Listen: Data Behind May 2023 Algorithm Update
Our data indicates that question-based queries have seen the biggest drop during the May update.
Transcript
Google search results just went through one of the most turbulent updates in years. The volatility we saw around May fourth, 2023, hasn't been felt on this scale since the major core updates of 2018.
An analysis of ten million queries from Google Search Console reveals exactly who took the hardest hit. The vast majority of affected search terms either dropped by one to ten positions or disappeared from the search results entirely.
But the biggest takeaway is the type of queries that suffered. Question-based searches and how-to formats saw the most dramatic declines. We saw massive drops in phrases starting with "how to," "what is," and "how long." Surprisingly, these impacted queries were quite short, averaging just over three words.
While the search landscape is still settling, some industry observers believe Google is intentionally clearing the path for its AI-powered Search Generative Experience. For now, if your search traffic took a hit, you are certainly not alone in this massive shake-up.