Google Ranking Algorithm Updates - June 2023 - Unconfirmed Volatility and Webmaster Concerns

June has been a very month volatile for Google search rankings. The May 22^nd/23^rd update brought some calm to the turmoil that existed in the early part of that month, but that did not last long. By the end of the first week of June, many tools showed signs of volatility and there was increased chatter in the SEO community about the developing situation. Unconfirmed reports of another search engine algorithm update began to make the rounds around the 6^thJune.

What Happened In June

The unconfirmed report of an update appeared around June 6^th. This was followed by similar reports on June 14^th and June 23^rd. The periods between these unconfirmed reports saw significant increases in Google Search volatility. There has been no information from Google about any possible or potential updates so the uncertainty remains. What can be said for certain is the pages are bouncing all over and rankings were jumping around as if uncontrolled.

It should be kept in mind that the last confirmed update was the April 2023 review update.

What Google Tracking Tools Say

Google tracking tools are often a good indicator of changes in the search algorithms. A look at tools like Semrush, SERPmetrics, Accuranker, Mozcast, Algoroo, RankRanger, Cognitive SEO and Mozcast for June all show increased uncertainty with a trend of becoming more heated towards the end of the month. While some tools showed more volatility than others, the overall trend has been similar across the board.

What Webmasters Say

Webmasters, who have the most hands-on experience in dealing with Google search rankings, have been unanimous about the volatility and the resulting drop in search traffic. Among the most commonly reported issues were:

Major drops in search traffic. In the USA it was, on some days, down by between 30% to 48%.
The drop in other regions was equally significant, ranging from 15% to 45%.
The UK appeared to be the only positive region with a reported traffic increase of around 24%.
The reasons for the fluctuations remained unknown.
Massive increases in bot traffic, in some cases up to 300%, were reported by some webmasters.

There appears to be a great loss of morale in the online community. While many of the negative comments may only be people venting their frustration, the fact that negative comments like those quoted below are being posted is not something that should be ignored:

I have just lost 50% of my traffic yesterday. I was already at the lowest and now my blog is literally dead.
If there is a bright side to this, it’s that Google’s spamming of the ads brings more scrutiny to the ads they are serving including those ads that interrupt YT videos every minute.
If you haven’t learned by now that Google operates with impunity, ……… then you need to open your eyes or get some new glasses.
Mentally torturing!! but typical of Google.
The site I run was in an upward trend and did pretty well. For the last 2 weeks, Google has crashed my traffic for no reason by over 85%.

The trend of the comments, which are from webmasters, site owners and those who are knowledgeable about Google and search-related matters is extremely negative and could perhaps point to a more serious issue that could emerge shortly. We will have to wait and watch.

In the meantime, we can only hope for an improvement in the situation.