Google’s next update coming soon, but don’t expect to recover lost traffic
Google will release a new algorithm update “fairly soon.” However, many of the sites impacted negatively by previous updates should not expect to recover their lost traffic after the next update is released.
This news comes out of a Web Creator Summit Google hosted at the Googleplex for a dozen or so content creators whose Google search rankings declined over the past year or so.
Key points. Here’s a summary of takeaways shared by attendees of the Web Creator Summit:
- A new Google algorithm update should be released soon.
- Google did not promise those who attended would see any recoveries with this next update.
- Google acknowledged there are ways to improve its algorithm to reward content creators.
- Content may not have been the problem with their site.
- Google is aware of some larger sites trying to manipulate its search rankings.
- Some attendees believe the takeaway is that they need to move on to new or different projects.
- However, some creators are still working toward, and hoping for, improvements.
Who attended. The event was attended by content creators and Google employees. There seem to be about a dozen or so people in attendance.
I know Danny Sullivan, Pandu Nayak, Elizabeth Tucker and other Google executives and engineers were there for all or part of the day. Mike Hardaker from Mountain Weekly News, Morgan McBride from Charleston Crafted, Rutledge Daugette from TechRaptor, William Barton who writes on apparel, Danny Ashton from HouseFresh were among the content creators (there were others I am not aware of).
What was said. Hardaker published a recap of the event on his personal blog (I Drank the Kool-Aid at the 2024 Google Web Creator Summit). McBride also posted some commentary from the event on X.
I summed up a lot of it on the Search Engine Roundtable, but with the caveat that I am quoting from quotes from an event I did not personally attend.
Here are some quotes that caught my eye:
- “According to Danny Sullivan, my ‘content was not the issue’ when referencing the Mountain Weekly News so don’t let the HCU update make you automatically question your content.” So if it wasn’t the content, then what was the issue? I mean, it was called the helpful content update.
- “I can’t also give you any guarantees about recovery or not, I think that would not be responsible for me to say this.” Nayak cannot promise a site will recover – now or ever.
- “I don’t see this as a waste. I can see you thinking of this as a waste if you don’t recover in a certain amount of time, but we find this incredibly valuable to guide the work that we do.” This was in response to the question of what the point of the event is if these sites won’t recover.
- “September is not coming back,” was something Sullivan was quoted as saying when he was asked about maybe reverting the helpful content update. Google won’t go backward, they will make updates and maybe you will recover slowly. “The recovery thing it is much more likely that hopefully it’s going to be a gradual process,” Sullivan was quoted as saying.
- On larger sites manipulating Google Search, there is this quote: “At the end of the day one of the engineers came up and said ‘Hey Mike, what do you feel about Forbes?’ I smiled and said I wasn’t a fan of how Forbes and other sites are figuring out how to manipulate Google’s system, and how its not healthy for the entire web ecosystem to have large sites taking all the share of voice from smaller, independent content creators. The fact he even took time to come up and talk with me spoke volumes. Again it turns out Google does care and I would guess Forbes will be slapped a penalty or two. Whatever that looks like who knows.”
Actual quotes from Googlers. Hardaker also published actual word-for-word quotes from Googlers at the event. Here those are:
- “Google probably needs to do better, there is nothing wrong with your sites.”
- “Google understand previous queries in search.”
- “E-E-A-T is not for creators, it’s for your readers.”
- “Does the topic of the page match what the searcher is looking for.”
- “When you think things are broken, please send things to Danny.”
- “Unfortunately we can’t tell you how our signals work.”
- “Please keep the feedback coming, we really do care and we are listening.”
- “People want to hear from people.”
- “To the extend we have AI content trying to swarm results, we launched new policy in March around this sort of thing, we have a great motivation to actually surface real content.”
More. Here are some posts on X from Morgan that I thought were interesting:
Leaving SFO and the google summit on the redeye with very mixed emotions (a thread) pic.twitter.com/FJud4icTM9
— Morgan (@CharlestonCraft) October 30, 2024
Danny is legit a nice guy and seems to really understand and care. How much power does he have? Enough to throw this event, which was a big get on his part in my opinion. pic.twitter.com/sHeDwyLYRs
— Morgan (@CharlestonCraft) October 30, 2024
The higher up employees don’t seem used to being challenged and did not know how to respond to our frank statements that their sloppy algorithm updates straight fucked a lot of businesses and individuals pic.twitter.com/CfgZ3oToxP
— Morgan (@CharlestonCraft) October 30, 2024
If you were hit by HCU & depend on google, MOVE ON.
— Morgan (@CharlestonCraft) October 30, 2024
They made it clear SOME of us MAY recover ONE DAY but all would not and who knows when it might be.
Build a product.
Get new traffic sources.
Get a job.
Google don’t currrr (once again, Danny is nice. Nice don’t pay my bills) pic.twitter.com/ZI2Ormk2BQ
Nope, Danny explicitly said that some content sites were doing just fine. We explained that peers who may or may not be worse quality than ourselves still
— Morgan (@CharlestonCraft) October 30, 2024
rank and they said yup!
More commentary. If you want to listen to Greg Finn and Mordy Oberstein and I rant on it, the first 8 minutes of this video we do just that.