Everything We Know About Google's June 2021 Core Update

Update 6/5/2021 9:15am: We are starting to see signs of the update, still very little happening.

Update 6/2/2021 5:45pm: The June 2021 Core Update began rolling out around 5:38pm Central time

The June 2021 Core Update is now rolling out live. As is typical with these updates, it will typically take about one to two weeks to fully roll out.

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021

Today Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liasion, announced a new Core Update would be rolling out starting later in the day. Google’s Core Updates package up various algorithmic and content updates which are then applied to the web results in their search engine over a period of time which could last several days or weeks. Since Danny has taken the helm as Google’s public face to the web and these updates have begun rolling out it is typical that he will tell us when an update is about to start rolling out and then when it has finished rolling out.

Later today, we are releasing a broad core update, as we do several times per year. It is called the June 2021 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates is here:https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6

This will be followed by the July 2021 Core update. Here’s more information about that…

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021

Google does not disclose specifics about their Core Updates, often keeping the exact changes made a closely-held secret. After this update begins rolling out many SEOs and SEO tool providers will begin to speculate about what the update targeted the most, some of that will be backed by data and some will be based on anecdotal evidence or simple conjecture. We will try and keep this post updated to keep up with this information as it becomes available and to highlight any of the research that is based on strong evidence.

According to Danny there is one very interesting thing about this Core Update: That it was actually supposed to include more but the rest is not yet ready and will be released in July of 2021. Due to this there is a chance documents that lose rankings in June may regain them in July. Again, we are uncertain what might be included in either one of these updates.

Some of our planned improvements for the June 2021 update aren’t quite ready, so we’re moving ahead with the parts that are, then we will follow with the rest with the July 2021 update. Most sites won’t notice either of these updates, as is typical with any core updates….

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021

Here is everything we know about the Google Search June 2021 Core Update

June 2021 Core Update Vitals

Date Started: June 2nd, 2021 (USA)
Date Completed: Unknown
First Impact Reported: June 3rd at 12:03 Central time
Most Impacted Industry(ies): Unknown
Most Impacted Site(s): Unknown
Most Impacted Website Types: Unknown
Most Impacted Content Types: Unknown
SEO Change Proven to Improve: Unknown

June 2021 Core Update Facts

Update is NOT related to the Page Experience update scheduled for later in June 2021.
Update is NOT site-specific, same as all other known Core Updates.
First Core Update of 2021
Update is the first part of a two part update, the second is scheduled for July 2021
Core updates could take weeks to fully roll out, you may not see changes for several days.
Not all websites or documents will get a ranking increase or decrease from this update

Media Coverage of Google’s June 2021 Core Update

Inc. – Google’s Public Search Liaison on Core Algorithm Updates and How They Affect Your Business
Search Engine Land – Google June 2021 Core Update rolling out
Search Engine Roundtable – Google June 2021 Core Update Tremors But It’s Still Early

First possible impact
An SEO reported a drop from #17 to #45 for a highly competitive keyword they had anticipated upward movement on roughly 19 hours after the update was known to start rolling out.

Read the: Conversation here

Google June 2021 Core Update Help

What to do if you were impacted by the Google June 2021 Core Algorithm Update

Do not panic. I know that sounds easy to say, but panic caused by a Google update rarely solves problems with rankings.
Make a plan to replace any lost sales or leads. Use any other digital marketing tactic available to you including ppc, paid social, or even buying leads *shudder*. This is a great opportunity to experiment with expanding your digital marketing mix.
Read Google’s guidance on Core Updates from their website here: What webmasters should know about Google’s core updates
Consult with a great SEO either one in your local area or one talented at finding and fixing issues related to algorithm updates.
IF you are an SEO and looking for answers dive into your Google Search Console, Analytics, and conversion data. Examine the documents that appear to have taken your rankings and see what is different between their document and yours. Look at content, page layout, entities mentioned, grammar, title tags, internal links, value of inbound links, and inbound anchor text.
Be patient and do not make drastic decisions. There are instances where documents hit by one Core Update have recovered in a later Core Update. If it feels like you are making a drastic decision out of panic try and make smaller or practical changes first and see what the July 2021 Core Update does to your documents.
Create, Create, Create. SEO is a marathon, keep producing great content that your users love and ultimately you should win through all Core Updates.

Question: My website lost traffic and sales due to this update, what should I do?
Answer: Unfortunately it depends on your exact situation. Some losses from the June 2021 Core Update are likely to be reversed by the July 2021 Core Update. Others may require your content to be updated or refreshed and others may require other SEO work to be done. Consult with a great SEO located near you or contact us for help. The most important thing is to try and find the pattern of what might need to be done and plan out your work accordingly and to avoid making drastic decisions based on this one update. If sales or lead gen losses are large enough you may consider running PPC Ads, Facebook Ads, Reddit Ads, or other forms of paid ads to fill in the gaps until your rankings begin to return from your improved SEO work.

Question: My website lost traffic due to the June 2021 Core Update does that mean my site is being penalized?
Answer: No. In fact Danny Sullivan of Google answered this in a premptive tweet:

As a reminder, nothing in a core update is site-specific. Those who seek to perform well with search generally, including with core updates, should look to our guidance here: https://t.co/Mk9xsiTw1B

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021

Google’s guidance about all Core Updates from their website states: “…there’s nothing in a core update that targets specific pages or sites. Instead, the changes are about improving how our systems assess content overall. These changes may cause some pages that were previously under-rewarded to do better.”

Example of what a Core Update might do from Google’s website: “One way to think of how a core update operates is to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later in 2019, you refresh the list. It’s going to naturally change. Some new and wonderful movies that never existed before will now be candidates for inclusion. You might also reassess some films and realize they deserved a higher place on the list than they had before.”