Are we are not just exaggerating the impact of core algorithm updates?

Every update Google rolls out should deserve your attention but the amount of attention should depend on the impacts of the update.Google core updates are considered to be more devastating for rankings. Since Google confirmed core updates back in March 2018, it is common to expect a good shaking of the rankings for several years. But sometimes, there is a lot of buzz about core updates that Google has not confirmed.

Many in the SEO community have admitted about the impact of such unconfirmed updates. So are the unconfirmed updates more impactful than confirmed ones?

If you use tools that tell you that Google’s confirmed updates are for real, after each and every update, huge ranking volatility has been seen. And there is denying of the impact they had. Just look at the data recorded during the June 2019 core update.

Simultaneously, unconfirmed updates rolled out but not officially confirmed by Google can hardly be overlooked. For example, an unconfirmed update in July had many of the rank fluctuations.

So if we concern about the impact of anonymous updates, there is nothing wrong with this. But if the core updates are acting as a red herring to distract our attention, this is really something to worry about.

But there is no denying that confirmed updates cause significant ranking fluctuations, and we should really be serious about this. Just look at the data recorded by tools that track Google updates’ ranking impacts.

But the question is here is, how are confirmed updates more impactful than unconfirmed ones?

Forget about what the ranking tracking tools say, and let see, what the does the actual data say?

Confirmed vs. unconfirmed Google updates: Their impact on top SERP rankings

According to data recorded on top SERP rankings during the core updates and the unconfirmed update:

The one thing that is obvious is that not all are equally impactful in terms of Top SERPs rankings fluctuations.

However, lower levels of rank fluctuations were seen during the March 2019 Core Update relative to its counterparts. But that varies from one vertical to another.

So it is clear that core updates are more impactful than unconfirmed ones if we talk about the impact on top SERP rankings.

But if we look at the data of the unconfirmed July update’s impact on ranking, you will find them even surpassing them in certain instances. This proves the notion wrong that an unconfirmed update is impactful than its counterparts.

The same is about the page one ranking volatility. Both unconfirmed and confirmed updates affect the SERPs rankings in certain ways. While the former is more impactful in some ways, the latter affects more in other ways.

But does that mean we are exaggerating the impact of core updates

With the data recorded, it seems average unconfirmed update has the real potential to cause the ranking volatility much the way a core update might. And this is more so in terms of the bottom two-thirds of the SERP.

With what the data tells and the amount of buzz, chatter, and overall notoriety the core updates receive, it would not be wrong to say, “We are sort of hyping the things.”

Put simply, every update has its own kind of impact, and so it needs to be discussed. Whether it is none-core updates or core updates – confirmed or unconfirmed – you should give due attention to it and make the best effort if the update hurts your search rankings.