Evaluating Google’s May 2020 Core Algorithm Update, Part 1

The world of SEO is one that’s constantly updating, with online marketing and SEO pros regularly tracking the changes Google and other search engines make and adjusting their efforts accordingly. This theme is particularly relevant when Google makes a significant update to its core algorithm for search results, which it generally does every few months, including an update from early May, 2020.

At SEO Werkz, our search engine optimization team is always abreast of the latest Google updates and changes, including major core updates like this recent one. Because the update occurred in early May, the dust has mostly settled at this point in terms of how it’s been received within the SEO and online marketing world – this two-part blog series will dig into some of the reactions and apparent winners and losers from the update, plus how you should view it and whether it should trigger and major changes for your online marketing efforts.

May Core Update Basics

Like with most other major Google updates, the company itself did not release much actual information on the substance of the changes. This is the typical approach: Google rolls out its updates mostly in private, then leaves it to SEO pros to wade through the results and optimize based on them. This is part of why it’s so valuable to have experienced SEO pros on your team.

Many of the initial responses, as is also often the case in this world, were negative. In particular, there were several concerns about social media pages clogging search engine results pages (SERPs), which we’ll go over below.

Too Much Social Media

Many SEO professionals immediately responded to Google’s new update by complaining that it allowed social media sites, especially Pinterest, to clog up SERPs. While some were seeing small increases in the prevalence of Pinterest in related search results, some also saw many keyword searches where virtually every result on the SERP traced back to Pinterest.

This is certainly an issue to monitor moving forward, and one we wouldn’t be surprised to see Google tweak again in the near future. Pinterest, Facebook, Reddit and other similar sites are often ranking high without any content, rather with just a few images or lines – we don’t anticipate Google will continue allowing these pages to out-rank high-quality pages for long.

Etsy and Double Listings

Another issue that’s arisen since the update is Google SERPs listing Etsy entries twice for many search phrases. Many of these phrases appear to be specifically associated with the keyword “handmade” – virtually anything with that keyword in it is ranking Etsy extremely high. Others have speculated this bump may also be partially due to Google’s sensitivity to user expectations – since Etsy has been more popular as a search term during recent periods of quarantine, Google could be promoting some of its keywords especially heavily in an attempt to match customer desires.

For more on Google’s recent core algorithm update, or to learn about any of our SEO, PPC, web design or social media marketing services, speak to the staff at SEO Werkz today.