MozCast Google Algorithm Review – September 2018

After the storm comes a rainbow! Well, not exactly. But since August saw so many search engine ranking fluctuations due to Google’s broad core algorithm update, it made sense that the Google engineers would back off a bit in September and let the new changes take effect.

To look at the hard data of what Google is up to, we rely on our friends over at Moz, who provide the daily MozCast: a “weather report showing turbulence in the Google algorithm over the previous day.” Moz develops its temperature reading with the help of 1,000 specific keywords, tracked every 24 hours. They grab the top 10 search engine results, and compare to the previous day. This lets them (and us) know if Google’s engineers are moving things behind the scenes.

How “hot” was it in September 2018, according to MozCast?

September was almost delightful! We saw some rare cloudy days in the middle of the month, though there were roiling clouds before that between September 5^th and 7^th. September 12^th was positively broiling, with a high of 121 degrees; but afterward, the weather calmed down. Rain seems to be pretty constant over the Googleplex in Mountain View, California, but perhaps later this year we’ll get a rare “fair” day?

September 1 – 86° rainy
September 2 – 83° rainy
September 3 – 86° rainy
September 4 – 87° rainy
September 5 – 103° stormy
September 6 – 105° stormy
September 7 – 106° stormy
September 8 – 89° rainy
September 9 – 84° rainy
September 10 – 108° stormy
September 11 – 0° sunny
September 12 – 121° stormy
September 13 – 0° sunny
September 14 – 77° cloudy
September 15 – 79° cloudy
September 16 – 76° cloudy
September 17 – 86° rainy
September 18 – 101° stormy
September 19 – 105° stormy
September 20 – 91° stormy
September 21 – 87° rainy
September 22 – 87° rainy
September 23 – 81° rainy
September 24 – 81° rainy
September 25 – 79° cloudy
September 26 – 89° rainy
September 27 – 83° rainy
September 28 – 87° rainy
September 29 – 98° stormy
September 30 – 82° rainy

*0° sunny indicates no reading was taking that day.

As of September 14^th, some Google experts noted that Google My Business review replies were editable from the Knowledge Panel! Perhaps that accounts for some of the movement behind the scenes of Google’s algorithm? GMB is increasingly important in your rankings, so make sure you keep your profile as up to date and user-friendly as possible!

Average temperature: 87.24
Storm index: 9 days
Storm index change from August: -14 days

How “grumpy” was Google in September 2018, according to AccuRanker?

The AccuRanker Grump wasn’t quite as mellow as Moz near the middle of the month, still showing plenty of “furious” Google updates according to its metric: comparing the top 100 of 30,000 randomly selected keywords from the previous days’. In fact, the Grump was much angrier in September than he was in August! In contrast to Moz, the Grump showed incandescence at the tail end of the month, with a furious “20.61” rating! We guess he detects some updates coming in early October.

Days of fury: 19
Change of fury since August: +10

How “high” did Google SERPs bounce around September 2018, according to Algoroo?

The Roo sensibly chose the middle ground between Moz’s up-and-down weather and the Grump’s month of fury. Algoroo hit “high roo” on September 7^th, showing some pretty serious Google SERPs volatility, but otherwise showed that Google was backing off a bit afterward. Its reading of the situation was accurate, because Google-watchers spotted some big changes taking effect after September 8-11, notably that “an increase in local ranking has a corresponding decrease in organic ranking.” Algoroo also noticed a slight hop in volatility at the end of September.

Days of high roo: 1
High roo change index since August: -2

For October, we may see more activity

If your local ranking increased while your organic ranking decreased, do not fear—it’s just Google being Google; aiming to bring users the best experience while balancing the needs of businesses. Most of the data we looked at in this blogs indicate that Google is continually working on GMB, and likewise giving it priority in local searches.

SLS Consulting has a lot to say about the importance of local search to our clients—having a consistent name, address, and phone number in all your listings; answering FAQs on Google My Business; and responding promptly to reviews, good or bad. As more Internet browsers go mobile, we predict local search engine results will lead to more leads and, ultimately, more conversions. Don’t neglect your local!

Want more marketing tips, or notes on how Google ranks you? Want to chat with SLS about your local strategy? Call at (323) 254-1510 today.