Today, I’m excited to discuss the latest development in the world of search engines: Google has just rolled out the May 2026 core update. This follows the previous update we saw in March.
I learned that the announcement was made by Google through their official status page. It’s a significant moment as it marks the second core update of the year after March’s update and the earlier Discover update in February.
What Google is sharing. According to Google’s updated Search Status Dashboard, the rollout might take up to two weeks to complete. They also made a LinkedIn post explaining the aim is to enhance the visibility of relevant content.
Core updates like these occur several times yearly. They bring broad, impactful changes to Google’s algorithms, and though they often aren’t announced, this one is attracted due attention.
If you’ve noticed changes. Experiencing shifts in your site’s rankings? Google typically suggests focusing on producing quality content. Even if hit, it may not indicate problems with your pages.
Reflection on past updates. Looking back, we’ve seen similar significant updates like the March 2026 and December 2025 rollouts, each influencing search result dynamics differently. Will this update continue that trend? Only time will tell.
Why this matters for us. Core updates can shake up the search engine landscape, causing noticeable volatility. It’s an opportunity for improved site visibility or a call to action to tweak your strategies if rankings dip. May this update bolster your SEO efforts, rewarding your dedication with increased organic traffic.
Over the years, as Google continually tweaked its algorithms and transformed its search results pages, I’ve seen Condé Nast adjust its strategies considerably. Now, we’re designing our business around the notion that search traffic barely impacts us anymore.
In a recent conversation featured on TBPN—the tech media network that’s been likened to “technology’s daily show”—CEO Roger Lynch shared that we’ve stopped regarding Google search as a dependable traffic source.
Here’s what Lynch explained. While Google traffic isn’t expected to vanish completely, we’re intentionally planning as if it’s on the decline:
“Last year, I instructed our teams: plan as if there is no search—consider search as non-existent.”
“We’re not saying it will be gone entirely… but we anticipate it will comprise only single digits of our overall traffic—very minimal.”
The background. Throughout the past few years, Lynch has observed a recurring trend: Google’s adjustments consistently exceeded our expectations in reducing our visibility.
“For each of the last three years, we predicted some search traffic declines in our budgets, but it fell even more than anticipated,” he noted.
Why has our search traffic dwindled? Lynch attributes this decline not only to algorithm changes but also to AI Overviews and Google’s increasingly commercial-centric results.
“Seven or eight years ago, search results had a few ads, followed by ’10 blue links.’”
Currently, users first encounter AI Overviews, then a slew of commerce links, pushing organic results further down the page.
“It’s worked out well for Google,” Lynch commented.
A shifting landscape. The alterations made by Google have disrupted the model that other digital entities, like BuzzFeed, used to convert social media and search traffic into revenue.
“That era has ended,” he declared.
Lynch mentioned that brands in the intermediary stages are having the most trouble adapting to changes in AI and search frameworks.
“In today’s world, having a specified niche with a dedicated audience is crucial. Relying solely on advertising to support significant journalism investments is a challenging position,” he stated.
Shifting priorities at Condé Nast. We are now emphasizing brands that excel in these areas:
Dedicated direct audiences.
Potential for subscriptions.
Undeniable expertise in a given niche or category.
Lynch also hinted at a potential advantage for premium publishers against AI-generated content:
“Our audience expects and desires human-generated content. Creating AI-generated content doesn’t play to our strengths. Identifying and building on your competitive advantages is vital.”
Why this matters. Lynch emphasized that the practice of turning search and social media traffic into lucrative businesses is outdated. Publishers lacking a strong brand or dedicated readership might face challenges, as platforms can revise their methods at any moment.
The full interview. You can watch Lynch’s discussion, where he elaborates why human journalism remains crucial in the AI era, starting at 30:28 here.
When my website’s traffic suddenly vanished, it felt like my online presence had evaporated overnight. Google had stopped indexing my pages, and I was desperate to reverse the decline caused by a botched migration.
This is my journey through a challenging case study of a multinational media organization that lost 90% of its traffic after a domain migration. By addressing the underestimated issue of soft 404 errors, we managed to liberate traffic potential across 13 country-specific domains.
While the events unfolded between 2021 and 2023, the lessons I’ve learned are timeless, and they apply to anyone facing indexing hurdles today.
The Sudden Traffic Plunge
In January 2022, the Brazilian version of a cryptocurrency news website completed a domain migration. Shockingly, instead of a minor drop, traffic plummeted drastically. A comparison between December 2021 and December 2022 showed a decline of approximately 90% year-over-year in both sessions and pageviews.
