I am seeing some early signals within the community that there is a potential Google update being pushed out. It is really early. It might be some limited Google test, which they are constantly doing or really early signs of a Penguin update. I really do not think the signs point to Penguin, just yet but it is all very early.
The signs are definitely stronger than Google update from earlier this month.
Tools Showing Changes
So we have some automated ranking tools that show changes including RankbRanger, Accuranker, SERPMetrics, SERPs.com and Mozcast but most are not yet updated with last nights or this mornings metrics. So we need to wait until later today to see what they come up with.
At 9am EST, Mozcast updated and is showing stormy weather:
SEO Community Chatter
The SEO forums and community are chattering about changes in WebmasterWorld and BlackHat Forums. I am also seeing people reach out to me on Twitter and email about it.
Here are some quotes from the threads:
I ran some searches today and, wow, the SERPs look awful. So many non-relevant sites appearing. .ru, .com, .fr, appearing and none were what I was looking for. How strange, i havent seen it this poor for a while, yet tge adwords were right on the money. No need to be cynical but the organic serps needs some work.
RankBrain happening? My site is with a great traffic flow, unusual for a Monday night.Or penguin coming?
I just lost significant ranking from one of my sites ! I had few keywords #1 and poof ! Under one nightsome dropped, thats really wack. Is there anything going on with google today or it seems to be "normal dancing" ?
Here is one tweet of many:
Ummm... a lot of movement in UK SERP results today for sites we monitor... anybody else notice anything? #seo @rustybrick
— Andy Morley (@Andy_Morley) March 29, 2016
Again, this is all very early, so it is hard to say if something is 100% going on.
Have you noticed significant changes over the past 12 hours or so?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and BlackHat Forums.
