Google releases August 2023 broad core update

Google’s August 2023 core update is now rolling out and may take up to two weeks to complete.

This is the second broad core algorithm update of 2023; the previous core update was the March 2023 core update, which started rolling out March 15 and completed on March 28.

It has been over five months since Google’s March 2023 core update.

The announcement. Google announced this on Twitter and updated its search updates page:

• “Released the August 2023 core update. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.”

What to do if you are hit. Google has given advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past:

• There aren’t specific actions to take to recover. A negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages.
• Google has offered a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update.
• Google said you can see a bit of a recovery between core updates but the biggest change would be after another core update.

Why we care. Whenever Google updates its search ranking algorithms, your site can do better or worse in the search results. Knowing when Google makes these updates gives us something to point to to understand if it was something you changed on your website or something Google changed with its ranking algorithm. Today, we know Google has released a core ranking update, so keep an eye on your analytics and rankings over the next couple of weeks.

Reviews update. The April 2023 reviews update was the last confirmed Google update. That update started on April 12 and finished on April 25.

Also this year was the February 2023 product reviews update, it started on Feb. 21 and ran for 14 days, ending on March 7. This was a significant update.

Previous core updates. Here’s a timeline and our coverage of recent core updates:

• The March 2023 core update on March 15th and ending on March 28th.
• The September 2022 broad core update was less impactful than previous core updates and finished on Sept. 26.
• The May 2022 broad core update was a significant and fast update.
• The November 2021 core update 
• The July 2021 core update.
• The June 2021 core update, which was slow to roll out but a big one.

You can read more about past Google updates here.