If your traffic moved this month, you are probably asking one question: which Google update caused it? The September 2022 core update started on 12 September. Then, on 20 September, Google started the September 2022 product reviews update while the core update was still rolling out. So right now, two updates are running at the same time.
In this article, I explain what each update is, what we know so far, and how I would work out which one is behind a change on your site. I also cover what to do now, and what to avoid while both rollouts are still in progress.
What Google Has Announced So Far
Here are the facts as Google has shared them. I am keeping this to what Google confirmed, because there is a lot of guessing going around.
- September 2022 core update: Google announced it on 12 September 2022. Google said the rollout could take up to two weeks to complete. It is a broad update and applies to all languages and regions.
- September 2022 product reviews update: Google announced it on 20 September 2022. Google said this rollout could also take about two weeks. It applies to English-language product reviews.
- Helpful content update: This finished a little before both. It ran from 25 August to 9 September 2022 and affected English-language searches.
Google has said it will post on its ranking updates page when each rollout is complete. At the time of writing, neither update has finished.
So in less than four weeks, sites have seen three confirmed updates. That is a lot of movement in a short time, and it makes clean analysis harder than usual.
What Is a Core Update?
A core update is a broad change to Google’s main ranking systems. It does not target one type of site, one niche or one spam tactic. Instead, it changes how Google judges the quality and relevance of content across the whole web.
Google has said for years that a drop after a core update does not mean your site did something wrong. It often means other pages are now judged to be more useful for those searches. There is no penalty notice and nothing to “fix” in a technical sense.
That is why I treat a core update drop as a content quality question, not a technical one. I start by comparing my pages with the pages that now rank above them.
If you want background on the last broad update, I covered it in what we learned from the May 2022 core update. The advice from that update still applies here.
What Is the Product Reviews Update?
The product reviews update is a separate, narrower system. It looks at pages that review products, such as “best running shoes” lists, single product reviews and comparison posts. Its aim is to reward reviews that show real research and hands-on use, over thin pages that just summarise what the maker says.
This is the fifth product reviews update. Earlier ones came in April 2021, December 2021, March 2022 and July 2022. Each one has pushed in the same direction: show your own experience, and help the buyer decide.
If you run a review site, my summary of the July 2022 product reviews update covers the same signals. Very little has changed in Google’s public guidance since then.
Why Back-to-Back Updates Make Analysis Harder
When two updates overlap, a change in your traffic could come from either one, or both. That is the main problem this month.
Google’s Danny Sullivan said on 16 September that Google works hard to keep updates separate. He also said that when updates can’t be kept fully apart, Google spaces them out as much as it can. That is why the product reviews update started eight days after the core update, not on the same day.
Still, there is overlap. Both updates are rolling out in the same week, so you need to look closely at dates and page types to tell them apart.
How to Tell Which Update Affected Your Site
This is the process I use when updates overlap. It won’t give you a perfect answer, but it usually points in the right direction.
- Write down the key dates. Note 25 August (helpful content update starts), 9 September (it ends), 12 September (core update starts) and 20 September (product reviews update starts). I keep these in a simple sheet next to my traffic data.
- Look at daily data, not weekly. In the Search Console Performance report, set the date range to the last three months and look at daily clicks and impressions. Weekly totals hide the exact day a change began.
- Find the day the change started. If your clicks moved between 12 and 19 September, the core update is the most likely cause. If they moved on or after 20 September, either update could be involved.
- Split your pages by type. Filter the Pages tab for your review content, for example URLs with
/reviews/or/best-in them. Then compare those pages against the rest of the site. - Check the language. The product reviews update covers English-language reviews. If your non-English pages moved, that points to the core update.
- Rule out other causes. Check for technical issues, lost links, tracking problems and seasonal patterns before you blame any update.
Google has also suggested that if you publish reviews and saw changes after 20 September, the product reviews update is the more likely cause. That matches what I would expect, but I still check the dates and page types myself.
Reading the Patterns
Here is a simple way to read what you find. Treat it as a starting point, not a rule.
| What you see | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Change started between 12 and 19 September | September 2022 core update |
| Only review pages moved, on or after 20 September | Product reviews update |
| Whole site moved, including non-review pages, after 20 September | Core update, possibly both |
| Non-English pages moved | Core update |
| Steady decline that began in late August | Helpful content update, or a non-update cause |
A Practical Example
Say you run a home kitchen blog with recipes and some “best blender” style review posts. Your recipe pages dropped on 14 September, but your review posts held steady until 21 September and then fell.
In that case, I would look at the recipe drop as a core update issue. I would look at the review drop as most likely a product reviews update issue. Those are two different jobs, with two different sets of fixes.
Don’t Forget the Helpful Content Update
The helpful content update finished on 9 September, just three days before the core update started. Some sites will mix up the effects of the two.
