I am seeing some early signs of yet another unconfirmed Google Search ranking update with more volatility touching down today, February 10th. The chatter within the SEO community is starting to spike, and some of the third-party tracking tools are showing volatility.
Let's start with some of the chatter within the SEO industry from WebmasterWorld and here:
Whiplash from all the head-shaking over the nonsense this Google update is causing right now
I had proper Discover traffic again, but general rankings are going up and down. If I didn't know better, I'd say Google's systems are running amok.
Since yesterday traffic is in free fall.
User engagement: 0
Zombies: 100%
Bots: up again
We're so depressed of the bad traffic (in more ways than one), that we are still in the Jan 2026 instead of a new Feb 26 post.
The downward swings are just so wild that you just loose complete hope in what you are doing. The recalibration or as we used to say in the earlier days Google Dance has started once again.
Google Tracking Tools
Just look at how heated most of these tracking tools are. Note, I updated some of these charts the next day to show more of the volatility.
Google has released its first core update of 2026, which is focused on just Google Discover. Google named it the February 2026 Discover core update. This one is rolling over the next two weeks or so, just English language users in the US and at some point will roll out beyond that to all countries and languages.
Google wrote, "This is a broad update to our systems that surface articles in Discover."
Google said this specific update will impact non-US publishers from showing up in the US, clickbait or sensational content and will show more in-depth, original and timely content.
Google wrote, the update will improve Discover as follows:
Showing users more locally relevant content from websites based in their country
Reducing sensational content and clickbait in Discover
Showing more in-depth, original, and timely content from websites with expertise in a given area, based on our systems' understanding of a site's content
Because this update will show users more locally-relevant content from sites based in their country, it may impact the traffic of non-US websites that publish news for a US audience. But at the same time, over time, this update will elevate those websites' content in their locally relevant regions.
I am honestly not sure if Google ever announced a Discover specific update, we know normal core updates impact Google Discover. But this specific announcement is just about a core update impacting only Google Discover.
And it is no surprise, the amount of comments on this site about visibility changes in Google Discover over the past couple of days is insane. Here are some select comments from this post:
It feels like Google is 'fixing' the SERPs by serving more low-intent or Discover-style traffic that doesn't convert.
I remain at 90-95% down, wiped from search, images, news, and discover.
I've been doing this for a long time, but it was all wiped overnight, and yes, my site was in News, just like Discover and removed.
Not trying sound negative or anything, but my site did start showing up again on Discover and on the first page of Google News...
From Feb 2nd I lost almost all traffic from Discover. it's just terrible.
Those are just some of the comments I pulled from this site.
Since many sites demonstrate deep knowledge across a wide range of subjects, our systems are designed to identify expertise on a topic-by-topic basis. So whether a site has expertise in multiple areas or has a deep focus on a single topic, there's equal opportunity to show up in Discover. For example, a local news site with a dedicated gardening section could have established expertise in gardening, even though it covers other topics. In contrast, a movie review site that wrote a single article about gardening would likely not.
We'll continue to show content that's personalized based on people's creator and source preferences.
As with all core updates, this change may lead to fluctuations in Discover traffic. Some sites might see increases or decreases; many sites may see no change at all. We're releasing this update to English language users in the US, and will expand it to all countries and languages in the months ahead.
Google updated its Discover documentation on the "To increase the likelihood of your content appearing in Discover, we recommend the following" section to read:
Avoid clickbait and similar tactics to artificially inflate engagement by using misleading or exaggerated details in preview content (title, snippets, or images) to increase appeal, or by withholding crucial information required to understand what the content is about.
Use page titles and headlines that capture the essence of the content.
Avoid sensationalism tactics that manipulate appeal by catering to morbid curiosity, titillation, or outrage.
Provide content that's timely for current interests, tells a story well, or provides unique insights.
Include compelling, high-quality images in your content, especially large images that are more likely to generate visits from Discover. Large images need to be at least 1200 px wide and enabled by the max-image-preview:large setting, or by using AMP
Here's a side-by-side comparison. Beyond clickbait and related things, the Discover documentation now includes "Provide a great page experience" as well. So you know, watch overloading your page with annoying ads, auto-playing crap, and more. :) https://t.co/40TWNGpKOOpic.twitter.com/cCtJdh7UAz
I was hoping, well, not really, that Google would calm down a bit since we had such a volatile January. But the Google Search results volatility is still very volatile, and the shuffling in those results is still shaking up.
