How to Recover from a Google Core Algorithm Update

December 18, 2024 Technical SEO 2

If you've ever found your website's search rankings plummeting after a Google algorithm update, you know that sinking feeling all too well: your website’s been hit.

While these broad core updates often come without any clear guidance from Google on how to recover lost ground, there are strategic steps you can take to restore your rankings. 

In this post, we’ll explore what Google’s core algorithm updates entail and lay out a 7-step plan to help you bounce back stronger than before.

Google Core Algorithm

Google’s algorithm is a complex system used to retrieve data from its search index and deliver the best possible results for a user’s query. This algorithm relies on a combination of ranking factors–hundreds of them–to decide where websites should rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs).  

While Google updates its algorithm regularly with minor tweaks and changes, it’s the major core updates that tend to shake things up. Unlike smaller updates that target more specific areas like spam or unnatural links, broad core algorithm updates don’t focus on just one or two things. Rather, they represent a complete redefining of what Google deems most relevant and user-friendly. For example, Google’s most recent core update aimed to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%.

So how can you tell if you’ve been hit by a core update?

• You’re experiencing an unexplained drop in rankings and organic traffic 
• Pages that were once ranking well are ranking lower than your competitors 
• Your site’s visibility was completely wiped out, essentially disappearing from Google’s index

How to Recover From a Google Core Algorithm Update

1. Analyze website traffic

If you suspect your site has been impacted by a core update, the first step is to dig into your website data. Google Analytics houses a wealth of information that can help identify issues. Start by looking at your overall website traffic and estimated engagement metrics. 

Then, drill down into channels like organic search to see if you’re experiencing dips in traffic from specific sources. Check out traffic at the page level too, by looking at which URLs have taken the biggest hits. Armed with these insights, you can map out a recovery plan.

2. Leverage keyword tools 

While combing through your data manually is important, you’ll also want to use third-party keyword tool to ensure a comprehensive content audit. This is an essential practice, as 61% of companies that succeed the most in content marketing run content audits 2 or more times a year. 

Tools like Website Crawler, SEO Audit, and Backlink Checker can help uncover issues like broken links, thin content and other on-page technical problems that may be hindering your performance. 

3. Assess the toxicity score

Pay close attention to your site’s spam score in Backlink Checker, which evaluates the quality of your external backlinks on a scale of 0 to 100. A high toxicity score could indicate spammy or low-quality links dragging you down.

4. Use Google’s disavow tool

Be sure to take advantage of Google’s disavow tool, which allows you to upload a list of URLs you’d like the search engine to ignore and exclude from its calculations. Just be cautious here: you can’t undo a disavow file once it’s submitted, so make sure you do your research before severing ties with any linking websites.

5. Review the updates

Before changing your website’s content or architecture, it’s crucial to understand the nature of the algorithm update that impacted you. Was it something like the “Medic” update that took a tough stance on untrustworthy health and medical advice sites? Or was it more of a broad relevance shift, where Google simply decided that your content didn’t match what users were looking for anymore? 

Review industry resources, talk to other webmasters and try to pinpoint what Google was aiming to address with this rollout. The more context you have, the better positioned you’ll be to take corrective action.

6. Follow Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines 

One of the best resources for understanding how to create high-quality content that ranks well is Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Within its pages, you’ll find clear examples of what Google expects in terms of experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust (E–E–A–T), as well as specifics on properly optimizing areas like page layout, ad implementation and multimedia. 

Study the guidelines closely, focusing on building out comprehensive author bios that showcase your site’s credentials. For topics that fall under “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) – including finance, medical or legal advice – you’ll need to take extra care by citing credible sources and highlighting professional expertise. The goal is to create a polished, authoritative and clutter-free environment that meets Google’s high bar for quality.

To further enhance your site’s quality and visibility, consider utilizing a generative engine optimization service. This service ensures your content is tailored for AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and other generative search tools. By optimizing structured data, multimedia assets, and semantic keyword strategies, GEO helps businesses align with the latest search algorithms and stay ahead of the competition.

7. Build a recovery plan

Recovering from an algorithm update rarely happens overnight. It takes a long-term, sustainable content strategy rooted in Google’s E–E–A–T principles. Work on refreshing and expanding your content, leveraging data, research, expert interviews and authoritative third-party sources. 

Establish formal content workflows and editorial guidelines to maintain consistency. And most importantly, be patient–it can take time for Google to re-crawl and process your updates. If you stay the course and keep pumping out valuable, high-quality content optimized for relevance and authority, those coveted rankings should eventually return.

Google’s broad core algorithm updates aim to keep search results as fresh, relevant and user-friendly as possible. By regularly auditing your site and optimizing for E-E-A-T and relevance according to Google’s guidelines, you can recover lost rankings and future-proof your online presence. 

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