and detailed answers to frequently asked questions about the November 2023 Core Update are available on a separate Google page.
SERP monitoring systems are already detecting fluctuations in search results:
Earlier, the search engine announced the imminent update of the ranking review system, the Reviews Update. According to some webmasters, launching this update simultaneously with the core algorithm update may exacerbate the situation even further — volatility in search results may lead to chaos for a couple of weeks.
How to Maintain Website Rankings During the November 2023 Core Update: Recommendations from "Partnerkin"
Another update of the Google search core is not a reason to panic. To maintain the position of your resource, follow these rules:
— Monitor metrics.
Control of key search metrics is important for the timely detection of signs of decline. In this case, it is enough to adjust SEO optimization methods, paying attention to the internal content of pages, improving titles, descriptions, and so on. However, this does not guarantee against position losses during the update.
— Pay special attention to the quality of content on the site.
Fill the site with good, expert content. Another update of search engine ranking algorithms is a reason to analyze page content.
At the same time, it is important to check the quality of the content pages in Google's official recommendations on E-A-T, where another E is responsible for the "experience" of the user. It includes a description of interaction with products — reviews of purchase, household use, assessment of consumer qualities, and so on. This also includes information about cooperation with companies and information about the services they provide.
— Engage experts in content creation.
To improve the content of pages, it is best to provide a word to competent specialists who are willing to share their knowledge and skills. Increasing expertise increases trust in the media, meaning people will return to the site for new information.
Increasing expertise is also facilitated by providing detailed information about the author of a specific article, blog, or column. Author pages contribute to improving behavioral factors on the site, as people see in which subject the specialist is authoritative and go to the specific expert's interesting texts.
Example of a well-designed author page in a publication dedicated to Internet marketing:
Conclusions
Basic updates to the Google search system core occur every few months, sometimes updates follow one after another. As a result of updates, webmasters always note spikes in traffic waves, both in the direction of decline and increase, but soon everything returns to normal. Therefore, there is no need to worry too much about this; it is enough to simply follow all the recommendations that Google reminds us of during the next update.
The November 2023 Core Update is unlikely to be significantly different from other updates to Google search algorithms — nothing revolutionary and radically changing the lives of webmasters has been announced. This means that in a couple of months, everyone will get used to the updates, continuing to work within the framework of routine SEO optimization and improving the quality of content.
