• 04 Dec 2020
  • 3 Min read

Google confirms the rollout of a December 2020 core update

On 3 December, Google announced that it would be rolling out a broad core algorithm update. This is the third update of its kind that we’ve seen this year. The first was in January, the second was in May, and it’s very likely this will be the last one of 2020.

The announcement was made in a tweet from the Google SearchLiaison account, and said: “Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the December 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.”

The company then shared a link to their core update advice for webmasters, which explains that site owners don’t need to do anything in response to this announcement. Google only confirms core updates in case people see their rankings fluctuate and want to know why. But the company stresses that, often, there’s nothing that needs to be fixed.

The search engine started rolling out this update soon after making the announcement but said that it could take a week or two before it’s fully rolled out.

What can you do if your rankings are affected?

While Google has said there aren’t any specific steps you should take to recover after a core algorithm update, their advice does also include some questions you can ask yourself about your content. They recommend assessing the quality of your content, whether it does a good job of demonstrating your expertise, and if the information is presented in the most helpful way.

We also have a guide on how to deal with core update ranking drops in ecommerce SEO, which has some tips that might help. We explain the importance of remembering that content is still king, urge you to check your site for duplicate content, and highlight the importance of making sure that the content on your category pages isn’t thin. We also point out that sometimes it’s best not to react — it can often be better to focus on what you’re going to do moving forward, rather than fixing what you think you might have done wrong in the past.

Here at Glass Digital, our SEO experts are well-versed in helping our clients to prepare for and recover from broad core algorithm updates. If this is something you would like some assistance with, get in touch today and we’ll be more than happy to help.


Marcus McConkey

Head of Technical SEO

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