Google Rolls Out January 2020 Core Update

On Monday morning, Google announced on Twitter that it would roll out a new core algorithm update — January 2020 Core Update — later in the day. While the search engine giant generally rolls out algorithm update every few months, this is the first core update of 2020.

The announcement from Google reads:

“Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the January 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.”

Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the January 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this blog post for more about that:https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 13, 2020

An hour after the initial announcement, another tweet followed that stated that the update is now live and rolling out to data centers. “The January 2020 Core Update is now live and will be rolling out to our various data centers over the coming days,” Google wrote.

We know what you’re wondering:

Can I Optimize for the January 2020 Core Update?

As said earlier, the January 2020 core update is a broad core algorithm update. That means it’ll have a widely notable effect across all search results on a worldwide scale.

While some sites will notice a drop in traffic, others will experience more gains. And, understandably, webmasters that experience traffic decline would look for something to fix.

However, core updates don’t target specific pages or sites, and there may be nothing to optimize.

Like the previous core updates, the recent one is about improving how Google assesses overall content. And this could cause pages that the search engine had previously under-rewarded to start performing better.

So, a negative impact from the update may not signal anything wrong with your pages. However, Google suggested a list of things to consider if the core update results in a drop in traffic from the search engine.

The September 2019 core update is the most recent core update to the Google algorithm. However, some webmasters noted that the update had a lower impact compared to previous core updates.

In November, Google also released an update that was specific to local rankings. While rumors of a December update made rounds on the internet, it never really arrived.