Google updates, and how to tell it's working
Rankings move slowly, and Google's updates shake them up a few times a year. How to track your searches and judge changes without panicking.
Rankings move. Google changes its systems all the time and announces bigger core updates a few times a year, and positions can jump around for a week or two during each one. The way to stay sane is to track the same searches the same way, and judge trends, not single days.
Track it
- Check your list of searches on the same day each month, and write down where you rank.
- In Search Console, watch clicks and impressions for each important page over three months.
- Give each change four to eight weeks before you judge it.
Northbeam Heating & Air · Home
Last 28 days
AI visibility
0%↑ 7 pts
Answers that mention you
Recommended
0%↑ 6 pts
Answers recommending you
Share of mentions
0%↑ 3 pts
You vs. competitors
Clicks from Google
0↑ 24
Last 28 days
Visits from AI
0↑ 42
Last 28 days
Leads from AI
0↑ 5
Calls, forms, bookings
Sample data
When an update hits
- Check Google's Search Status Dashboard to see whether an update is rolling out.
- Wait for it to finish before changing anything: positions often settle back.
- If a page has dropped for good, compare it with what ranks now, and make yours the most useful page for that search.
Updates reward pages that are genuinely the best answer. The work in this course is the same work that holds up through them.
Do this before the next lesson
- Write down today's position for each search on your list.
- Put a monthly check in your calendar.
- Keep a simple log of the changes you make and when, so you can tell later what worked.
In Groow
Groow checks your rankings every week, marks Google's updates on your charts, and shows which searches and pages each update moved.
Put this to work on your business
Groow checks how ChatGPT, Google and Google Maps see your business every week, tells you what to fix first, and drafts the work for your OK.