NEW UPDATE: We’ve developed a full timeline of every single update so far from Google and how they change the SERP.
After the Core Update officially rolled out on May 18. For a second, the entirety of the SEO community expected another big algorithm switch-up.
Either it’s Twitter or WebmasterWorld, everyone (maybe even you or your SEO-person) is up in arms about their flaming red ranking status.
So what we’ve known so far about this event and what we can do about it?
Let’s explore.
Round up of the bug
The changes in the rankings started around 2 pm ET but not until 5 pm that they noticed that it takes time for the Google update to be thoroughly carried out, which more and more users may realize unless Google reverses it.
More Negative News Than Positive Ones.
On every SEO forum/platform, you can see the flood of negative results from this so-called “unconfirmed update.”
Here are some of the responses collected on WebmasterWorld and Black Hat World.
There are many opinions, rumbling about the update, some found it frustrating and doesn’t even know what is happening right then, some say their traffic was dropping down, and some just assume this was just a bug or a glitch. However, we can’t deny that a significant movement has just taken place, and the SERPs were so unstable then.
Moreover, the results were all over the place. Even a company almost fell off the 1st SERP for their own company search term.
Seeing some crazy results. Branded terms have been slammed and I rank 7th for my own company name.
— Marty (@martyeigner3) August 10, 2020
Another page that consistently remained in top #2 of the Google Search Console was wiped off the SERP in no time.
I was #8 according to ranking reports, #2 according to Google Search Console for the pasr few weeks up until 3pm today and then I dropped off the face of the earth. No website downtime. Kewl…. pic.twitter.com/ssi6nxv9CF
— George Murphy (@george_murphy) August 10, 2020
But, we also saw others thrived during this fluctuation despite this being the minority.
My rankings have mostly gone up. Everything's still fluctuating quite a bit though.
— David Sandy (@DavidSandyDS) August 11, 2020
It was not a good time for anyone who put their livelihood on Google’s ranking.
Good News! This Huge Google Update Was A Bug/Glitch!
John Mueller – Google’s expert on webmaster confirmed this in response to expressions about how burning-fire of an update it was.
I don't have all the details yet, but it seems like this was a glitch on our side and has been fixed in the meantime.
— ⛰ johnmu of switzerland ⛰ (@JohnMu) August 11, 2020
If someone could fix the other 2020-issues, that would be great.
After a day, the SERP has gone back to normal (mostly). You can see the massive change in the SERP between these two times on this Twitter thread:
And here's a good example of a SERP during the glitch versus the live results. Notice the same domain showing up many times and the support-origin xbox urls don't resolve. The live results shows major publishers with articles about streaming on an xbox. I marked each screenshot: pic.twitter.com/wJmx4b6kST
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 11, 2020
Using the same tactic as Glenn Gabe, Brodie Clark – another SEO-beloved folk gave us another indicator to see the differences during the bug and after it gets fixed:
OK, looks like things are settling down. Not seeing anywhere near as many bizarre results as I did this morning. Reminder of this great technique @glenngabe uses. Create a Google Organic segment, then see hourly trending in Audience > Overview. Not perfect, but a nice indication. pic.twitter.com/6qD8SGCjfk
— Brodie Clark (@brodieseo) August 11, 2020
Ranking for other languages than English also get restored to normal:
Looks like rankings are going a bit back to normal. I'm back top position for usual kw and serp showing Englishlinkedin result for my brand (vs Arabic a few hours ago)
— Lior Krolewicz (@yaelconsulting) August 11, 2020
IT’S JUST IN! The Glitch Was Caused By Google Indexing Mistake
Google Webmasters tweeted out the confirmation:
On Monday we detected an issue with our indexing systems that affected Google search results. Once the issue was identified, it was promptly fixed by our Site Reliability Engineers and by now it has been mitigated.
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) August 11, 2020
Thank you for your patience!
It’s hard to tell how mess-up the indexing got to the point the whole SERP turned upside down, but here are the main functions of the indexing system (courtesy of Gary Illyes):
- ingests fetch logs,
- pushes out and restores fetched data,
- extracts micro-level factors: links, meta, and structured data,
- extracts and calculates some signals,
- set time for new crawls,
- and builds the index that is pushed to serving.
