There have been many suspected algorithm updates over the years that go unconfirmed by Google. However, in March (the 12th to be exact), Search Engine Land reported that the latest update has indeed been confirmed by Google. Further evidence came a few days ago when Google Search Liaison confirmed this update via a tweet.
The update took roughly ten days but the details of this update are still largely unknown.
The confirmed “broad algorithm update” has resulted in altered rankings in the SERPs for a selection of sites, so if you are seeing fluctuations this could be the cause. Google reported that pages that have been negatively impacted may not necessarily have poor pages, the update is more focused on better rewarding sites that were not getting the recognition they deserved previously.
Google’s algorithm update history
March
In March Google rolled out the mobile-first index following months of testing. We will see the impact of this gradually. This happened a couple of weeks after a core update that caused flickers across the industry for almost two weeks.
February
There were no updates confirmed by Google however there were noticeable ranking fluctuations that Moz stated may have signalled a targeted algorithm update. Could this have been initial testing for this latest broad update?
If the first three months of 2018 are anything to go by, it looks like this could be a fascinating year for SEO. Check back regularly for the latest updates or request an SEO site review from one of our experienced experts.