January Brought Another Major Core Update
January marked another Core Update that began on the 13th and finished rolling out a few weeks later. As usual, Google announced the update via Twitter with the consistent messaging we've seen for all the Core Updates.
Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the January 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this blog post for more about that:https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 13, 2020
They also included a link to an August blog post that explained the concept of 'nothing to fix' solidly. This paragraph is one we love and that we use with clients when explaining the importance of revisiting and refreshing existing content as a vital strategy.
One way to think of how a core update operates is to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later in 2019, you refresh the list. It’s going to naturally change. Some new and wonderful movies that never existed before will now be candidates for inclusion. You might also reassess some films and realize they deserved a higher place on the list than they had before.
The list will change, and films previously higher on the list that move down aren’t bad. There are simply more deserving films that are coming before them.
Actionable Strategy — Stop and go read that August 2019 blog post. Specifically, ask yourself these questions when evaluating your site's content...
Content and quality questions
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does...
