There looks to be a Google algorithm update rolling out between the 10th to 15th of September 2021 which is causing widespread fluctuations in the Google search results.
We first noticed a large Google algorithm change come through on the 10th of September with the SEMrush sensor recording a 7.4 (out of 10) across all industries. The SEMRUSH sensor has recorded five days of high range volatility since the 9th of September 2021.
• 9th September – 5.7 (high range)
• 10th September – 7.4 (high range)
• 11th September – 5.4 (high range)
• 12th September – 7.3 (high range)
• 13th September – 5.2 (high range)
• 14th September – 4.4 (normal)
*Data Courtesy of SEMRUSH Sensor
After the respite of the 14th of September, it looked as if the Google update had finished rolling out, however, on the 15th of September the SEMRUSH sensor is back up to a 6.7 which shows a high range of volatility.
What Are You Seeing With the September 2021 Algorithm Update?
We first started noticing large changes to the SERPs on the 9th of September after a quiet month from Google.
As an SEO Agency working across a diverse range of industries, we are seeing mixed results amongst our client sites at this time. It is difficult to ascertain whether this is a continuation of the page experience update, the link spam update (less likely), or whether this is a mini core update that Google will not be announcing.
Who Has Been Impacted by the Algorithm Update?
Depending on the industry that you are tracking, the results and changes to the SERPs may be very different. There has been more than enough talk on Twitter and the SEO forums to justify investigation into what these changes mean for different industries. A number of well-known SEO commentators have reported dramatic shifts in the quality of search engine results over the last week.
Some of the industries that saw the highest levels of volatility include:
- Business Sectors
- Computers & Electrical
- Gaming
- News Websites
- Forums
- E-Commerce
Conversely, there were a number of industries that would not have seen many changes over the last week. Some of the industries that have been least affected by these updates include:
- Health & Wellness
- Job Boards
- Government Websites
- Real Estate Websites
- Travel Industry Sites
Google Continues to Refine Its Algorithm
As an SEO company, we work on a diverse range of products and take different approaches when it comes to content and link acquisition. At this point, we cannot pin point the reason behind SERP fluctuations, but will continue to investigate patterns between sites that we work on to identify trends and correlations.
What we can say is that this algorithm update follows a long list of updates that Google has rolled out over the last three months. You can read about some of those updates below:
- Google broad core update– June 2nd
- Google page experience update – 15th June
- Google anti-spam update – 24th June
- Google broad core update – July 1st
- Unconfirmed Google Update – 3rd October
- November 2021 Broad Core Update
- Unconfirmed December 2021 Google Algorithm Update
What Now?
We will continue to monitor the situation to identify patterns behind changes that we are seeing in the SERPs. If your website has been impacted, we would recommend waiting a few days to see whether the changes are reversed. Between the June and July broad core updates, Google has been trialling search results as it endeavours to improve the quality of SERPs. It is possible that these changes will be reversed, or the effects will be mitigated as things settle down over the coming week.
