June 3 Google Broad Core Algorithm Update

What should you do about Google’s June 3 Broad Core Algorithm Update? Learn how your website may or may not have been impacted, with GPO.

Google rolled out a Broad Core Algorithm Update on June 3, 2019. The official announcement was made on June 2.

Google tweeted:

Tomorrow, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the June 2019 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this tweet for more about that:https://t.co/tmfQkhdjPL

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2019

The “guidance” Google referenced is in a tweet from October 2018 where the company explains:

“Sometimes, we make broad changes to our core algorithm. We inform about those because the actionable advice is that there is nothing, in particular, to “fix,” and we don’t want content owners to mistakenly try to change things that aren’t issues….”

For site owners, there is generally nothing to fix when there’s a broad core update. Broad core updates aren’t about targeting specific types of low-quality (spam) content. Instead, they’re usually about improving relevance.

Improving relevance means enhancing Google’s ability to connect search queries with all of the available content out there in the search ecosphere.

When an update does require action from site owners, Google gives months of advanced notice. (Like when they gave six months’ notice before page speed became a ranking factor for mobile searches.)

If you still feel like you need to do something with the June Broad Core Algorithm Update, consider these points from Search Engine Journal:

• Google explicitly said there is nothing for you to fix, change, or stop doing.
• Google Updates can take a few weeks to touch every inch of the search ecosphere. It’s best to wait and see what happens instead of jumping to conclusions and randomly flipping website switches left and right.
• Unlike other types of Google updates, broad core updates do not target specific verticals. Broad means something that has a wide scope.
• If your site’s search visibility is decreasing, consider asking yourself two questions:
  • Why doesn’t Google view my website as relevant anymore? What have I changed or not changed?
  • What are the “more relevant” websites, i.e., the ones that are ranking better, doing that I am not?

At GPO, these are questions we regularly ask ourselves—when it’s time for our clients’ monthly analyses, competitor audits, and content plans. Let’s ask these questions about your site, too, especially if you’ve seen search visibility decreasing year over year.