The second Core Update of 2023 was announced on August 22nd 2023 and was active for two weeks as it rolled out globally. The overall effects of the Core Update were low, but there are, as always, significant examples of domain movement. In this article you’ll learn from examples of winners and losers along with a closer look into news media and retail domains. The data here applies to Google Search UK.
- List of Google Updates during 2023 so far
- Overall effects of the August Core Update
- Winning domains in the August Core Update
- Winners - Top 20 by percent changes
- Winners - Top 20 by absolute changes
- Losing domains in the August Core Update
- Losers - Top 20 by percent changes
- Losers - Top 20 by absolute changes
- SectorWatch: News Media
- SectorWatch: Retail
- Summary of the August 2023 Google Core Update
List of Google Updates during 2023 so far
- 22nd August 2023 Google Core Update August 2023
- 12th April 2023 Google Reviews Update April 2023
- 15th March 2023 Google Core Update March 2023
- 21st February 2023 Product Reviews Update February 2023
A full list of updates is available in this reference document.
Overall effects of the August Core Update
Announced on the 22nd August the effects of the August core update were first seen on the 24th August. The changes reached a peak on the 1st of September and tailed-off towards the end of the roll-out which was announced on the 7th September 2023.
The large peak seen during July in our Update Radar was never confirmed as an algorithm change by Google but, overall, had a much bigger effect on domain visibility than the August Core Update.
Domain losses were mostly seen starting three to four days after the start of the rollout.
Winning domains in the August Core Update
It is difficult to be 100% certain that all changes seen between the dates relate to Core Update changes but we have checked as far as we can and removed domain moves and changes that do not match the general path of the Core Update.
If you have a SISTRIX account, clicking on the domain in the tables below will take you to the latest data.
Winners – Top 20 by percent changes
| Domain | Visibillity Index 24.08.2023 | Visibillity Index 08.09.2023 | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|
| parisinfo.com | 0.03 | 1.32 | 999.00% |
| scpsassam.org | 0.06 | 1.00 | 999.00% |
| meshki.co.uk | 0.33 | 1.80 | 441.39% |
| ever-pretty.co.uk | 0.29 | 1.33 | 355.62% |
| laced.com | 0.32 | 1.42 | 349.52% |
| leathercompany.co.uk | 0.28 | 1.17 | 326.33% |
| theindependentpharmacy.co.uk | 0.70 | 2.12 | 202.85% |
| jjshouse.co.uk | 0.90 | 2.65 | 194.17% |
| serenataflowers.com | 0.43 | 1.22 | 185.99% |
| millybridal.org | 0.45 | 1.26 | 180.71% |
| truecorset.co.uk | 0.38 | 1.02 | 170.74% |
| gloucestershirelive.co.uk | 0.60 | 1.57 | 161.39% |
| ukleatherjackets.co.uk | 0.50 | 1.29 | 158.87% |
| moneyfactscompare.co.uk | 0.89 | 2.23 | 149.21% |
| cda.co.uk | 0.54 | 1.29 | 138.57% |
| lovethesales.com | 1.34 | 3.18 | 136.56% |
| theprivateclinic.co.uk | 1.78 | 4.11 | 130.94% |
| goddiva.co.uk | 1.53 | 3.41 | 123.83% |
| hockerty.uk | 0.63 | 1.39 | 120.59% |
| vevor.com | 0.53 | 1.15 | 119.39% |
Winners – Top 20 by absolute changes
| Domain | Visibillity Index 24.08.2023 | Visibillity Index 08.09.2023 | VI Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| wiktionary.org | 354.39 | 408.81 | 54.42 |
| apple.com | 168.98 | 211.66 | 42.68 |
| webmd.com | 216.17 | 258.22 | 42.05 |
| britannica.com | 841.08 | 882.14 | 41.06 |
| cambridge.org | 1093.72 | 1134.46 | 40.73 |
| argos.co.uk | 484.60 | 522.80 | 38.20 |
| independent.co.uk | 148.33 | 182.44 | 34.12 |
| reddit.com | 115.15 | 144.65 | 29.50 |
| instagram.com | 586.80 | 615.82 | 29.02 |
| nih.gov | 355.44 | 381.59 | 26.15 |
| spotify.com | 271.70 | 296.96 | 25.26 |
| merriam-webster.com | 849.43 | 872.29 | 22.87 |
| twitter.com | 248.47 | 265.98 | 17.52 |
| mayoclinic.org | 295.23 | 311.93 | 16.71 |
| facebook.com | 841.23 | 857.44 | 16.21 |
| quora.com | 66.02 | 80.68 | 14.66 |
| pinterest.com | 260.40 | 274.28 | 13.88 |
| linkedin.com | 286.82 | 300.33 | 13.51 |
| last.fm | 103.22 | 115.76 | 12.54 |
| amazon.com | 95.81 | 108.27 | 12.46 |
Independent.co.uk gained through topic landing pages. The strong affiliate section in the domain stayed flat, showing that Google was making changes at directory and URL level.
