Reviews update Confirmed
November 2023 reviews update
The last separately announced reviews system update. Since then Google has changed it quietly and continuously.
Google updates
Google algorithm updates 2023.
What Google changed in Search in 2023: announced updates, volatility nobody officially confirmed, and new features that changed how results look.
Data last updated:
- core updates in 2023
- 2
- spam updates in 2023
- 1
- average core rollout
- 20 days
- unconfirmed volatility periods
- 0
How to read this page
Google tweaks search almost every day, but only announces the bigger changes. That is why entries come in three kinds:
- Confirmed updateGoogle announced that it is changing how it ranks pages and said when the rollout started and ended. The most common reason for sudden traffic changes.
- Unannounced volatilityRankings clearly moved, but Google said nothing. It shows up in rank tracking tools and in reports from site owners.
- Search changeA new feature or a different look of the results page, such as AI answers above the links. Rankings can stay the same while clicks still change.
What 2023 looked like
In 2023 Google announced 2 core updates and 1 spam update. The longest rollout was the November 2023 reviews update, at 29 days. I started this timeline in October 2023, so this year only covers the last quarter.
This timeline starts in October 2023, and with a bang: a spam update and a core update one day apart, plus a ranking issue reported by Google that lasted almost the whole month.
November brought another core update, which Google said covered different systems than October's, and the last separately announced reviews system update. Since then Google changes it without announcements.
2023 timeline.
The longer the segment, the longer the rollout. Click a month to see what happened in it.
- Core updates
- Discover core
- Spam updates
- Other confirmed
- Unconfirmed volatility
- Search change
2023
November 2023
December 2023
Updates in 2023.
-
- Core update Confirmed
November 2023 core update
A few days after the October one finished, another arrived. Google noted it covered different systems than the previous one.
- Core update Confirmed
October 2023 core update
The first of two autumn core updates. It started a day after the spam update, which made their effects hard to separate.
- Ranking issue Confirmed
Ranking issue (October 2023)
Alongside the core update, Google reported a ranking issue on its dashboard. It lasted almost all of October.
- Spam update Confirmed
October 2023 spam update
Google improved spam detection, especially in languages other than English.
Nothing matches this filter.
Where to follow updates.
I always start with Google's own sources. I read industry sites to know what happens between official announcements.
Official Google sources
- Google Search Status Dashboard The official list of updates and incidents with start and end times. Every traffic drop analysis I do starts here.
- Google Search Central Blog Where Google announces bigger changes and new policies, often with more context than the dashboard.
- Core updates guidance The questions Google tells you to ask yourself when a site loses after a core update.
- Spam policies The full list of practices that can cost you visibility or lead to a manual action.
- Q&A on Search updates A 2023 Google post that explains well how updates work and how often they happen.
Industry sources
- Search Engine Roundtable Barry Schwartz covers volatility almost daily, including changes Google never confirmed.
- Search Engine Journal A history of updates with links to articles about each one.
- Search Engine Land Rollout coverage and solid yearly reviews.
- Rank Math An update list where unconfirmed periods are clearly marked.
Archive.
Other years.
Google updates 2023 questions.
How many Google core updates were there in 2023?
In 2023 Google confirmed 2 core updates: October 2023 core update (5-19 October) and November 2023 core update (2-28 November).
Which Google update lasted longest in 2023?
The November 2023 reviews update, which took 29 days to roll out (8 November - 7 December).
Traffic drop after an update?.
Give me access to Search Console. I will compare your data with update dates and tell you plainly what likely happened and where to start.
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