Google experienced a search ranking issue between August 15 and 20, 2024. The issue began the same day Google released the August 2024 Core Update. However, Google clarified that the ranking issue is unrelated to the core update.
Google’s Official Announcement
Google announced the ranking issue in an update on X (formerly Twitter) on August 16, 2024, a day after it began. Google added that it had identified its cause and was working to fix it.
There's an ongoing issue with ranking in Google Search that's affecting a large number of search results. We've identified the root cause. This issue is unrelated to the ongoing core update rollout announced yesterday. We're working on a fix. https://t.co/bxHy20KJJ0
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) August 16, 2024
Google also announced the ranking issue on its LinkedIn page and search status dashboard.
Google initially said it was going to provide an update within 72 hours on its search status dashboard. However, at the 72-hour deadline, Google said it was still working on fixing the issue and said it was going to provide an update in 48 hours. It later resolved it before its 48-hour deadline.
What Are People Saying?
In response to Google’s LinkedIn post, John Mueller confirmed that the issue is unrelated to the core update and added that Google sometimes has issues with its system, just like everyone else.
Barry Schwartz also posted about the ranking issue on X (formerly Twitter). He added that it heavily affected many results on Google search results pages. In response, SEO Observer mentioned that it would have been nice to know how this ranking issue affects the search results.
It would have been nice to know how the bug impacted search.
What is even the point of announcing the bug without that information?
— SEO Observer (@observeseo) August 16, 2024
Google did not provide any specifics about this ranking issue. It did not mention whether it was connected to the volatility experienced on Google Search results pages on August 14, 2024, a day before the August 2024 Core Update began.
However, Mordy Oberstein mentioned that it was quite hard for bloggers to differentiate between the volatility observed on August 14, 2024, and the volatility that resulted from the core update itself.
Running through the data I think it might be hard for a lot of folks to separate the volatility that led up to the August 2024 Core Update vs. the update per se.
(I mean does it really matter? But still….)
Most updates have at least a short period of calm before the storm.… pic.twitter.com/7hPLI0LQsK
— Mordy Oberstein *currently not indexed* (@MordyOberstein) August 19, 2024
That said, on August 19, 2024, John Mueller, in response to a LinkedIn post, hinted that Google may have resolved the ranking issue but was not pleased enough to consider it resolved.
On the same day, August 19, 2024, several SEOs and bloggers, including Barry Schwartz, expressed concerns when Google had not resolved the ranking issue.
The Google search ranking bug post August core update release is still not fixed but it’s still being worked on. Wow. Thought Google would fix it by now. More at https://t.co/r7WcpNkJHz pic.twitter.com/DWV5dcOyxM
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) August 19, 2024
On August 20, 2024, Jon Mueller replied to his original post, stating that the issue had been resolved.
What’s Next – Dealing With This Update
SEOs and bloggers paid little attention to this ranking issue. They generally appeared unbothered, which was unsurprising considering the August 2024 Core Update was running at the same time. While several bloggers and SEOs observed fluctuations on Google results pages, the conversation revolved around the core update itself and not the ranking issue.
However, now that the ranking issue has been resolved, it would help to focus on the August 2024 Core Update itself, which, according to Google, is expected to last 30 days.
