SEO: Core Update May 2020

The nervousness of SERPs begins to be something so recurrent that it is hardly surprising to those who are dedicated to SEO. The core update algorithm changes occur several times a year (this year, in January we already had one) and are characterized by being even more opaque than usual in Google, which is saying something. 

These are updates that occur at the core of the algorithm and, at the beginning, do not pursue or penalize a specific policy. They simply reorganize some criteria of relevance. And for this very reason, even if we do not suffer a penalty as such, we can lose positions by improving the consideration of a competitor. 

As usual, Google communications limit themselves to saying the same in these cases. Basically, that these updates occur on a regular basis and that they do not affect a specific aspect of the searches, so there is no action that we should take. 

Again, they refer us to good practices, generating valuable content, good SEO onpage and offpage and little else (which is summarized in their recurring 2019 article on core updates). 

This is quite frustrating for those who have been hit by a substantial change in the rules of the game and do not even have a chance to react, because what is clear is that many eCommerce and pages of all kinds have been affected (for good and worse). 

It is very difficult to find patterns after such an update, but the truth is that if we observe a sufficient number of domains we can draw some conclusions. 

For that, again, the best thing is to look at the studies that SEO tools usually do that have their own indexes and have a history that reflects the ups and downs. 

Sistrix is always one of the first to present analysis of winners and losers, and this time they have, too. 

According to the tool, in Spain the most benefited have been the media, both general and vertically specialized in a subject, such as cars or games. 

On the other hand, those in the health sector (typical since the terrible Medical Update of 2018) and other niches such as lyrics pages got the short end of the stick again. 

Anyway, we must recognize that Google does not lie when it says that these algorithm updates affect quite transversely, because just as we see media go up, we see other similar ones having sharp falls. 

If we look at SERPs in terms of sectors rather than domains as Sistrix does, we can get a slightly broader view. In this case, we turned again to a study developed by SemRush. 

As for the winners, it agrees that media - are the biggest beneficiaries obtaining lower rankings. 

Among the losers, the first thing is to leave aside sectors such as offline entertainment (concerts, events, restaurants ...) and all those related to tourism, which have suffered a fall in the volume of searches due to the coronavirus and its circumstances. 

With this important exception, we see that many of the harmed fall from sectors such as entertainment, online communities or the industrial sector (which would also be logical). 

It seems clear that these changes have to be dealt with and there is not much more to do, because they will continue to be produced several times a year. 

The best advice we can give you is that you comply as strictly, as possible, with the guidelines of the search engine and that you do not depend excessively on a single channel to avoid future setbacks.