The confirmed 2026 updates
These dates come from Google's Search Status Dashboard ranking history, which we checked on 24 October 2026. The dashboard gives a start date and a duration. The end dates below are our own calculation from those durations, so treat them as approximate to the day.
- February 2026 Discover update: started 5 February, ran about 21 days (to around 26 February).
- March 2026 spam update: started 24 March, ran under a day.
- March 2026 core update: started 27 March, ran about 12 days (to around 8 April).
- May 2026 core update: started 21 May, ran about 12 days (to around 2 June).
- June 2026 spam update: started 24 June, ran about 2 days.
- August 2026 spam update: started 18 August, ran about 3 days.
- September 2026 spam update: started 24 September, ran about 14 days (to around 7 October).
For context, the dashboard lists three core updates in 2025: March, June and December.
Google does not announce every change. Its own guidance says it also makes smaller core updates that it does not announce, so not every movement in your rankings lines up with a date on this list.
Core update or spam update: the difference
They are different things, and the right response is different.
A core update is a broad change to how Google's systems assess content. Google's core updates page describes them as significant, broad changes that are not aimed at specific sites. A drop after a core update usually means other pages now look more useful for those searches, not that you broke a rule.
A spam update improves Google's automated spam detection. Google's spam updates page says sites that see a change should review their compliance with the spam policies. If you were affected, something on the site may look like spam to Google: scaled low-value pages, bought links, hidden text, or content copied and reworded from elsewhere.
If your traffic dropped: a calm checklist
Google's guidance is consistent: do not panic, and do not make large changes in the first week. Here is the routine we follow, based on Google's own advice.
- Confirm the timing. Check the dashboard and note when the update started and finished. If your drop started before the update, look for another cause first, such as a site change, a tracking fault or a seasonal dip.
- Wait at least a full week after the rollout ends, then compare that week in Search Console with the week before the rollout began. Google recommends exactly this comparison.
- Look at which pages and queries fell, not just the total. A drop concentrated on a few pages tells you where to look.
- Separate Web Search, Images, Video and News in Search Console. Google suggests checking them separately.
- If the drop is small, do not make drastic changes. Google advises against changing content that is performing well.
- If the drop is large and sustained, review the affected pages honestly against Google's guidance on helpful, reliable, people-first content.
Google also says recovery is not instant. Some changes can show effects within days, but its systems may take several months to confirm a site has improved, and sometimes the next core update is where you see it.
How to make the Search Console comparison
If you have not done this before, here is the routine in Search Console's Performance report.
- Open Search results, then set the date range to Compare.
- Choose the first full week after the update finished, and compare it with the week before the update started. Use the same days of the week, so weekends match.
- Look at clicks and impressions first, then average position.
- Switch to the Pages tab and sort by the difference in clicks. The pages at the top lost the most.
- Open each of those pages and check the Queries tab for it. Did it lose a few big queries or many small ones?
- Repeat for the Queries tab across the whole site.
Write down what you find before you change anything. A list of ten affected pages and the searches they lost is far more useful than a feeling that "traffic is down".
The questions worth asking about your pages
Google's helpful content guidance includes a self-assessment. The questions we find most useful for small business sites are:
- Does the page offer original information or analysis, beyond what every other page on the topic already says?
- Is it clear who wrote it and why they know the subject?
- Would someone who came straight to your site, not from Google, find it useful?
- Does it answer the question fully, so the reader does not need to search again?
- Is it written mainly to rank, for example many near-identical location pages, or a page stretched to hit a word count?
That last point matters more each year. Google's spam policies describe scaled content abuse: producing many pages mainly to manipulate rankings, with little value for readers, whether by people, automation or AI. A batch of thin "service in every city" pages is exactly the pattern to avoid.
What we would not do
- Delete large parts of the site in a hurry. Google treats deleting content as a last resort.
- Change the dates on old pages to make them look fresh. Google lists changing dates without real updates as a warning sign.
- Buy links to recover. After a link spam change, Google says ranking benefit from spammy links that its systems neutralise is lost and will not come back.
- Rewrite every page at once. You will not know what helped.
What this means for a small business site
For most local businesses, core updates are a reminder rather than a threat. The sites that hold up best tend to have a clear focus, real details about the business, pages written for customers rather than for keywords, and genuine reviews and mentions. If you are building content now, build fewer, better pages.
If you want a second pair of eyes, our SEO audit compares your Search Console data around the update dates and gives you a list of specific fixes.