The domains apple.com and last.fm gained through their music content.
Webmd gained across all major content directories.
Dailymail.co.uk gained across a number of directories, recovering from losses made during July.
Losing domains in the August Core Update
More pronounced were the losing domains of the August Core Update.
Losers – Top 20 by percent changes
| Domain | Visibillity Index 24.08.2023 | Visibillity Index 08.09.2023 | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|
| intel.co.uk | 3.41 | 1.03 | -69.82% |
| mcgill.ca | 5.13 | 1.88 | -63.35% |
| jacksonville.com | 2.36 | 1.04 | -56.06% |
| google.co.uk | 277.42 | 127.40 | -54.08% |
| johnpacker.co.uk | 3.36 | 1.75 | -47.94% |
| live.com | 8.30 | 4.40 | -46.96% |
| osgamers.com | 3.10 | 1.68 | -45.73% |
| roman.co.uk | 6.75 | 3.70 | -45.12% |
| myworldofwork.co.uk | 5.85 | 3.21 | -45.10% |
| phrases.org.uk | 4.35 | 2.46 | -43.54% |
| com.be | 1.97 | 1.12 | -43.12% |
| brecklandscientific.co.uk | 1.77 | 1.03 | -42.13% |
| shootinguk.co.uk | 1.86 | 1.10 | -40.79% |
| fruugo.co.uk | 4.67 | 2.80 | -39.98% |
| aspca.org | 2.38 | 1.43 | -39.89% |
| kfc.co.uk | 2.06 | 1.24 | -39.59% |
| wishesmsg.com | 1.79 | 1.09 | -39.19% |
| [adult] | 1.72 | 1.06 | -38.58% |
| simplysoundandlighting.co.uk | 1.69 | 1.04 | -38.41% |
| nationaltoday.com | 9.92 | 6.16 | -37.95% |
Losers – Top 20 by absolute changes
| Domain | Visibillity Index 24.08.2023 | Visibillity Index 08.09.2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| wikipedia.org | 7212.72 | 6855.27 | -357.45 |
| ebay.co.uk | 1211.49 | 1042.05 | -169.44 |
| google.co.uk | 277.42 | 127.40 | -150.02 |
| amazon.co.uk | 3510.52 | 3418.09 | -92.43 |
| company-information.service.gov.uk | 295.14 | 228.91 | -66.23 |
| etsy.com | 674.23 | 614.13 | -60.10 |
| youtube.com | 1602.71 | 1557.68 | -45.03 |
| discogs.com | 252.28 | 209.22 | -43.07 |
| www.nhs.uk | 549.85 | 508.05 | -41.80 |
| indeed.com | 326.77 | 289.99 | -36.78 |
| vocabulary.com | 201.69 | 165.69 | -36.00 |
| theguardian.com | 312.07 | 278.32 | -33.75 |
| www.gov.uk | 409.34 | 377.76 | -31.58 |
| [adult] | 146.79 | 121.27 | -25.52 |
| genius.com | 300.17 | 276.04 | -24.13 |
| thefreedictionary.com | 123.08 | 100.52 | -22.55 |
| fandom.com | 599.74 | 577.48 | -22.26 |
| healthline.com | 329.35 | 310.00 | -19.36 |
| dictionary.com | 470.80 | 451.55 | -19.25 |
| wayfair.co.uk | 117.35 | 102.11 | -15.24 |
In the absolute losers list you can ignore google.co.uk and the UK government websites, which appear to change content and focus regularly, but take note of major losses on three major marketplaces. Amazon, Ebay and Etsy.
SectorWatch: News Media
Among news media sites, two domains stand out.
Over the period, independent.co.uk made gains with their topic landing pages. This adds to previous success in their Indy Best affiliate-focused buyers guides. This domain is now the 48th most visible in the UK, up from position 60 in March.
