How Google’s May 2022 Core Update will Affect your Website

On May 25th 2022, Google rolled out its May Core Update, and here’s everything we know so far. 

What is the May Google Core update?

Core updates are global, affecting all countries and all languages, targeting all types of content. They are rolled out to promote or reward great web pages. They also affect all Google features. 

Google doesn’t announce what gets changed or affected, however, SEO experts from around the world do their best to find the changes. 

Here’s what Google says: “Core updates are changes we make to improve Search overall and keep pace with the changing nature of the web.

We confirm broad core updates because they typically produce some widely notable effects. Some sites may note drops or gains during them. We know those with sites that experience drops will be looking for a fix, and we want to ensure they don’t try to fix the wrong things. Moreover, there might not be anything to fix at all.” 

What changes did the Google Core Update 2022 make?

What changes have we seen with the May 2022 Google Core Update:

It’s key to remember that Google never announces the changes they make, however, SEO experts from around the globe share their findings which helps the SEO community have a good understanding of what it could possibly have been. 

So, here’s what the initial findings have shown:

• There has been a shift to prioritise video content. 
• Specialist content is being prioritised over general content. Refers to the person rather than content type i.e. written by a specialist will outweigh a generalist.
• Google can understand language intent better and will provide higher-quality results because of this.

What does this look like in reality?:

• Video content will rank higher than text. For example: If you searched How-to do something, you are more likely to be shown a video answer where previously text content would have been returned.
• Video websites have seen a 25% average visibility increase. 
• News publishers have seen a 4-6% decrease (this could be due to lack of video content). 
• TikTok results grew by 99%. 

Who do we think will benefit from the May 2022 Google Core Update?:

• Anyone with video content could be a winner. 
• Websites with very basic or general information may suffer from Google prioritising higher-quality, professional content. 
• Websites that haven’t considered EAT previously (especially for YMYL).

What should you do about the May 2022 Google Core Update?

Here’s what you should do to make sure your website is performing as best as it can:

• Evaluate the purpose of the update i.e. what is Google attempting to achieve with it?
• Identify patterns i.e. has the whole website been affected or specific sections. 
• Check competition (ranking 0 – 10) to see how the landscape has changed since the update i.e. new ranking websites, content patterns and intent shift. 
• Plan & prioritise what needs addressing to resolve or recapture organic traffic.
• Work with experts to keep your website and content performing to the best it can! 

Don’t forget, we have a team of SEO experts at Honcho, so if you ever need support or have any questions, please get in touch.