Yep… It’s happening again. It looks like Google started another core algorithm update on May 4th.
May 2020 Core Algorithm Update
The last time Google ran its core algorithm update was back in January this year and it had a major effect on local businesses. From our analysis, it looked like Google was really making an attempt to get rid of un-related rankings for local businesses. For example, if you were a local dentist, then it wouldn’t make sense for you to show up for “restaurant near me” because, well, because people aren’t showing up at your place for lunch.
While the update overall seemed to do good things in the local business space, it still had some serious consequences for local businesses that had used spammy or black hat SEO.
What Will This Algorithm Update Do?
As with any update, Google is simply making an effort to improve the search results for all users. And probably find a way to force businesses to spend more on Google Ads… But the full effect of this update is still unknown as it’s relatively new at this point, Google did confirm that this will take a couple of weeks to roll out.
Another point to keep in mind is that Google tends to give a warning ahead of time. If you remember, after the speed update rolled out Google publicly reminded us all that they had been warning for a while that speed was about to be a big factor. If you look at the latest updates Google has sent out to webmasters you’ll see quite a bit about “quality content” on your site. Could that be a hint at what’s happening or what’s to come…? Stay tuned. We’ll pass on more as we learn what this update is all about.