November Core Update Is Rolling Out
The big story right now is Google's November 2026 core update. A core update is a broad change to how Google ranks pages, and it isn't aimed at any specific site. According to Google's Search Status Dashboard, Google "released the November 2026 core update, which applies globally and to all languages. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete." It is the third core update of 2026, after March and May, and the first broad core update in roughly five and a half months. The timing is bad for online stores: the update could finish as late as November 24, three days before Black Friday.
Google's only description is that it's a "regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites." Google didn't share new guidance specific to the November 2026 core update.
Rankings Are Shaking Hard
Search results have been unsettled for a month, with volatility scores between 6.2 and 7.5 since mid-October, and the trend is still rising. Today's early score is 7.4/10, but only 7 of 12 providers have reported so far. Serpstat and Wincher are at 10/10 and SEMrush at 9.4, while Advanced Web Ranking shows only 2.6. Some of this started before the announcement. Ranking shifts around November 9 had already prompted speculation.
AI Overviews Keep Squeezing Clicks
Google is testing placing source icons at the bottom of AI Overviews, which may make it even harder to find sources and could reduce clicks to your site even more. AI Overviews are the AI-written summaries that appear above the regular results. Definition-style summaries also no longer require clicking "Show more", so people searching for definitions have even less reason to click through to a website.
What to Do
- Don't change your site in a panic in the middle of the rollout.
- Wait at least a full week after the update finishes, then compare your Search Console data to a week before the rollout began.
- If many of your pages show "Crawled - Currently Not Indexed" in Search Console, take it seriously. Google's John Mueller said that status may be a sign Google doesn't think your site or pages are high-quality enough to index.
