SERP tracking tools and several webmasters have reported a spike in SERP volatility on August 14, 2021 — potential signs of a new search ranking update or perhaps could be the link spam update finally coming to an end.
We also saw a similar unconfirmed update on August 6, 2021, and it could be again related to the link spam update.
What Are People Saying?
SEO experts and webmasters have noticed this severe volatility in search results and expressed them on forums and Twitter discussions. Glenn Gabe compared the movements in search results with the volatility seen when the July core update ended and finds out there is a lot more movement this time when the link spam update is about to end.
I've shared a # of exs of sites seeing a lot of volatility in late July/early Aug (like 8/1). Now that the link spam update is ending, I checked those sites & I'm definitely seeing addl volatility for some (even reversing course). Maybe it was the link spam update after all… pic.twitter.com/EIq7hSOxzn
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 15, 2021
Google’s Official Response
When asked if the link spam update is done rolling out, Google’s Danny Sullivan has responded on Twitter that the rollout is not done yet and it is not so far away from being completed.
Every time you ask, it gets longer 🙂
Seriously, no, it's not done yet. I expect not much longer, though.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) August 13, 2021
Google has not confirmed any search ranking update on their part or even the movements we’re seeing are part of the link spam update. But definitely, a lot of volatility is seen on this day, and if you’re noticing a rise/decrease in traffic, you’ll need to wait until the link spam update gets completed and search results become more stable. So you’ll get a clear picture of how the series of search updates have impacted your website and lets you take a call if any action is required from your end.
