It has been almost 12 weeks since the last confirmed Google search ranking algorithm was released. That was the November 2023 reviews update. Before that was the November 2023 core update. Since then, we have had plenty of unconfirmed Google updates (or ranking bugs), but none have been confirmed.
We know Google is working on more ranking updates, some to deal with search spam issues like parasite SEO, some you may or may not want to buckle up for. But we are still waiting and some of the hidden gems Google is showing in the search results can be considered muddy rocks.
Lily Ray, who has been vocal about Google search quality issues over the past few months, posted that she is eager for a new update in 2024. She hopes it addresses some of those issues. In which, Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison, replied to with this GIF, that "someone is cooking up a storm tonight."
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 26, 2024
The commentary that followed was solid:
buckle up :)
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) January 26, 2024
Me: Oh good. Almost done for the day and can shut things down for the weekend.
— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) January 26, 2024
Google: muahahahaha. you sure Marie?
👀 https://t.co/BgKOXgLkMC
That God takes confessed (as we say in Spain) 😅 https://t.co/02sBJP4zN0
— Gianluca Fiorelli (@gfiorelli1) January 26, 2024
https://t.co/Dq97H6QWnz pic.twitter.com/0Fct18Otqn
— Ori Zilbershtein (@OriZilbershtein) January 26, 2024
As a reminder, here are all the confirmed Google updates for 2023:
Many SEOs are talking about Reddit over taking the Google Search results again:
"Parasite SEO" tactics are already rapidly gravitating to leverage Reddit for easy-win rankings due to Google conveying too much ranking power to the site. See: https://t.co/XqqRml2VeM cc: @searchliaison
— Chris Silver Smith (@si1very) January 26, 2024
Who won SEO in 2023?
— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) January 26, 2024
Check out my latest article on the @sistrix blog including biggest #SEO winners in the U.S. on Google, and some category-based visibility trends. https://t.co/qls0raLHt9
Anyway, we are overdue for an update and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a confirmed update in the next week or so.
Feedback on this story:
I've concluded the overlap of those who know SEO and those who watch Call The Midwife is precisely me. pic.twitter.com/73xSujC9Wn
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 29, 2024
Forum discussion at X.