This new spike in volatility began on February 2nd but has continued to heat up over the past couple of days. In fact, I don't remember seeing so many of the tools showing this much volatility outside of confirmed Google updates, core updates.
Let's start with the chatter, there is a lot of it in the comments area here on this site, some on WebmasterWorld and Black Hat World. Most of that chatter is negative, i.e. loss in traffic, but some of it is positive.
Massive drop in traffic today, and I really don't know why. Worst daily traffic for the past 5 years and it is not even in a core update.
I've only seen an increase in sales the last two days. None of it coming from Google though. All my sales have been coming from Bing.
Google traffic is flat and dead across everything.
I had a massive increase in traffic during the December Core Update and a massive drop in traffic during the past couple of weeks. It seems to be slowly recovering, but my earnings are about 50% ... It is an old website, US market, more than 15 years old. We used to publish tons of original content. It was a print publication originally, but now we rely on AI. I am a journalist myself, so I don't simply copy and paste but edit and make sure to add the human imprint... Nevertheless, traffic going up and down without a logical pattern is really making me feel like I need to find a new source of income... stressful times. don't know what to do anymore :(
Seems like Google has come to finally make our organic traffic 0.
Seen massive changes in keywords across all my sites.. some keywords showing big increases but traffic still flat though .. perhaps pre update movement? It does feel something is coming.
It's been a mess for a couple of days now. major shuffling.
Been seeing the same stuff for the past two years.... a steady gradient of barely perceptible slope in the negative direction.
Traffic has dropped sharply and is holding steady at a minimum level, according to minute-by-minute analytics. Google Discover is bringing in non-targeted visitors from countries that don't speak my language. They're doing something with search results and Discover again.
Yes all my sites mass keyword increase however traffic is still flat. it's unusual that all of my sites are affected at the same time, even more unusual it's showing positive across them all. maybe they have found a way to eliminate the slop?
yes, the RPM has dropped extremely sharply on all the sites in my company's portfolio. The traffic remains at yesterday's level, that is, weak, but I think the quality of the traffic is at rock bottom, which is why the RPM is 50-60% below yesterday's level
Another solid traffic day across all sites for me especially my global site however it is still noticeable that the West is not as active as it used to be, Eurasia is where it's at for me. Mr MSFT visited a few times this morning, in fact apart from MSFT, Amazon visited one site with a new IP range ... Blocked
I SAW that too. 3 days of very good traffic. But yesterday in the evening: BAM. Big drop.
Google rankings have been pretty volatile lately. Have you noticed similar movement over the past month?
I'm seeing similar fluctuations, especially in competitive niches. Rankings seem to be rotating more even without major SEO changes, which looks more like Google recalibrating quality and intent signals rather than penalties. Sites with strong topical authority and brand trust seem to stabilize faster.
I've noticed the same pattern across a few projects. Rankings drop hard, then partially recover without any major changes, which suggests algo testing rather than something site-specific.
Yes Google has been showing noticeable ranking fluctuations recently, especially in competitive niches like affiliate and high-competition keywords. It's common for positions to shift day-to-day even without on-page changes, and many SEO pros are reporting similar volatility without any official update confirmation.
Yes me too massive drop.
Good Morning Google Land! This is the February 4th edition of "Reviews Update Notes". Hey, it doesn't roll like "Core Update Notes" but it fits... :) Also, at least I *think* it was a reviews update. Google stopped announcing reviews updates a while ago since the system is now'... pic.twitter.com/uTk7VmAdrF
January has been an insane month with Google Search ranking volatility, and I guess it is no surprise to see the most heated time right now, as we end the month. I am seeing a significant spike in SEO chatter and many of the tools are showing very heated Google search ranking volatility over the past 24 hours or so.
I am surprised Google has not announced an official Google search ranking update yet, based on all the volatility we have seen. But maybe we are all imaganing it...
The chatter is still heated both here in the comments and also on WebmasterWorld. Here is just a sampling of those comments:
Speaking of current ranking/traffic trends - keywords are sliding and traffic is sliding even more.
I got the feeling that there might be an unconfirmed update since yesterday. Big swings in rankings, slightly mismatched traffic and affiliate sales are down. For me, this was always the sign for rotation in SERPs or update. Semrush Sensor is also showing heated vola.
