Everything You Need To Know About Google May 2022 Core Update

Every year Google rolls out multiple updates in its core algorithm to enhance the user experience and to update the security patches. Users get to feel the changes of these updates within a couple of weeks. These updates are released at regular intervals, popularly every 6 months but developers have noticed massive changes and there are hints of some unconfirmed updates in between the major ones as well. 

There have been some unconfirmed updates this year as well like the Product Reviews Update in March, a major shuffle in SERP positions was noticed in the month of April and of course there was this much talked about update on Mother’s day. These unconfirmed updates could either be authentic updates or just unusual changes in the algorithm that are noticed. For instance, Google made 4500 changes in Google search in 2020. These updates are mostly based on user feedback and are rolled out without any prior announcements.

What are Google’s Broad Updates?

These changes vary from user interface updates to algorithm and ranking updates. The frequency and volume of the changes wasn’t too high probably a decade ago but due to the rise in users it has seen a growing number of updates every year. Google algorithm update may result in inconsistencies in the traffic on your website. You may gain or lose a significant chunk of traffic on your website based on the changes your platform will encounter. The best practice to keep a check on these important updates is to have an eye on your keywords on a daily basis.

These updates to the core of the algorithms are done to ensure the right keywords are caught by the search engine and the most relevant results are shown to the users. Google self admittedly rolls out these updates to improve its search results.

May 2022 Core Update

Along with the regular updates on the UI & other services, Google also launches a much broader and in culmination of other smaller algorithms, a core update at an estimated interval of 6 months, the last one of which came in November 2021. The May 2022 update, as confirmed by Google on Twitter on 25th May 2022 is apparently going to take 1-2 weeks to fully roll out. But how would you explain these Google updates here in simpler words? What are some noticeable changes that may occur after this update and what should developers do? Here are some key points to address the much-asked queries regarding Google’s biannual updates:

Inconsistencies in search rankings:

You may notice your website ranked much higher or much lower than your previous rankings. This can be due to the updated algorithm adapting to new keywords or updating them and filtering out bot techniques that infiltrate spam search results. 

Inconsistencies in traffic:

This is also going to be a result of the new algorithm updating its keyword definitions and new definitions mean new rankings and new rankings will affect your organic traffic. If the algorithm is updated in accordance with your search engine optimization then you will see a rise in traffic whereas if the algorithm is changed adverse to your SEO then you will see a natural drop in the traffic. 

No penalties:

There will not be any penalty for pages that see a significant drop in their rankings as this will possibly be a result of the update. 

Adapt to the changes:

Notice your keyword rankings and it is recommended that you imply the changes to keep up with the updates. Note that developers do not need to make major changes as any drastic makeover may affect the subsequent update as well. 

Takeaway

Google reminds everyone with these updates not to panic and adapt to the changes. The rise in content consumption keeps everyone on their toes and the biggest website in the world is no exception. These updates are majorly in favor of the users as they eliminate any ambiguous attempt to catch the existing content strategies of brands.

By following these practices, you can save yourself from drowning down the drain amidst the updates every 6 months:

• Stay original with your content
• Practice innovation with your content
• Be astute about syntax
• Refrain from adding too much of irrelevant outbound content and practice relevance
• Do regular keyword ranking checks

The key to stay relevant is originality and innovation. The old metaphor of being proactive over reactive makes a lot more sense here as content creators could lose their engagement if they are reacting to the trends. On the other hand if you have originality in your content, you may retain your traffic and increase the same by making a few tweaks to adhere to the algorithm updates.