Google August 2023 Core Update: What You Need to Know

Google has announced the release of its second broad core algorithm update of 2023. The update, which began rolling out on August 24th, is expected to take up to two weeks to complete.

What is a Google Core Update?

Google Core Updates often happen a few times a year and is an algorithm update that affects Google search as a whole, by enhancing the way the search engine assesses the basic foundations of websites.

As Google is constantly aiming to improve its algorithm, these updates use previously generated data to assess how the algorithm can be updated. These Core or ‘Broad’ updates are just that, broad in what they target, and are an update on how Google assesses content and user interaction.

This means that Google is likely observing how well your content has served a user, how fast it has loaded and how good of an experience it was for a user on your site. With tweaks to all of these kinds of metrics, it is no wonder that the movement in the SERPs can be dramatic.

Google does not disclose the specific changes that are made to its algorithm with each core update, but they say that they are designed to “improve the overall quality of search results.” This can mean a variety of things, such as ranking websites that provide more relevant and helpful information, or de-ranking websites that are spammy or misleading.

What Does it Mean For You?

The August 2023 core update is the first since the March 2023 update, which was a fairly impactful update that resulted in some significant changes in search rankings. It is not yet clear how the August 2023 update will impact search results, but it is likely to have a noticeable effect on some websites.

If you are concerned about how the update may affect your website, there are a few things you can do proactively to improve your chances of ranking well:

• First, make sure that your website is high-quality and provides valuable information to users: As with anything, to stand up against a whole world of traffic, you need to have a high-quality website design with intuitive and responsive development, just like how we develop our sites at Brave. Moreover, the quality of the content on the page is judged highly.
• Second, use relevant keywords throughout your website content: SEO has always been important, and we never underestimate its importance at Brave.
• Third, build backlinks from high-quality websites: Backlinks are Google’s way of checking how valuable your content is, and therefore where it would rank. The more (reputable) people linking to your site, the more Google knows others want to see what you have to offer.

Google also recommends that you continue to monitor your website’s search traffic and performance after the update has been completed. If you notice any significant changes, you may need to make some adjustments to your website or SEO strategy.

The August 2023 core update is just one of many factors that can affect your website’s SEO ranking. However, by following the best practices outlined above, you can improve your chances of ranking well and getting your website seen by more people.

Lost Traffic?

If you have lost traffic due to a core update, your best bet is to re-evaluate your content and review the new higher-ranking pages for research. Are there resources that competitors are providing that your site is not? Is it a better, more streamlined experience? Is there a noticeable wait for a page to load? These factors can all play a part in why some competitors are now outranking your pages. The best solution is to look to update and improve your content to close this gap and improve customer experience.

While it is still early days to properly analyse this core update, we will be keeping an eye on Google as the dust settles. If you feel like you have been affected by a core update or your marketing is lacking, then getting in touch with Brave’s specialist SEO marketing team can help to improve your search performance.