Google has begun its first major broad core algorithm update for 2026. The March 2026 core update has started rolling out according to Google. That update began on March 27, 2026, and the Google Search Status Dashboard now shows that it is “in progress.” The corresponding release note has also been published. The company says it can take 1 to 2 weeks for these types of updates to fully roll out, so rankings should continue to fluctuate during that time frame at least.

Google is constantly tweaking the way in which it assigns search rankings, and this new update should better serve users.

What Is Included in the Update

Google has made changes to how it indexes websites today and reports indicate that the search engine monarch labeled the changes a core update. That means this update is different from other updates Google has rolled out in the past which were geared towards tackling spam or trying to decrease the weight of certain industries in search results. A core update is meant to tweak Google’s ranking algorithms in a broad way and that means the ranking of most websites will likely change in some way as a result of this update. Google classifies the iterations of its ranking algorithms into two main categories: minor updates with specific targets and core updates. The most recent occurrence of a core update occurred in March 2026.

Whereas small updates and spam updates receive some guidance from Core Update blog posts, the guidance for a core update is very limited. The post simply states the Core Update is coming and will “help improve the overall quality of search results” by incensing the ranking systems a lot.

These changes will influence ranking to favor more engaging content, especially news, knowledge base posts with rich information, and video content, with the purpose of showing more relevant results. Also, Google is trying to reward content that demonstrates expertise, authority, trustworthiness, and high quality.

Context Around Recent Updates

In the year so far, Google has released many algorithm updates including the next upcoming core update scheduled for March 2026. The February 2026 update, which occurred before that, was a unique update that only affected rankings in Google’s Discover feed and not rankings in regular Google Search results.

I’m noticing that Google is planning a new core update which they are calling the “February 2026” core update. I anticipate this update will take several days to fully complete, similar to all of the Google updates that we see. It’s been only 18 days since we saw the last core update roll out, the December 2025 core update. And in anticipation of this update, Google also rolled out a spam update yesterday that only took under 20 hours to fully complete!

Why This Update Matters

These updates will impact how our algorithms rank content, as well as how content appears in search results, indexing, and site traffic; please be on the lookout for changes over the next few days as we slowly begin to roll out these updates.

It is recommended to allow a full cycle of the indexing process to occur before judging performance. If you notice a drop in rankings it doesn’t mean you have been penalized for your methods, rather that Google is attempting to reward higher quality content.

What Website Owners Should Expect Next

We anticipate updating the Search Status Dashboard once the rollout has completed. In the meantime, please be aware of potential ranking fluctuations during this period. As we continue to improve search, we are focused on introducing features and overall user experience that promote high quality content over the long term.

We are tracking the latest Google algorithm changes and providing in-depth analysis on the impact these changes will have on search rankings, website visibility and overall online performance. Google’s algorithm changes can greatly impact how much traffic a site receives and the overall growth of a business. As Google continues to roll out major ranking changes, we are committed to keeping our clients and blog readers informed on the latest changes and how they can continue to achieve optimal online performance.

Google has had many famous changes to the algorithm, its search index and refreshes over the years. In this post we look at the major Google search algorithm updates in one easy to read timeline. Looking for the start of Google and the history behind it all. See the first search engine and how it all began. Or if you want the latest Google algorithm updates and news read our latest Google algorithm news posts.

Another classic question that every amateur webmaster wants to know. The answer, of course, is “a lot”. According to Google, a lot is “a significant amount, possibly hundreds or thousands, but no one really knows for sure”.

Google Search isn’t static and in 2022, Google introduced 4,725 changes to search. On average, that’s 13 changes per day but I see way more than that since I’m opted into some experiments and sometimes even all experiments on Google Search. In addition to ranking factors, I’ve also seen Google change the Google Search UI many times in 2022 and more in the past. Here’s how many experiments Google ran in search in 2022:

• 13,280 live traffic experiments
• 894,660 search quality tests
• 148,038 side-by-side experiments

Algorithms changes are pretty frequent and mostly are minor updates; but one change can have a large impact on rankings, traffic and revenue.

Has the Google Algorithm Changed?

There have been a few big updates from Google recently that have significantly impacted search results and online businesses. The Helpful Content Update which was rolled out in 2022, was implemented to reduce spam sites built for the purposes of manipulating the Internet ranking system. The update rolled out again in September 2023 and continued this process of weeding out spam sites and promoting helpful content on the Internet. Then in March of this year 2026, Google began to push even more AI-generated content at the top of search results, all of which meets the quality standards of leading sites online.