August Core Update Completed Rollout on September 7

Google Finished Rolling Out The August 2023 Core Update

On September 7, 2023, Google officially confirmed the successful rollout of the August 2023 Core Update. This announcement was made through Google's status dashboard page. Google had previously announced the Core Update on August 22, 2023. Now, 16 days later, users can monitor the changes brought about by this update.

Here is a screenshot from Google's status dashboard page:

A core update is a significant change that can have a major impact on website rankings in Google search results. It is a moment eagerly anticipated by website owners, as it can affect the visibility and traffic of their websites.

Twitter Forum Discussions

Following Google's official announcement of the completion of the August 2023 Core Update, many webmasters began sharing their experiences on social media platforms, particularly on Twitter. 

They expressed concerns about the ranking drops that occurred since the announcement of the core update, and there were numerous complaints about the negative impacts they felt.

Many webmasters reported significant drops in their website rankings in Google search results. These drops have been observed since the core update announcement and have continued to persist.

They expressed concerns about how this could affect organic traffic and the overall health of their online businesses. However, some also mentioned fluctuations in rankings and organic traffic to their businesses.

Here is a snippet from discussions on Twitter shared by users:

cmlabs Team's Observations

In the past two weeks during the rollout, the cmlabs team conducted some analyses regarding the effects of this update. Here are some findings that were observed due to the update.

The observations were carried out on a specific website with different target keywords for Indonesia and Singapore regions.

In the first observation, before the information about Google Core Update August 2023 was made public, a keyword targeted in Indonesia ranked 1. However, on August 23 and subsequent days, it dropped to 10th rank.

The lowest rank reached by this keyword was 16. However, by September 12, 2023, this keyword had gradually risen to position 6.

In the second observation, still on keywords targeted in Indonesia, the initial position on August 22 was 13. However, on August 23, 2023, it drastically dropped to 46.

The lowest rank read by SERP was 61. Since September 7, 2023, SERP could no longer capture its position, and further optimization is needed.

In the third observation, the keywords were targeted in Singapore. There were 3 keywords initially at positions 17, 33, and 15 on August 7, 2023. Over time, these keywords reached positions 88, 92, and 95 on August 20, 2023, even before the announcement of the Google Core Update.

Currently, these two keywords have not been re-read by SERP and require further optimization.

The fourth observation pertains to a keyword also targeted in Singapore. In terms of pattern, it is almost similar to the third case. On August 7, 2023, its position was 13. Gradually, this keyword moved away to 96th rank on August 20, 2023.

Summary of the Google Core Update August 2023

Here is a summary of the Google Core Update August 2023 that we have found:

• Name: Google August Broad Core Update
• Release Date: August 22, 2023
• Completion Date: September 7, 2023
• Focus: Analyzing all types of content.
• Penalties: This update does not impose penalties but rewards high-quality content with higher rankings.
• Scope: This update occurred globally.
• Recovery: Follow Google's guidance through the Google guidelines page.