blog home Search Engine Optimization MozCast Google Algorithm Review – December 2017

What IS MozCast?” you might be asking yourself. Well, it’s a handy metric put together by our friends over at Moz. Every 24 hours, a set of hand-picked keywords are tracked and notated to determine how volatile Google search results are from one day to the next. Moz then assigns a “temperature” to reflect how much fluctuation is taking place within Google search results.

These temperatures and conditions give us a gauge for tracking Google’s algorithm turbulence, and model the common sense of real weather patterns. A high in the 70s (and sunny) means any variations are pretty tame in the search world, and there are no major algorithm changes to be aware of or panic about. However, a temperature of 101° accompanied by stormy conditions indicates change. In other words, the hotter and stormier your MozCast, the more has changed in Google’s rankings.

How “hot” was it in December 2017, according to MozCast?

It was so hot…Santa was in swim trunks! The average temperature was 88.32 degrees, signaling big changes on the horizon for Google’s algorithm. December saw spikes as high as 104°, but that was early on in the month, and while it remained pretty heated, it also mellowed out and had a low of 78° on Christmas Eve. Since Google isn’t indulging us with update announcements anymore, this gives us a clear signal that changes are being implemented; only time will tell us what the results are.

Other Google algorithm rank trackers: AccuRanker and Algoroo

AccuRanker, much like MozCast, monitors 30,000 keywords, compares the daily top 100 results per keyword, and uses “moods” to convey the volatile nature of Google’s algorithm flux, which are then given a “Grump Rating.” The emotions used are chilled, cautious, grumpy, and furious. Pretty self-explanatory, right?! If things are “chill,” then all is well. If fury is seen, big changes are underway, and you better hang on to your white hat!In December, AccuRanker was predominantly furious, with some grumpy thrown in….

The only “chilled-out” day for the Grump Rank tiger during the entire month was on the 14th. They agreed with the MozCast forecasts, and also signaled changes arising.

Algoroo is another algorithm tracking tool that looks at around 100 search ranks and 17,000 keywords to determine its findings. The closer to a 3.0 rating (or a high roo value), the more capricious the changes being seen down-under in Google’s wild ranking algorithm Outback. The highest flux in roo rankings was seen at the tail end of the month (the 30th-31st), following a pretty tame month in comparison. Although Algoroo showed less turmoil for the month overall, their findings are completely in line with MozCast’s and AccuRanker’s findings for the end of December…change for 2018 is underway!

Conclusion: January and beyond

One thing is certain—even if their finding differed a bit, all three systems found big changes in Google’s search engine results. Google’s RankBrain algorithm shows no signs of slowing down its fluctuations. Much like a mobster with an “offer you can’t refuse,” it’s going to be impossible to see your rankings stay afloat unless you play by their rules. Google has made it clear that wearing the “white hat” is the only way your site can attend their party, and they make their guidelines known (you can take a look at Google’s Webmaster Guidelines here). Fall in line, and it’s Happy New Year to your website!

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