June 2021 Core Update: what have been the effects of the Google update?
The Google June 2021 Core Update di Google did not have a particularly significant impact on SERPs, as already anticipated by Google itself in the announcement. And so, at the end of the rollout period, which only lasted 10 days, let’s go and see what were the main trends emerged from the analysis of SERPs with SEOZoom and from international observers.
Now concluded the Google June 2021 rollout
The June 2021 Core Update officially started on June 2 and was completed on June 12 (US dates, which slip by a day for us Europeans due to time zone).
Typically, the full rollouts of Google’s basic algorithmic updates last about 15 days, while the latter update took just 10 days – perhaps because it is just part of what Google was working on, that will be completed with a next update already announced in July.
Effects on the SERPs
Already from the first analysis data it emerged the feeling that the June 2021 Core Update was slightly softer than its predecessors, with a softer impact even compared to the previous more recent, the December 2020 Core Update.
In particular, in the very first days following implementation there were no immediate variations, which began to feel later, but without the peaks of previous updates.
There is, however, a big difference from the past, that is the announcement of another core update coming next month; moreover, it is important to remember that on June 15 the Page Experience Update has officially started, which will therefore help to make even more “tangled” the situation and cause further variations in SERP – although, to be clear, the updating of the experience factors with the page has no relevance to these core updates and takes into consideration completely different signals.
Effetti analyzed with SEOZoom
The generalized slow trend is also evident from our SEOZoom graph, for all Google versions currently monitored by the tool.
In Italy, we have seen some peaks among first page fluctuations and large variations between the 5 and 6 June, while between 11 and 13 (the final part of the rollout) there was movement in small variations in SERP. Otherwise, calm flat, almost unusual and certainly peculiar for a core update.
In Spain the situation has been a little more eventful: already from June 3 there were fluctuations (first page fluctuations and big variations), although the most sensitive effects arrived between 5 and 7 June, especially on the side of small variations in SERP; everything went back to normal until June 12 (again small variations), and then had a final peak on 13 and 14 June, especially with fluctuations on the first page and big variations.
It is on Google UK that there were the strongest effects, according to SEOZoom. The great variations in SERP were noticed since June 3 and continued until June 5, also affecting first page fluctuations; after a few days of stasis and regularity, then, from June 12 to 15 there was again movement, with jolts on small variations first and then of the other analyzed values.
What the SEOZoom data tell us
In Italy and Spain it seems that the update has had a similar impact, involving movements not strictly related to the first page of Google SERPs (as evidenced by the regularity of the values for the results released by the TOP10, which monitors the pages losing rankings on the first page).
Our users, as well, who commented on our FB group, report a certain volatility, with “rather relevant and historically well positioned” pages that have moved from a stable second to sixth position, then climbed back in third and that currently are in eighth (surpassed even by sites of doubtful value).
The major activity seems to have however concerned the small changes in SERP, and therefore changes of position of minor magnitude, and the large changes, which on the contrary keep an eye on the changes in ranking of higher magnitude.
In the UK, on the other hand, the situation reminded a little more closely the classic trend of Google updates, especially in the final part of the rollout, when actually were reported even pages exited from the Top10 as a result of these scrambling in the evaluations of the search engine.
Analyses from international observers
Widening the field of observations, Barry Schwartz has as usual tried to take stock of the situation on the effects of this update using several analytics tools.
According to its findings, this update was felt mainly on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 June, with a backlash between 11 and 12 June, causing similar changes in terms of volatility, both desktop and mobile search results. The first five categories that have undergone the most change have been health, cars, pets, science and travel.
As for the USA SERPS, to come out winners – with increasing positions – were sites such as loc8nearme.com, foursquare.com moovitapp.com, budsinessyab.com, alamy.com, craft.co, manta.com, surecutsalot.com, brandilaw.com and news9.com. In contrast, they have seen major losses in ranking sites such as fresno-airport.com, okc-airport.com, quora.com, anthem.com, livescore.cz, niche.com, lagrange.edu, loginask.com and tripadvisor.com.
According to other sources, the June 2021 Core Update has mainly impacted the top 5 research positions, whose results have had a higher fluctuation than those never detected before, especially for sites active in the categories of retail and travel (while the health niche has on average shown less volatility).
Steve Paine of Sistrix told us that “the gains or losses with this Core Update have been somewhat lower than those of other updates in the past”, explaining the two possible reasons for this phenomenon: on the one hand, Google has already announced that only some of the changes have been implemented to june, with others to follow in July. On the other hand, “there are indications that Google is using new metrics/algorithms and is therefore proceeding with caution with the first rollout”.
Moreover, Paine noted that this update affected a smaller number of domains that had previously reacted to core updates (which are often considered the right time to recover from a decline), a signal that might “suggest that Google is (at least in part) using fundamentally different or new methodologies”.
The top 10 domains that have lost significant visibility according to this analysis include stocktwits.com, smartertravel.com, mentalfloss.com, vanityfair.com, ducksters.com, nationsonline.org, lifehacker.com, moneyunder30.com, Collider.com and huffpost.com.
More generally, even in the international SEO community very few have actually noticed changes in rankings on sites that manage up to three or more days after the announcement, while the first effects were glimpsed from Monday, June 7: some sites have seen huge declines or gains, while other oscillations were more attenuated.
The effects of this half update and how to recover from a drop
The overall feeling, however, is this core update, at least part of it, has been weaker than some previous Google updates, and for sure has been one of the most “weird” of recent years.
For those who have noticed decreases in traffic we provide the now classic advice of the case: first clarify the causes of this loss of ranking (exclude, that is, that they are the effect of manual actions or other interventions of penalization), and then focus on the search for quality, taking a “step back” to have a wider view of the website in its entirety and try to understand which areas are to be improved in general.
“There are no specific actions to take to recover and, in fact, a negative impact on the positioning may not report that something is wrong in your pages” is the mantra that Google repeats to those looking for solutions to respond to updates, but we also know that you usually have to wait for a subsequent core update to recover rankings and traffic.
Compared to the past, there is a further critical element, because it is possible that the changes to the rankings that we have suffered with the June 2021 Core Update can be cancelled as early as July, and so maybe it is better to wait before launching into corrective interventions – and, however, do not exult at the positions you earn or beat yourself up for the lost rankings.
As Google says, “any basic update may produce declines or gains for some content”, but “because of the two-part nature of this version, it is possible that a small portion of the content may see changes in June that will reverse in July”. In other words – and given the departure of the Page Experience Update – we must hold our breath and cross our fingers for a few more weeks.