Before the migration, our old domain (xx.com.br) enjoyed between 15,000 to 25,000 clicks per day. After shifting to a new subdomain structure (br.xx.com), traffic fell to a sustained rate of just 2,000 to 4,000 clicks daily, and it stayed that way for over a year.
The migration occurred alongside three major Google algorithm updates in June 2021: a core update, a spam update, and a page experience update. The Brazilian site, however, showed no recovery even after facing temporary volatility due to these updates.
More Than Just Redirects: The Migration Dilemma
Generally, traffic recovery following domain migrations occurs within weeks or months as Google recrawls the site. Here, we observed no such recovery.
The crux of the issue was that Google continued crawling the old domain long after the migration. This split Google’s crawl budget, not consolidating on the new domain as expected, severely hindering our SEO efforts.
In mid-August 2022, after fixing the migration problems with the help of my SEO and IT teams, I noticed a slight positive change—a peak of 12 clicks and 37 impressions on August 29. This gave me a sign that Google was beginning to recognize the new domain appropriately.
Utilizing Facebook Prophet forecasting on our pre-migration data, we estimated that without migration issues, the Brazilian site could have exceeded 2 million monthly clicks by early 2022. Instead, the numbers were far less impactful.
Deciphering the Indexing Bottleneck
Resolving the migration unveiled a deeper issue affecting all 13 country domains: a massive backlog in indexing.
Google processes pages through four stages: Crawl, Render, Index, and Rank. For the Brazilian site, while crawling new articles took just about 2 minutes—acceptable for news—indexing took 24 hours. This delay was disastrous for timely cryptocurrency news.
The Magnitude of Migration Chaos: 513,000 Unindexed Pages
Google Search Console data in January 2023 highlighted severe indexing challenges across all domains, with Brazil alone having 513,369 pages categorized as ‘Crawled – currently not indexed’.
The ‘Crawled – currently not indexed’ status was troubling. These pages weren’t indexed because Google deemed them low quality or duplicate—yet potentially valuable content was left out of the index.
Upon investigation, I discovered that automatically generated thin-content pages, like currency converter URLs (e.g., “usd-to-thor”), were eating up the crawl budget, deprioritizing the domain.
Dealing With Soft 404 Explosions
Addressing the migration alone wasn’t enough, as a surge of soft 404 errors also demanded attention. These errors occur when pages return a success status (200), but lack meaningful content, mystifying search engines and squandering crawl budgets.
Soft 404s were proliferating across domains, including the main site and several international versions, complicating our SEO efforts further.
In France, this accumulation of soft 404 errors caused Google’s crawl requests to drop drastically, illustrating the pressing need to fix these issues.
Tackling the Crawl Budget Crisis
Understanding crawl budget is crucial. Excessively crawling ineffective pages depletes Google’s ability to find and index valuable content, particularly harmful for news sites needing prompt indexing.
By early 2023, our technical SEO was draining crawl resources, leading to slower indexing of fresh content and lost online visibility.
Implementing a Systematic SEO Fix
On January 31, 2023, I initiated an all-encompassing SEO strategy to target three priorities at once: Resolving soft 404s, optimizing the crawl budget, and refining Core Web Vitals, though the latter took a backseat to immediate indexing concerns.
Key actions included proper HTTP status code implementations for non-existing pages, optimizing URL structures, and improving canonicalization.
After the Fixes: Impressive Traffic Rebounds
The results were measurable just weeks later. In Brazil, ‘Crawled – currently not indexed’ pages fell by 57%, soft 404 errors reduced by 69%, and traffic began trending upward in early 2023.
International Recovery Highlights
In Germany, indexed pages surged, driving total daily clicks notably higher. Similarly potent results emerged across Poland and Spain.
Key Insights from My SEO Journey
I learned that handling indexing issues trumps almost every other SEO concern. No matter the quality of your content and backlinks, if your pages aren’t being indexed, your visibility won’t improve.
Moreover, ignoring soft 404s can quietly erode your site’s crawl budget, which silently undermines your SEO efforts until it becomes glaringly apparent in lost traffic.
Finally, detailed verification during domain migrations and focusing SEO strategies on regional requirements can make all the difference between an underperforming and a thriving website.
