The Google May 2020 core update that began rolling out on Monday, May 4, 2020, is now done rolling out. Google announced “the May 2020 Core Update rollout is complete” via Twitter on Monday.
The announcement. Here is the tweet from Google at 12:37pm ET on Monday, May 18, 2020.
The May 2020 Core Update rollout is complete.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 18, 2020
Two weeks. It took about two weeks to completely roll out. Google told us the rollout of this core update would take about “one to two weeks to fully roll out.” This update began on May 4, 2020 at 3:50pm ET and fully rolled out by May 18, 2020 at 12:37pm ET.
This was a big update. Based on the data we obtained around this update, this was a very big update. We looked at data from several companies that specialize in analyzing Google search-related data.
Review your analytics. Now is the time to review your analytics to see if this update had an impact on your site. Truth is, by now, you would have already noticed the update if it had a negative or positive impact. But now that we know this rollout is complete, it is now safe to analyze the full impact of this update on your site(s).
What to do if you are hit.Google hasgiven adviceon what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. There aren’t specific actions to take to recover, and in fact, a negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages. However, Google has offered a list ofquestions to consider if your site is hit by a core update.
Why we care.It is often hard to isolate what you need to do to reverse any algorithmic hit your site may have seen. When it comes to Google core updates, it is even harder to do so. If this data and previous experience and advice has shown us is that these core updates are broad, wide and cover a lot of overall quality issues. The data above has reinforced this to be true. So if your site was hit by a core update, it is often recommended to step back from it all, take a wider view of your overall web site and see what you can do to improve the site overall.