06/08/2026
The Google May 2026 Core Update has officially finished rolling out.
For business owners, this is one of the most important weeks to review your SEO performance.
Whenever Google releases a core update, rankings, impressions, and visibility can shift significantly. The biggest mistake I see businesses make is either checking too early or not checking at all.
Now that the rollout has completed, I recommend reviewing:
• Pages that gained or lost visibility
• Search queries with high impressions but low clicks
• Local service pages
• Content that may now be appearing in Google's AI search results
One thing that stood out to me recently was seeing an Ottawa Web Genius blog referenced in Google's AI results when someone searched for website pricing in Ottawa.
That reinforces something I've been paying close attention to over the last year: SEO is changing.
The goal isn't simply to rank anymore. The goal is to create useful, trustworthy content that Google can confidently surface when users are looking for answers.
Over the next few days I'll be reviewing client data closely to see what opportunities this update has created.
Have you noticed any significant changes in your rankings or organic traffic since the update?