Do Google Updates Still Matter? What SEOs Told Us Before the November Core Update

Published 12 November 2026 · By Tom Galland

Google started rolling out its November 2026 core update this week. It's the third core update this year, and as usual my LinkedIn feed is full of SEOs bracing for the worst.

Just before it landed, we surveyed 14 SEO experts from Australia, the US and the UK to see how they actually feel about Google updates now.

Most of them still think updates matter. But only 5 of the 13 who answered have seen their traffic or sales drop this year, and 3 of the 14 told us updates don't matter any more. So there's a real gap between how worried people are and what's actually happening to their numbers.

Google update stats: key findings at a glance

Most SEOs still think updates matter, but not as much as they used to

11 of the 14 SEOs we surveyed said Google updates are still important. The other 3 said they're not.

Even the people who said yes were less worked up about it than I expected. A lot of the written answers treated updates as something to keep an eye on, not something to lose sleep over.

That's pretty much where I've landed too. "Updates are still important, but they don't carry the weight they used to. It feels like Google is playing catch up. On top of that, AI Mode and AI Overviews are changing how people search, so updates are only one part of the picture now."

Ashley Urquhart, Head of Content at Firewire Digital, described it really well: "Algorithm updates are still important because everyone still talks about them. They are like the boogeyman, always lurking in the background, planting irrational fear in our minds, which manifests when we see slight dips in graphs on Looker."

Are Google updates really causing traffic drops?

Only 5 of the 13 SEOs who answered this question said their traffic or sales are down so far in 2026. That's just over a third.

3 said their results are mixed, 2 said they've grown or held steady, 2 aren't tracking it, and 1 said their results aren't tied to Google at all.

So 79% say updates still matter, but only 38% are seeing a drop. People are clearly still nervous about updates, but for most of the panel it isn't showing up in their numbers.

AI Mode is the bigger story

Where I think the bigger change is happening is AI Mode and AI Overviews. They're changing how people search and where the clicks go.

You can hold your rankings through every update and still lose traffic, because Google now answers the question above the results.

"Updates still cause short-term movement, but AI Mode is changing where clicks go. That's what business owners should be planning for."

One Head of SEO on the panel has already seen it: "While we've had some ranking improvements across the year, we've also had rankings where we were P1 and still are, but have had an AI Overview come on top and wipe out traffic. Also just an ongoing loss of informational keywords being eaten up by AI."

If you want to see how your business shows up in AI answers, our free AI search checker is a good place to start.

Do SEOs have Google update fatigue?

There have been four spam updates and three core updates in 2026 so far, and some SEOs are just tuning them out.

"We still see rankings and impressions move around every time an update rolls out, especially now that Google is working out AI Mode. So updates definitely still have an effect. But after three or four years of constant core and spam updates, the market has become uneasy about them, and I can understand why some people have started tuning them out."

Part of it is that Google keeps moving the goalposts. "Take AI content. A few years ago, Google treated auto-generated content as spam, then it said AI content is fine if it's helpful, and now it's telling sites to fact-check every AI page before it goes live. When the pendulum swings like that, some sites end up on the wrong side of it, and it makes earlier updates look less credible."

Zak Ali, Founder of Creative Advisor, put it bluntly: "The value exchange between Google and creators is so lopsided, people don't feel incentivised like they used to to listen or care about following Google's web standards anymore."

Are more Google updates coming for the rest of 2026?

13 of the 14 SEOs said they saw this update coming, so no real surprises there.

Most expect more spam updates too. 8 of 14 think there'll be at least one more in 2026, 4 don't, and 2 aren't sure.

The timing isn't great with Black Friday and Christmas coming up. Google says this rollout can take up to two weeks, so rankings could keep moving during one of the busiest sales periods of the year.

What business owners should do now

If your business relies on Google, here's what I'd do over the next few weeks.

"Businesses should expect some movement in rankings and impressions, but don't panic. Google is still figuring a lot of this out, so we watch the data and make changes once things settle, rather than reacting to every swing."

In practice that means:

• Expect movement. Rankings and impressions will probably bounce around while the update rolls out. That's normal.
• Don't react to every swing. Big changes mid-rollout can make things worse. Wait until it's finished, then compare your traffic and leads to before it started.
• Plan for AI Mode. Check whether AI Overviews show up for the searches that matter to you, and whether your business gets mentioned in them.

If you're not sure how the update is affecting you, book a free 30 minute call and we'll go through your rankings, traffic and leads together.

Tom

Methodology

SEO Growth surveyed 14 SEO experts from the US, Australia and the UK in October 2026. Some figures are out of 13 because respondents didn't have to answer every question.