I just found out that Google has officially rolled out its much-anticipated March 2026 core update. This marks the inaugural core update of 2026, closely following the recent March 2026 spam update and February 2026 Discover update.
Google made the announcement today, confirming the start of the rollout. They mentioned this process could stretch out over two weeks. I find it fascinating how these updates play a pivotal role in shaping search algorithms and ultimately influence how content is surfaced on Google.
What Google is saying. In an update on their Search Status Dashboard, Google stated: “Released the March 2026 core update. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.” They also took to LinkedIn to emphasize that this is a regular update focused on showcasing relevant and satisfying content for searchers across various sites, reiterating the two-week completion window.
About core updates. Google’s core updates happen several times annually and bring broad alterations to search algorithms and systems. While we expect some updates, they surprised us by adding some smaller, unannounced changes. The anticipation of frequent updates didn’t quite pan out as we thought.
What to do if you are hit. If your site takes a hit from this core update, Google hasn’t provided any new guidance, but in previous instances, they’ve advised us to focus on creating helpful content. They stress there’s no specific action to swiftly rectify any negative impact; however, recovery could occur gradually with subsequent core updates.
In summary, Google’s enduring guidance remains: create content for people, not just search engines. There’s nothing extraordinary creators need to do for this update as long as they provide gratifying content meant for users. If rankings slip, Google encourages looking through their helpful content guidelines.
For comprehensive details about Google’s core updates, Google’s technical documentation provides in-depth information.
Previous core updates. Let’s have a quick glance at some recent core updates. The December 2025 update began on December 11 and wrapped up by December 29. Similarly, the June 2025 update ran from June 30 to July 17. It’s intriguing to see these timelines and their impact on content visibility across Google’s domain.
Why we care. Every core update brings a ripple effect to Google’s search results and rankings. I view these updates as opportunities—some of us might see a beneficial shift in rankings and search visibility, while others may need to adapt to new fluctuations. I sincerely hope this update benefits your efforts, boosting both traffic and conversions.
Well, it looks like Google’s March 2026 spam update wrapped up in record time! It took less than a day to roll out and was fully completed on March 25, 2026, at precisely 10:40 a.m. ET.
The update was originally released the previous afternoon on March 24, 2026, at 3:20 p.m., meaning the entire process took just a swift 19 hours and 30 minutes. Incredible, right?
Why this matters to us. This marks Google’s second announced algorithm update of 2026. While we don’t have specifics on the type of spam targeted, any changes you notice in your site’s ranking or traffic soon might be linked to this update.
Diving deeper into the spam update. According to Google’s documentation:
“While Google’s automated systems to detect search spam are constantly operating, we occasionally make notable improvements to how they work. When we do, we refer to this as a spam update and share when they happen on our list of Google Search ranking updates.
For example, SpamBrain is our AI-based spam-prevention system. From time-to-time, we improve that system to make it better at spotting spam and to help ensure it catches new types of spam.
Sites that see a change after a spam update should review our spam policies to ensure they are complying with those. Sites that violate our policies may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all. Making changes may help a site improve if our automated systems learn over a period of months that the site complies with our spam policies.
In the case of a link spam update (an update that specifically deals with link spam), making changes might not generate an improvement. This is because when our systems remove the effects spammy links may have, any ranking benefit the links may have previously generated for your site is lost. Any potential ranking benefits generated by those links cannot be regained.”
Impact. Primarily, this update aims at sites spamming Google Search. So, unless your site engaged in spammy practices, you likely won’t notice a negative impact.
I’m excited to share that the Google February 2026 Discover core update has officially completed its rollout. Starting on February 5 and wrapping up on February 27, this update exclusively affects Google Discover content within the U.S. and in English.
This marks the first confirmed Search update of the year and notably, the first Discover-only update announced by Google. Unlike previous core updates that impacted both Search and Discover, this one is focused solely on Discover content.
U.S. and English Focus. For now, this update only targets English content for users in the United States. However, Google plans to expand it across other countries and languages in the months ahead.
Key improvements. Google stated that this update aims to enhance the user experience by:
Providing more locally relevant content from domestic websites.
Minimizing sensational content and clickbait.
Featuring more in-depth, original, and timely content from sites recognized for their expertise in specific fields.
Since the update emphasizes locally pertinent content, it might lead to decreased Discover traffic for non-U.S. websites targeting a U.S. audience. This impact may subside as the update is adopted globally.
Google has also updated the Get on Discover help page, so I recommend reviewing it for additional insights.