Yeah, there's a Google update rolling out. According to the Semrush Sensor, volatility is extremely high right now. So welcome to the roller coaster, buckle up, it's going downhill.
Google hasn't announced anything, but since every tool is lighting up, it's pretty clearly an update.
It feels like an update. But we are seeing bad traffic since 3 days. Got worse from yesterday to now.Sales are down again.
After a significant drop, I notice that in the last 7 days, almost 50% of the traffic that brings me money from Google is actually BING. This means that Google is regressing and Microsoft is gaining ground.
Really seeing a major drop in rankings and traffic since Jan 27, which aligns with Gemini 3 becoming the default model for AI Overviews globally. The continued SERP volatility appears to be driven by ongoing algorithm adjustments, AI-driven search tests, and increased competition, resulting in highly unpredictable ranking and traffic fluctuations.
It's getting worse every day. Soon traffic will be 0.
Pretty huge drop. Yes it seems like accelerated over the past 3 days.
As far as bots - 210 Singapore bots as "active users" online as I am typing this. Plus many others in smaller quantities.
Seems Google is again fine tuning the update. Traffic was normal last week and now again its in the dumps.
That is just some of the chatter.
Google has been busy. Although unconfirmed, the volatility recently has caused a ton of movement across some sites. Again, Google can always release "smaller core updates" where they update a system, or several, outside of a broad core update. And those can have a big impact on'... https://t.co/DaTd2wKZdbpic.twitter.com/p0b1Vdpnah
The Google Search rankings continue to be super volatile and heated even through today. This started back throughout most of January and it has really heated up even more so since January 21st or so.
The chatter is still heated both here in the comments and also on WebmasterWorld. Here is just a sampling of those comments:
Big changes again
And for the worse again.
Totally dead today... No traffic, no AdSense revenue, no nothing :( Very bad January.
Is anyone else seeing crazy ups and downs? I'm seeing the average position in Google Search Console yo-yo.
Everything is bad so far in January. Rankings and traffic are terrible (so called core update was small bump that is fizzling out and was too small anyway). Ad revenue is fantastically poor too.
Google traffic is very poor. It looks like this last CU vanished all of gs competence to recognize the intention of the query. Google keeps "adding" keywords to the query that leads to totally mismatched traffic.
January was really extremely brutal for my news site: traffic dropped by around 90 percent, ad revenue by roughly 98 percent, while rankings stayed largely unchanged. I'm hoping this is just the typical January/February slump. Otherwise, it's hard to justify publishing new articles at all. Well, and then there are the bots. Interestingly, my shop performed quite well in January, which was honestly unexpected for that time of year.
Another thing I noticed: even more low-quality content dominating the top positions in my niche. In Google News headlines especially, cheaply translated sites from China and Vietnam are ranking very prominently. Some of them have extremely slow load times, yet Google seems to favor them. Chinese state propaganda content is also highly visible, alongside a lot of crypto-related articles. Serious news mostly appears only as standard wire reports.
As for Discover, it feels effectively unusable at this point. My feed is filled with low-effort content like 'how to turn on a washing machine' or 'how to cut bread properly.'
Last week,I reported on January 15th of a Google Search ranking update with a lot of heated volatility. Truth is, it went through the weekend, but now it is spiking back up again as of yesterday and today - January 20th and 21st.
It seemed like whatever kicked in last week around the 15th burned through the weekend. And now, we are seeing even more spike in volatility and pretty insane chatter from the SEO community.
The chatter about this volatility seems to just be kicking up right now in the comments area here on this site and maybe some on WebmasterWorld - here are some of those comments.
Today traffic drop 70 percent. Huge drop. Adsense, Discover, News, Search is dead. Wow...
Same. They've set a website traffic cap, and no matter how hard you try, it won't go beyond that. New articles aren't even shown in Discover, News, or even search. What's happening now isn't even an update, it's something worse.
Same here. Semrush shows volatility spikes again
I've been noticing a lot of spam comments in various languages ''lately. Clearly Google is no longer displaying what/how it should.
Is it just me or is it slow today? Davos, geopolitics, economies, weather, holidays?