From here, we must reckon this one and for all: you CAN NOT simplify search results. There is no way we can single out the one element that causes the SERP to go wild – they’re all inter-connected networks and systems!
Of course, knowing the starting point of the chain reaction can make use response much quicker. However, the connected tissues are too complicated for us to try and twitch it in hope things will get back to normal.
What Can Magento Users Do To Remain SEO Efforts In These Cases?
This tweet is terrific and self-sabotaging at the same time:
SEO Twitter:
— Joe Youngblood (@YoungbloodJoe) August 11, 2020
If you think you've been hit by this Google update and you're freaking out,
Relax.
Get some sleep.
Google has rolled back awful updates before AND already I've seen some top rankings move back into place.
Give this thing 24 hours minimum.
Of course, this bug is by Google; we can not reverse it by ourselves. But that doesn’t mean we can sit still and wait for the storm to pass.
24 hours is a huge time window and can cost you massive amounts of revenue as an ecommerce. So what can we do here?
Ensure a concentrated, robust, and inter-connected SEO foundation!
And how can you do it? Install your ill-fitted SEO extension.
CHECK OUT 5 Winning SEO Strategies to optimize your SEO better!
Concrete a flawless on-page SEO
Do you know why on-page SEO should be your main focus in SEO right now?
Because off-page SEO tactics such as link building are now considered of no value in Google’s algorithm.
If you're guest posting on Forbes, etc. for link building, John says Google doesn't use those at all. "Those links have zero value". pic.twitter.com/AWX2Ls9zzI
— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) August 10, 2020
Let’s start with the SEO Toolbar powered by Magento 2 SEO extension, which brings you this report right away with visual cues to determine what needs to change quickly.
From here, you can click on Edit In Backend and take you directly to the admin panel to fix/update your SEO elements.
Subsequently, several admin-friendly features within the backend are also included. They’ll help you finish the SEO job easier and quicker than ever before.
Beautify/specify SERP’s appearances with Rich Snippet
The default Magento falls short on this one; the 3 default snippets are not enough.
That’s why we give you more options to showcase your page on the SERP with style and strategy.
For example, in response to your product’s search terms, information about rating, availability, price, and review is essential to make the 1st impression. Therefore, a rich snippet like this is highly recommended:
In another case, you want to display your sitemap/category to show off your range of product to attract click from users:
Furthermore, you can also add the site search box to your rich snippet – a highly interactive form of communication that will skyrocket your CTR.
Control your Google index with fineness.
Magento 2 SEO module by us helps you create HTML and XML at ease. This feature ensures both customers and web crawlers thoroughly know about your site’s architecture and easy to navigate on your website.
No more duplicate problems harming your site
We ensure the uniqueness of your content with Canonical Tag and HREFLANG Tag. This way, search engines’ bots can always distinguish between your original content and the copy one.
Take care of user experience with the ultimate care.
Here are our UX features that smooth out the experience on your site for any of your visitors. That way, you’re more likely to convert them into your customer:
- Select the fix destination to redirect users coming to the deleted product pages
- Specify a time window to keep redirect on the website
- Adjust category priority ID to determine breadcrumbs
- Support 2 types of Breadcrumbs: Use Short URL Path and Use Long URL Path
- Easily change breadcrumbs path based on category priority ID
So what are you waiting for? How about a test run with support? Get it NOW.
Wrap Up
During this article, we’ve discussed the massive bug by Google on 10 August 2020. Also, I provided you the solution to minimize negative results from glitch like this on your website.
SEO-proof your site from the get-go is the ideal solution. However, there is never too late to use a helping hand.
Besides the extension we’ve talked about earlier, we can also assist you directly. If you find abnormal changes with your site’s visibility and need help with them, CONTACT BSS Commerce right now, we’re on 24/7 support!
BSS Commerce is one of the leading Magento extension providers and web development services in the world. With experienced and certified Magento developers, we commit to bring high-quality products and services to optimize your business effectively. Furthermore, we offer FREE Installation – FREE 1-year Support and FREE Lifetime Update for every Magento extension.
CONTACT NOW to let us know your problems. We are willing to support you every time.
A proud Content Marketer @BSS Commerce. Addicted to visualized data, SEO, Tech and Marketing wonder-bender with strange terms and cases. Obsessed with cats in general and my two daughters Bean and Butter.