The Guardian domain lost during this update but still has a net-gain since the beginning of 2023.
| Website | 22-08-2023 | 08-09-2023 | Change % | Change VI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| independent.co.uk | 148.64 | 182.45 | 22.74% | 33.81 |
| dailymail.co.uk | 77.78 | 89.28 | 14.79% | 11.50 |
| techradar.com | 45.28 | 50.41 | 11.32% | 5.12 |
| reuters.com | 20.30 | 24.57 | 21.02% | 4.27 |
| digitalspy.com | 12.91 | 15.31 | 18.57% | 2.40 |
| standard.co.uk | 33.03 | 35.38 | 7.11% | 2.35 |
| https://www.bbc.com/news/ | 24.22 | 26.47 | 9.27% | 2.25 |
| usatoday.com | 17.33 | 19.41 | 12.03% | 2.08 |
| cnn.com | 41.28 | 43.09 | 4.39% | 1.81 |
| hellomagazine.com | 22.45 | 23.86 | 6.28% | 1.41 |
| metro.co.uk | 18.57 | 16.28 | -12.30% | -2.28 |
| forbes.com | 115.69 | 113.19 | -2.16% | -2.50 |
| washingtonpost.com | 20.26 | 17.69 | -12.68% | -2.57 |
| aljazeera.com | 20.38 | 17.59 | -13.67% | -2.79 |
| ft.com | 41.39 | 38.32 | -7.42% | -3.07 |
| telegraph.co.uk | 75.10 | 71.10 | -5.33% | -4.00 |
| nytimes.com | 110.51 | 106.27 | -3.83% | -4.23 |
| news.sky.com | 31.75 | 26.79 | -15.62% | -4.96 |
| mirror.co.uk | 73.19 | 65.87 | -10.01% | -7.33 |
| theguardian.com | 309.26 | 278.32 | -10.01% | -30.94 |
Overall, the news media sector, based on 70 news media domains, came out of the update with a very very low net gain/loss.
SectorWatch: Retail
Winners and losses were spread across all sectors of retail and there was a slight net loss amongst these established domains.
| Domain | Retail sector | 22-08-2023 | 08-09-2023 | Gain % | Gain VI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| argos.co.uk | General | 483.22 | 522.80 | 8.19% | 39.57 |
| amazon.com | General | 95.79 | 108.27 | 13.02% | 12.47 |
| diy.com | Home improvement | 204.74 | 212.80 | 3.94% | 8.06 |
| newlook.com | Fashion | 32.74 | 37.15 | 13.49% | 4.42 |
| debenhams.com | General | 21.25 | 23.88 | 12.40% | 2.63 |
| selfridges.com | General | 34.37 | 36.99 | 7.63% | 2.62 |
| halfords.com | Outdoor | 98.92 | 100.76 | 1.85% | 1.83 |
| smythstoys.com | Entertainment | 64.93 | 66.72 | 2.76% | 1.79 |
| decathlon.co.uk | Outdoor | 50.16 | 51.92 | 3.51% | 1.76 |
| laptopsdirect.co.uk | Electrical | 14.63 | 16.08 | 9.97% | 1.46 |
| dunelm.com | Home | 93.36 | 83.98 | -10.05% | -9.38 |
| superdrug.com | Pharmacy | 52.67 | 43.28 | -17.84% | -9.40 |
| tesco.com | Supermarket | 113.10 | 103.38 | -8.60% | -9.73 |
| hollandandbarrett.com | Supermarket | 36.75 | 27.01 | -26.50% | -9.74 |
| currys.co.uk | Electrical | 169.87 | 159.29 | -6.23% | -10.58 |
| wayfair.co.uk | Home | 117.56 | 102.11 | -13.14% | -15.45 |
| johnlewis.com | General | 248.11 | 231.41 | -6.73% | -16.70 |
| etsy.com | Arts and Crafts | 676.56 | 614.13 | -9.23% | -62.43 |
| amazon.co.uk | General | 3537.17 | 3418.09 | -3.37% | -119.08 |
| ebay.co.uk | General | 1216.37 | 1042.05 | -14.33% | -174.32 |
Argos.co.uk made strong gains in the category landing pages, including variants of those with filters added. For example:
https://www.argos.co.uk/browse/appliances/small-cooking-appliances/air-fryers-and-fryers/c:29575/brands:ninja/This filter-URL made small but significant ranking improvements over the Core Update period.
For regular sector analysis, be sure to read the monthly SectorWatch.
Summary of the August 2023 Google Core Update
- A relatively small core update compared to previous updates
- Directory-level and URL-level ranking changes
- Large music and reference domains affected
- Large general marketplaces lost rankings
The August Core update ended on the 7th September 2023.