The helpful content system works as a site-wide signal. If Google finds a lot of unhelpful content on a site, it can affect the whole site, not just the weak pages. Danny Sullivan has said that the helpful content system and core updates are not directly linked. But a site with problems in both areas could feel a bigger effect.
If you think the helpful content update is part of your story, read my guide on what “people-first content” means. Then use my steps to audit your site for unhelpful content.
What to Do During the September 2022 Core Update
The most useful advice right now is simple: don’t rush. Both updates are still rolling out. Rankings can go up and down several times before things settle.
- Don’t make big changes mid-rollout. If you rewrite or delete pages now, you won’t know if your changes or the update caused what happens next.
- Do add notes to your reporting. Add an annotation in Universal Analytics, or keep a dated log if you are on GA4, for 12 and 20 September. You will thank yourself in three months.
- Do keep publishing as normal. Stopping all work does not help. Just avoid big structural changes to the pages that moved.
- Do watch your top pages. I keep a short list of the 20 to 30 pages that bring the most traffic and leads. I check those first, because they matter most to the business.
In my experience, the first few days of a core update are noisy. I have seen pages drop and then come back within the same rollout, so I don’t judge anything until the update is complete.
When the Rollout Ends: What to Check
Once Google confirms both updates are complete, I wait about a week. Then I compare a full week after the update with a full week before it started.
- Compare like for like. Use the same days of the week in both periods. Compare Monday to Sunday with Monday to Sunday.
- Look at queries, not just pages. In Search Console, check which search terms lost clicks or positions. A page may drop for some queries but hold for others.
- Look at who now ranks above you. Search your main terms and study the top results. Ask what those pages do better for the person searching.
- Group the pages that dropped. Look for a pattern: a topic, a template, an author or a content type. Patterns are more useful than single URLs.
- Decide what to improve, merge or leave alone. Not every drop needs a fix. Some drops are small and fall within normal day-to-day ups and downs.
How to Improve After a Core Update
Google has long pointed site owners to a set of quality questions. They ask about originality, depth, accuracy, expertise and how trustworthy the page is. These questions are the best guide I know for a core update review.
When I use them, I read the page as if I were the searcher. Then I ask these plain questions:
- Does this page answer the question better than the pages ranking above it?
- Does it add something new, or does it repeat what everyone else says?
- Is it clear who wrote it, and why they know the topic?
- Is the information correct and up to date?
- Would someone trust this page enough to buy, book or call based on it?
Be honest with the answers. In my experience, the most common problem after a core update is not a missing tag or a slow page. It is content that is fine but not the best answer for the query.
One more point: recovery is often slow. Google has said that some changes may only show after the next core update. So improve the content because it is better for users, not because you expect a quick bounce back.
How to Improve Product Reviews
If the product reviews update hit your review pages, the fixes are more specific. Google has shared clear guidance, including its post on the December 2021 product reviews update. Here is what I focus on.
Show Real Use
Google asks for evidence that you have used or tested the product. That can be your own photos, videos, audio or measurements. Stock images from the maker’s site don’t show any of that.
When I review a review page, this is the first thing I check. If there is no sign the writer touched the product, I’d fix that before anything else.
Help the Reader Decide
A good review explains what makes a product different from others, and who it suits. It covers both good points and bad points. It also compares the product with other options where that helps.
For “best” lists, explain why your top pick is the top pick. A ranked list with one short paragraph per product rarely meets this bar.
Link to More Than One Seller
Google has said it can help readers if you link to more than one seller, so they can choose where to buy. If every link goes to one shop, consider adding others where it makes sense.
Cut or Merge Thin Reviews
Many review sites have a long tail of short reviews that add nothing new. I usually see these on affiliate sites that grew fast. Merging several thin posts into one strong comparison is often better than keeping all of them.
Google added more points to this guidance with the March 2022 product reviews update. If you haven’t reread it this year, it is worth doing before you start editing.
Common Mistakes I See After Core Updates
These are the patterns I see most often when sites react to an update. Avoid them and you will save a lot of wasted work.
- Blaming technical SEO. Core updates are mostly about content quality and relevance. Fixing meta tags or speed rarely reverses a core update drop on its own.
- Deleting large sections in a panic. Removing pages can remove traffic you still had. Review first, then decide page by page or group by group.
- Judging too early. Reports during the rollout often look worse, or better, than the final result.
- Chasing one ranking tool. Third-party tools are useful for trends, but your own Search Console data is what matters for your site.
- Copying what ranks now. Matching the top result does not make your page better than it. Add what it is missing instead.
Conclusion
The September 2022 core update and the September 2022 product reviews update are rolling out back to back, just after the helpful content update. That makes this a hard month to read your data.
My advice is to note the dates, wait for both rollouts to finish, and then compare clean before-and-after weeks by page type. Treat core update drops as a content quality review, and review page drops as a sign to show more real testing and help readers decide.
A good next step is to look at your own content with fresh eyes. Start with my guide to auditing your site for unhelpful content, which works just as well for core update reviews.
