Adam Hafez
Key takeaways
- Google SearchLiaison said the update went live on 13 January 2020.
- On 16 January 2020 Google said it was mostly done but could take two weeks to fully complete.
- Google never posted a final completion date, so the end date is not stated by Google.
- Featured snippet deduplication launched nine days after it began, inside the same window.
What Google changed
Google SearchLiaison posted on 13 January 2020 that “the January 2020 Core Update is now live and will be rolling out to our various data centers over the coming days.” It was the first core update since September 2019. Google gave no detail on what changed and repeated its standing guidance on core updates.
Search Engine Roundtable reported that Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld suggested calling it Update Picard. The nickname did not stick; the industry used Google’s name.
When it rolled out
The update went live on 13 January 2020, around noon New York time according to Search Engine Roundtable. On 16 January 2020 Google SearchLiaison posted that “the update is mostly done, though as with any core update, it may take to two weeks to fully complete.” Google did not post again to say it had finished, so no completion date is stated by Google.
What is known about its impact
Google published no impact figures for this update. Its core update guidance says these updates “don’t target specific sites or individual web pages,” and that pages which move down are not necessarily bad. Treat any winner or loser percentage attributed to this update as a third-party estimate.
What site owners should do
Google’s core ranking systems are still in use today, and its current core update guidance applies to this update as much as to recent ones:
- Wait until a core update has finished, then at least one more full week, before judging.
- Compare a week after the update with a week before it began.
- Take no drastic action for small drops; for a large, sustained drop, assess the whole site against Google’s helpful content self-assessment questions.
- Expect recovery, if it comes, to take time and often a later core update.
How to check whether it affected you
Search Console keeps only 16 months of data, so its reports no longer cover January 2020. Use archived analytics exports from December 2019 to February 2020 and compare the week before 13 January with a week in early February. Featured snippet deduplication landed on 22 January, so check featured snippet pages separately. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists both.
Related updates
- The September 2019 core update was the previous core update.
- The May 2020 core update was the next one.
- Featured snippet deduplication launched inside its rollout window.
The evidence
- Type
- core update
- Started
- 13 January 2020
- Completed
- Not stated by Google
- Confirmed by
- Google statement
Sources
- 1.The January 2020 Core Update is now live - Google SearchLiaison on X, January 13, 2020Primary
- 2.For those who have asked, the update is mostly done - Google SearchLiaison on X, January 16, 2020Primary
- 3.Google January 2020 core update is live and it feels big - Search Engine Roundtable, January 14, 2020
- 4.Google says the January 2020 core update mostly done rolling out, but is it? - Search Engine Roundtable, January 17, 2020
- 5.It's a global update - Danny Sullivan on X, January 16, 2020Primary
- 6.Google Search's core updates and your website - Google Search CentralPrimary
Frequently asked questions
When did the January 2020 core update start?
Google SearchLiaison posted on 13 January 2020 that it was live and rolling out to Google's data centers over the coming days. Search Engine Roundtable put the start at around noon New York time.
When did the January 2020 core update finish?
Google did not give a final date. On 16 January 2020 it said the update was mostly done, though as with any core update it could take up to two weeks to fully complete.
Was the January 2020 core update global?
Yes. Google's Danny Sullivan said on 16 January 2020 that it was a global update, and that updates always roll out globally unless Google says otherwise.
What should I do if the January 2020 core update hurt my site?
Google's guidance is that a core update drop does not mean a page broke a rule. Compare traffic before and after, and if the drop is large and sustained, assess the site against Google's helpful content questions.
About the author
Founder, UpgradIQ FZC LLC
Adam Hafez works on technical SEO and search measurement: how pages get crawled, indexed, ranked and now quoted by answer engines. He founded UpgradIQ, which reads Google Search Console and GA4 to tie ranking movement back to the changes that caused it. He publishes what the data supports and states the limits of it.
- Technical SEO
- Search Console and GA4 measurement
- Answer engine optimization
- Structured data
The briefing
Only what actually changed in search, delivered in full by RSS, Atom or JSON feed.
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