Rollout expected to take two weeks to complete; no indications yet on which sites are likely to be affected; release follows August’s Helpful Content Update.
A new Google core update just got released for September 2022, with the rollout expected to take two weeks to complete. Nothing is confirmed yet for how this changes the algorithm or will impact search results.
Today we released the September 2022 core update. We'll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete: https://t.co/sQ5COfdNcb
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) September 12, 2022
Core updates change multiple parts of the search algorithm, and affect multiple languages and regions. The last core update happened back in May 2022, and caused a lot of volatility in the search results, across multiple website categories and industries.
More recently, there was the Helpful Content Update in August 2022, described at the time as part of a “broader effort to ensure people see more original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.”
Some industry commentators have speculated that the September core update will amplify the effects of the Helpful Content Update, following a recent tweet from Google’s Danny Sullivan:
Maybe the helpful content signal alone wasn't enough to tip the scales and produce a change in someone's particular situation, but when we do other updates (core, product reviews), it might add into that and be more significant....
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 6, 2022
However, this remains speculation at present. Google advises site owners impacted by core updates that they don't have anything wrong to fix, and should focus on ensuring they offer the best content they can, as this is what Google’s algorithms seek to reward.
To find out if your website has been affected, download our checklist here.
“Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and usable,” comments Alex Breitenbach, solution consultant at Ryte.
“The goal of the different updates, whether it is Page Experience, a Core Update or the Helpful Content Update, is to improve the results. Even though the volatility of search results has tended to decrease in recent updates, we are seeing continuous improvements.”
Improve your search rankings with the help of Ryte's cutting-edge SEO features
Published on 09/13/2022 by Jamie Beach.
As Ryte's content manager for English, Jamie wrangles words on web. A background in sports journalism and tech marketing makes him a passionate advocate for organic search traffic. Jamie comes from the UK and is based in Munich, where he enjoys mangling the German language and all manner of outdoor sports, especially cycling.