November 2023 Google Core Algorithm Update Rolls Out

Google has announced the November 2023 core algorithm update has started rolling out.

The November 2023 core update follows hot on the heels of the impactful October core update.

The update will take two weeks to fully roll out and marks the fourth core algorithm update of 2023 and the third update in just 72 days.

As is tradition, Google announced the November 2023 core update through the Google Search Central Twitter account:

Today we released the November 2023 core update. We’ll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete.

Related to this, we’ve posted a Q&A on Google Search updates as a refresher about how updates work.

Core updates are an integral part of Google’s efforts to show the most relevant and helpful content to users.

Google uses search ranking systems to generate the search results, core updates are when Google makes improvements to those ranking systems in an ongoing effort to improve the quality and integrity of results.

The last core update from Google occurred four weeks ago to the day, so why is Google releasing another update?

Google updated the Q&A on Google Search updates on Thursday, November 2, 2023 with the following advice around why two core updates have happened in such quick succession:

“We have different systems that are considered core to our ranking process; this month’s core update involves an improvement to a different core system than last month. However, our guidance about core updates is the same for both.”

Core updates typically happen 3-4 times per year, so it’s unusual for Google to release another core update just four weeks since the last one. It’s even more unusual when you consider that there was just over six weeks between the August 2023 core update and the one that occurred in October.

In our experience, when Google releases two updates in quick succession, they can sometimes be reversing some of the changes that occurred through a previous update. That is to say that some of the big shifts that were seen in the October 2023 core update (positive or negative for site owners) may see a slight reversal during this time.

From the results and fall out that we witnessed, Google’s October 2023 core update was the most significant core update in the last two years. To us, it makes sense that Google may be correcting some of the large shifts that occurred during this update. However, this is only speculation.

Google releases core updates as a way to ensure the quality of search results. The November 2023 core update is another step towards ensuring Google provides the best experience for users by reducing spam and rewarding high-quality, helpful content.

The November 2023 core update is the fourth update of 2023 and the third update in just 72 days. Expect to see widespread instability across the search results over the coming two weeks as Google makes changes to their ranking systems which will impact search results.

If you are impacted over the coming weeks, we would encourage you to wait until the update concludes before making any major changes. Given that the Black Friday and Holiday period are around the corner and Google tries to avoid algorithm changes during this time, there is a good change that this will be the final update of 2023.