Expanded insights. Google clarified that its systems are designed to identify expertise on a topic-by-topic basis, allowing sites with specialized knowledge to appear on Discover. For instance:
A local news site with a specialized gardening section could be recognized for its gardening expertise, even if it covers various other subjects. In contrast, a movie review site with a single gardening article would likely not receive the same acknowledgment.
Google intends to continue using systems that personalize content based on users’ favorite creators and sources.
During their tests, Google discovered that “this update makes the Discover experience more valuable and fulfilling.”
Why this matters to us. If your site’s traffic relies on Google Discover, you might have noticed shifts in your traffic patterns. Keep in mind, this update currently affects only U.S. English audiences and pertains solely to Discover. While there’s been significant discussion about Google Search fluctuations, Google hasn’t confirmed those reports.
Exciting news! I’ve just learned about Google’s February 2026 Discover core update, a major advancement in how content is showcased in Google Discover. According to Google’s announcement, this is a broad update aimed at improving the overall Discover experience.
This update initially targets English-speaking users in the US. However, Google plans to roll it out globally across various languages over the next few months. The complete process should take about two weeks, as was stated by Google here.
What can we expect? This Discover update is set to enhance the experience in several important ways:
Delivering more locally relevant content based on users’ locations
Cutting down on sensationalism and clickbait
Elevating in-depth, original content from expert sites
Since the focus is on local content, websites publishing for a specific country might see changes in traffic patterns. However, once the update is live globally, any shifts in traffic should even out.
Additional insights: Google’s systems are fine-tuned to recognize expertise across different subjects. Whether a website specializes in a single topic or covers multiple, it can gain visibility in Discover. To illustrate, a local news outlet with a gardening section can still be seen as an authority, even if it covers other themes. Conversely, a site primarily about movies wouldn’t be recognized as authoritative in gardening from a single post.
Moreover, Google continues to tailor content recommendations based on individual preferences, ensuring a more personalized user experience.
Prepare for changes: As this update unfolds, expect to see some fluctuation in your Google Discover traffic. Google has noted that while some sites may experience increased or decreased visibility, many will not notice drastic changes.
Progressive rollout: Currently, the update is being released to English users in the US, but the plan is to go international and multilingual in the upcoming months.
Why this matters to us: Changes in Discover traffic could impact your site’s engagement. If you need assistance navigating this update, Google provides core update guidance and resources like the Get on Discover page.
Ultimately, Google’s testing suggests that this update has made the Discover feature more useful and valuable for users.
I might be witnessing a significant shift as Google seems to be tightening its grip on self-promotional ‘best of’ listicles. This trend was highlighted by Lily Ray, who leads SEO strategy and research at Amsive.
Recently, many SaaS brands experienced a sharp decline in visibility, ranging from 30% to 50%. These companies often featured content that ranked their own products as ‘Number 1’ in their fields, frequently updating with the latest year to capitalize on recency signals.
Understanding the Trend. Following the December 2025 core update, there was noticeable volatility in Google search results throughout January, as reported by Barry Schwartz. Although Google hasn’t confirmed any updates for this year, the timing matches the visibility drops experienced by major SaaS and B2B brands. Lily Ray observes:
• In several situations, organic visibility dropped by as much as 50% within weeks. The losses were primarily in subfolders containing blogs, guides, and tutorials.
• These sections often housed numerous self-promotional listicles for ‘best’ queries, with the publishers typically ranking themselves first. Most articles were minimally refreshed with the addition of ‘2026’ to their titles, without substantial updates.
• “It seems likely that these declines in Google organic rankings might also affect visibility across other search engines and AI platforms that utilize Google’s results, like Gemini and ChatGPT,” Ray explained.
Why This Matters. There has been a longstanding practice of using self-promotional listicles to sway search rankings and AI-generated responses. If Google is reconsidering this kind of content, any strategies focusing on ‘best’ queries might face substantial challenges.
The Controversy. Ranking oneself as ‘the best’ without independent verification or third-party endorsement is often seen as a dubious SEO move. While not outright banned, it conflicts with Google’s guidelines on reviews and trustworthiness.
• Google maintains that quality reviews should display firsthand experience, originality, and clear evaluation. Self-serving listicles frequently fall short, particularly when bias isn’t disclosed.
However. Self-promotional listicles may only be one of several factors affecting organic visibility. Affected sites often showed signs of fast content expansion, automation, aggressive year-based updates, and other risky tactics.
