Google Search Algorithm Updates Are More Extreme This Year

Mordy Oberstein from Semrush came out with some data proving I am not insane or crazy, at least, when it comes to my reports on the Google search ranking algorithm updates. Yes, I have been reporting on these updates more this year than previous years, but for good reason, the search results are more volatile this year than previous years.

By how much are the Google search results volatile this year than previous years? Well, according to Semrush data 68% more volatile on the desktop results and 84% more volatile on the mobile results than the previous year. That is a lot, a lot.

Mordy posted a lot of charts and data on Twitter from the Semrush dataset to show it.

Desktop 2020 vs 2021:

Mobile 2020 vs 2021:

I am going to embed Mordy’s tweets because he did all the work to prove I am not off my rocker…

Meaning, on desktop, from Jan ’21 – Oct ’21 we’re seeing a 68% increase in the number of days showing high volatility

(FYI: High volatility = 5/10 – 8/10 on the Semrush Sensor https://t.co/3Eztsk8EWW) pic.twitter.com/IHglUd4i8Z

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

But what about mobile?

Looking at just “high” levels of volatility (again high being 5/10 – 8/10 on the Sensor)… we’re already at about 50% of 2021 being volatile! pic.twitter.com/88SykCllTL

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

And when we throw VERY HIGH volatility into the mix on mobile?

A bit higher than the % we see on desktop with nearly 57% of 2021 being “volatile” thus far.

That’s about 7 percentage points of just VERY high volatility on mobile in 2021. pic.twitter.com/vPmLtkk8J3

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

That’s far fewer days of low/normal volatility on desktop and a heck of a lot more days of increased volatility on desktop!

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

Meaning… some niches might have a lot of “Low Volatility” days while another might have way more “high volatility days” —- the data in the charts above are the average across these industries.

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

In 2021… that number drops to just 3!

Only 3 niches showed 10+ days of low rank volatility in 6+ months during 2021!

Yikes! pic.twitter.com/PmnDNJcAUC

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

And that number is down to again just 3 niche industries when comparing the same period in 2021. pic.twitter.com/38AEnbZ4EB

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

In conclusion:

In short, Barry is not crazy…. there’s a ton more rank volatility on both the desktop and mobile SERPs these days!

— Mordy Oberstein (@MordyOberstein) October 19, 2021

Anyway, it is nice to have data to back up all these stories. Thanks Mordy, even though I didn’t ask for the back up – good to have it.

Forum discussion at Twitter.