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On May 4th, Google rolled out its 2nd algorithm update of the year – May 2020 Core Update, amid this Coronavirus pandemic. It is unclear whether these updates are in connection to the pandemic or due to the change in the search behavior of Google users. Google has not explicitly revealed what has changed in the search algorithm or which industries were focused.
Since the January core algorithm update in which Google made featured snippet changes, a lot has changed in the business world after that. With current restrictions, many industries are already facing a challenge to sustain an online business. Now with this update, an unprecedented SERP volatility is being noticed.
To give you a clear picture, check out the data from SEMrush Sensor:
A green or blue dot means an average day, whereas orange and red indicate that rankings are volatile. On May 6th, every category witnessed peaking volatility-from 9 to 9.4 points. As per Google, the entire period of the rollout will take one or two weeks until all changes become noticeable. But it appears, the 'May 2020 Core Update' will strongly influence SERP's.
According to Webmasters and my initial analysis, several industries will be affected by the update. Many website owners even observed significant traffic loss, which was due to the disappearance of URLs and rich snippets as a result of the update.
During this pandemic, many industries are already facing volatility in rankings like travel, tourism, live events, etc. However, as per SEMrush Sensor, the most affected categories due to the update are Travel, Real Estate, Health, Pets & Animals, and People & Society. It is valid for both desktop and mobile searches.
The ones at the top of the list experienced the most significant fluctuations in rankings. Whereas, those at the bottom of the listing were least affected.
To give you a better idea, here are some of the well-known sites which were winners and losers in the Google May 2020 Core Update –
Apart from the news sector being the winners, business PR sites like Businesswire, PR Newswire, and GlobeNewswire also gained significant ranking positions around 50+ positions each. On the other hand, the offline entertainment industry has sadly taken a big hit with this update. A site like eventbrite.com dropped 44 spots.
As a result of the pandemic, the global market was already unstable, and now Google May 2020 Core Update may impact many vulnerable industries further. Here are some of my observations:
Google May 2020 Core Update is vital for your website content strategy in the long run. It will determine the course of your business, its sustainability and growth during the pandemic, and the post-pandemic era of marketing.
Post-pandemic, more and more businesses will go digital. Google May 2020 Core Update is going to prepare you for the upcoming competition. It is time for you to evolve and consider 'search intentions' and 'relevancy parameters' for the online users. This update can help your business to achieve firm and sustainable growth during this challenging phase too.
Google recommends that those businesses which got hit by the update must focus on delivering the best possible content on their website.
You need to get your website audited and ask the following questions to your digital marketer.
By getting honest answers to the above questions and examining your website in comparison to your competition, you will get understand what's missing and what you need to focus on and what impacted your website that led to ranking volatility. It is not the first time that Google has made core updates. All these upgrades are for improving the search results and enhancing the overall search experience of prospects and customers.
Are you still hung up on the question of what has happened to your traffic?
Then check your rankings using Ubersuggest or Google Analytics to see if it has gone up or down. Core algorithm updates are designed to bring noticeable changes within search results. So, even if your website ranking has gone down, there is no need to panic.
If your website has dropped ranks in SERPs, you must start assessing your content as per the quality raters' guidelines and work on E-A-T to enhance the quality of your content. You must accept, 'Content is the key,' and those sites with properly researched unique content will gain advantage from this upgrade. Moreover, now when more businesses are joining the online platform, only the high-quality content website will maintain a stable ranking.
Apart from adding fresh content, updating the existing content on your website is also essential now. By updating, I don't mean just adjusting some punctuations or sentences or adding an image. It means making the article relevant to the users just like how Wikipedia does by continually updating its content for its readers.
After this Core Update, the websites with thin content were severely affected. Earlier thin content was used solely for manipulating the rankings, and it did not add any real value to the user. Now, after the update, those thin content websites lost their importance. Google is looking for content that is unique, original, and makes sense for the users. So, if you feel that your website contains thin material, you need to hire an experienced writer to fix the content. An experienced content writer will make sure it is well-formatted and structured as well as thorough and comprehensive.
1. Add content only if it adds value to the user: You must focus on the user experience. A 250 words content can be more informative than a sloppy and lengthy 2000 words content.
2. Compare your content with your competition: Check out similar pages that are ranked on page 1. It will give a clear idea, how much you need to expand your content.
3. Figure out whether you need a particular webpage or not: Old announcements pages, navigation pages, different vendor same product details with no original content pages, etc. Delete those pages if you don't require them. In case you need it, either de-index the page or do '301 re-directions' to direct the pages to the most relevant similar pages on your site so that your ranking is not affected.
Title tags and meta descriptions give the user insight into the content of webpages. Google can use them for search result snippets, which play a significant role in CTR(Click-Through-Rates). The title and meta description must match the content of the pages and serve the intent as well as the relevancy parameters of online users.
Lastly, fix your SEO errors, duplicate meta descriptions or title tags to improve traffic and enhance rankings. They all affect the overall quality of your website content. You can also add virtual assistants on the website and a voice command & search option for mobile sites to enhance overall site quality further.
Google's goal is to provide the best possible content for an enriched experience for searchers. So, if your website ranking is affected due to the Google May 2020 Core Update, get a content strategist to review and audit your website. Fix the issues that have caused volatile rankings and work towards providing a better user experience than your competition.
Need a quick content consult? Get in touch with me at contact@sanjayb.com.
With over 15 years at the forefront of strategic business growth, Sanjay Bhattacharya collaborates with CEOs and founders to reshape market positioning and drive sustainable success. Throughout his journey, he has worn many hats—from Fractional CMO for fast-growing startups to serving as Head of Marketing & Business Strategy at PRIMOTECH. He has been Featured in Under30CEO, American Marketing Association, CMO Times, CTOsync, DesignRush, Earned, HubSpot, MarketerInterview, and more.
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06 Oct 2025
