Google might have rolled out an update to its search ranking algorithm between May 10, 2023, and May 11, 2023. On both days, several website tracking tools detected unusual spikes in the rankings of the websites they were monitoring.
SEOs and webmasters noted significant drops in their traffic, especially those originating from the US. Some SEOs and webmasters also reported traffic drops in sites unaffected by previous updates. However, since Google did not officially announce the May 10 and 11, 2023 update, its intent remains unclear.
What Are People Saying?
Several SEOs have provided their opinion regarding the unconfirmed update on Twitter. Here is what Barry Schwartz had to say about it:
Another unconfirmed Google search ranking update; the Google I/O search algorithm ranking update 🙂 https://t.co/DG5RhnFydd pic.twitter.com/iXl8nY9rEB
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) May 12, 2023
What’s Next – Dealing With This Update
As with most unconfirmed updates, it is hard to understand what this update is about and how it is related to previous and upcoming updates. Notably, the update was detected on May 10, 2023, the same day the Google I/O annual developer conference was held.
It remains to be seen if this unconfirmed update is related to the new Google Search features unveiled on that day or whether the date was deliberately intended to clash with the event.
That said, if you notice traffic fluctuations on your site, you should monitor the affected pages with Rank Math’s Analytics so that you can understand how you are affected and begin working on recovering from it. You can refer to the below video for tips on recovering from a Google Algorithm update.