• Nevertheless, the prevalence of self-promoting ‘best’ content among the most impacted sites suggests that this signal might now be more influential, especially when used extensively.
What’s Next. The outcome for self-promotional listicles in terms of gaining recognition and organic visibility is still uncertain, as Google seldom implements changes uniformly or immediately.
• If this volatility is linked to updates in Google’s review system, the trend is evident: Content aimed mainly at influencing rankings, rather than offering credible evaluations, poses growing risks.
• The enduring lesson for brands seeking online visibility is clear: SEO shortcuts may yield effective results, but only until they don’t.
It feels like a whirlwind every time Google releases a core update, and the December 2025 core update was no different. I’m thrilled to share that this is the third core update of 2025, taking a little over 18 days to roll out completely. It kicked off on December 11 and concluded on December 29. According to Google, this update aims to enhance the visibility of relevant and satisfying content across all types of sites.
Reflecting on the timeline, this update came five months after the June 2025 core update, which itself followed the March 2025 update. It’s interesting how Google spaces these updates throughout the year, creating waves of anticipation and speculation in the SEO community.
In the coming days, I’m eager to delve into data to understand how this update has influenced rankings and share that insight with you via Search Engine Land.
What Google is saying.
Google has updated its Search Status Dashboard to signal, ‘Released the December 2025 core update. The rollout may take up to 3 weeks to complete.’ On LinkedIn, they reiterated, ‘This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.’
What we saw.
In my observations, the update’s initial effects were evident a few days post-release, notably on December 13. Another significant spike in volatility appeared on December 20. As is common with core updates, some websites experienced massive ranking drops, others surged, and many saw no change.
If you’re interested in a deeper dive, I recommend checking out this insightful video from Glenn Gabe.
What to do if you are hit.
Google hasn’t provided new recovery guidelines specific to this update. Historically, they advise that no specific actions are required for recovery, and a ranking drop doesn’t necessarily indicate issues with your pages. They also offer a list of questions for site assessment post-update impact.
Google has reiterated that creators should consistently aim to produce satisfying, people-focused content. Check out their helpful content guide for more insights.
Reflecting on recent updates: the June 2025 core update started on June 30 and wrapped on July 17; the March 2025 update began March 13 and ended March 27. Looking back further, the December 2024 update ran from December 12-18, while November 2024 spanned November 11 to December 5.
Why we care.
With the December 2025 core update now in the books, it’s an opportune time to assess its influence on your sites and client sites. Analyzing the changes can guide you to refine your content strategy, potentially bolstering future rankings. Remember, Google’s core updates roll out every few to several months, emphasizing the continuous need for optimization.
Good luck with navigating this update, and here’s to a successful start to the new year!
Reflecting on Google’s 2025 algorithm adventures, I’m reminded that fewer confirmations don’t equate to less excitement in search rankings.
Google rolled out four confirmed algorithm updates this year, including three core updates and one spam update. Interestingly, this is a decrease from prior years—seven updates in 2024 and nine in 2023.
Fewer updates confirmed, more surprises for search. Google might be confirming fewer updates, but that doesn’t mean there are fewer changes under the hood. As they’ve stated, not all core updates are announced, and I’ve experienced plenty of volatility tracking all the unconfirmed tweaks.
I’ve followed numerous unconfirmed updates on the Search Engine Roundtable, making 2025 a year of unpredictability despite fewer confirmations.
Google confirmed algorithm update summary
Here’s a timeline that visualizes all these exciting developments in 2025, showcasing the rollercoaster of changes throughout the year.
Three Google core updates in 2025. Spread over the months, we saw these core updates rolling out in March, June, and December.
March 2025 core update. The journey began on March 13, taking 14 days to unfold by March 27. Google assured us it was a routine core update, enhancing search results.
It was reminiscent of prior updates, as reflected in historical data.
June 2025 core update. Commencing on June 30 and concluding by July 17, this update repeated the thematic improvements seen previously, capturing further interest.
Intriguingly, some sites reported partial recoveries post-update, signifying its intense impact.
December 2025 core update. Starting on December 11, its rollout remains incomplete, but it’s consistently producing expected outcomes across the board.
The updates stirred considerable volatility, particularly noted during weekends like December 13th and December 20th.
One Google spam update in 2025
August 2025 spam update. Launched on August 26 and concluded by September 22, this update rapidly impacted site rankings and thankfully, some saw recoveries.
