SEO Recap covering July 26, 2026: Unconfirmed Google ranking update volatility

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Organic Search & Algorithm Updates

Google Search Ranking Volatility July 24th Through The Weekend
Source: Search Engine Roundtable

  • Barry Schwartz reports an unconfirmed Google ranking update that began stirring late Thursday July 23rd and intensified Friday July 24th, continuing through the weekend.
  • Volatility appeared across most third-party tracking tools around July 24th, including:
    • AccuRanker
    • Algoroo
    • AWR
    • Mozcast
    • SEMrush
    • Sistrix
    • SimilarWeb
  • Community chatter reported steep traffic losses, with some sites down to 27% of normal traffic and Brazilian publishers citing drops of 60-70%.
  • The prior confirmed update was the June 2026 spam update (June 14-26), following the May 2026 core update, with unconfirmed volatility also seen on July 18th and 19th.
  • Schwartz notes ranking movements matter less as Google sends less traffic to publishers, prompting some large publishers to consider blocking Google Search entirely.
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