SEO News Update: Majority of Sites Hit by Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content Update Show Limited Recovery

Glenn Gabe, an SEO expert, recently shared insights on social media platform X, tracking the recovery of about 400 sites affected by Google’s September 2023 helpful content update. Here’s what he found:

Key Findings:

• Recovery Stats: As of now, only 88 sites (about 22% of those tracked) have seen a 20% or more increase since Google’s August 2024 core update.
• Full Recoveries Rare: While some sites experienced full recoveries, they are outliers. Most sites saw partial improvements but did not return to their pre-September 2023 performance levels.
• Temporary Surges: Many sites initially showed a surge in visibility after the August 2024 core update, only to experience a drop soon after.

Glenn Gabe noted, “Full recovery is an anomaly… most surges were relative… and those sites didn’t get back to where they were (not even close).”

I've been asked several times over the past week to run the visibility numbers for the ~400 HCUX sites I've been tracking since the September Helpful Content Update. As we know, a number of those sites did surge with the August core update, but were still down big-time compared… pic.twitter.com/u2Ar0M9cD9

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) November 5, 2024

Takeaway for Site Owners: If your site was impacted by the September 2023 update and hasn’t yet fully recovered, you’re not alone. These findings suggest that Google’s helpful content update continues to impact many sites’ visibility, with only a minority seeing significant improvements.

For more on Glenn’s analysis, follow his updates on X for deeper insights into SEO trends and Google’s algorithm updates.