I am seeing new signs of yet more Google Search ranking volatility and a possible tweak to the ranking search algorithm. Something kicked off yesterday, January 15th, that the third-party tools picked up on. With this update, there is limited chatter, unlike the previous unconfirmed Google Search ranking update.
Update: This volatility continues into the weekend.
The heat and volatility seemed to kick into gear on January 15, 2026, based on the third-party tools. Some people noticed some swings in their ranking and Google traffic around then as well. It is hard to know how wide spread the search volatility is, but it is worth reporting to see if more of you are noticing it.
Like I said, the recent chatter over the past 24-hours is pretty calm but here in the comments and on WebmasterWorld - here is what I am able to pull out:
I'm still 25% below last week which was already very low compared to last year.
Totaly dead.
Slight traffic uptick since same days last week. Not big, maybe just under 5%.
Today more spam websites in Discover. Spam websites are very OLD, registered yesterday
I am seeing signs of a possible Google search ranking update or volatility around January 12, 2026. This is weird in that most of the tools, not all, are mostly calm, but the chatter has picked up and many SEOs are noticing ranking fluctuations.
It is not too far off from what patterns we saw with the January 6th update.
As a reminder, we had the Google December 2025 core update kick off on December 11, 2025 at around 12:25 pm ET and ended on December 29, 2025 at around 2:05 pm ET. It had two spikes, one on December 13th and the other on December 20th.
I am reporting on this for two reasons; (1) if you are noticing weird movement over the past few days, you are not alone and (2) to see if more are noticing this Google Search voaltility.
So what am I seeing?
SEO Chatter
Let's start with the chatter, which is honestly mostly only on this site in the comments area on this story and this story - over the past two days.
Here are some of those comments:
Shuffle is back. Traffic is very low...
Seeing the same, yesterday was horrid. Today's looking the same as well.
Again, another way to disrupt sales traffic. I am in e-comm USA, and this is the 3rd Monday that traffic is non-existent. And this is the worst of the 3 Mondays. I've had 1 sale eek through today so far. Not that I can boast about sales anyway, it's just that every time G makes adjustments, you can actually feel the sensation you're in a ghost town instead of on the internet.
Something's happening again. After a few days of recovery, everything is going down the drain again. Discover traffic is practically dead.
Agree it was fine few days back
Same to many of us. No stability, the difference between months is huge. Still my numbers way lower than before the July update.
crazy shuffling has returned. haha. AdSense earnings are in the toilet but this is very normal for Jan. They will go to 0 eventually since Google is systematically destroying most websites. It is hard to be even close to profitable these days, so how many continue bleeding money.
And WebmasterWorld is not so chatty about volatility but rather other topics.
There are a number of SEOs and site owners complaining that they saw a large drop in Google Search rankings yesterday, January 6, 2026. This unconfirmed Google update does not feel as widespread as some of the previous ones we reported on but I wanted to document this one as such, just in case some of you are impacted.
As a reminder, we had the Google December 2025 core update kick off on December 11, 2025 at around 12:25 pm ET and ended on December 29, 2025 at around 2:05 pm ET. It had two spikes, one on December 13th and the other on December 20th.
Things calmed down before the 29th of December and then things got a bit more volatile into the new year. We saw some volatility touch down around January 3rd, but it didn't feel enough for me to cover. And then around January 6th and 7th - today.
With this, we are of course seeing complaints of drops in AdSense earnings.
SEO Chatter
We are seeing chatter on this both on this site and on WebmasterWorld - here is some quotes from that chatter:
I confirm, big drop Today. Yesterday I still had an increase in impressions after EXACTLY ON MY BIRTHDAY, December 13th, Google reduced me to only 30% of traffic on several sites.
Yeah, traffic is completely done today, literally down 90% from normal. So tiring, Up one day, down the next, up again, way down the next.
Big drop today. Spam update?
I saw a traffic loss yesterday of another 7% and 16% AdSense earnings down. It always goes down never up now.
I am seeing a big drop in impressions and no changes in rankings today. Could be just a delay in reporting? Who knows, who cares. I just saw our numbers for December. That is supposed to be our 2nd best month. That's 10x less than our worst month maybe 3 years ago. It's done.
I am 90 % down in AdSense revenue.
Yesterday was really bad 6% down on main traffic RPM down, PV down 50% on ads - they done something again.
I am seeing a massive drop in my AdSense income. It has gone down 87% I might have to reduce my server to a shared server at this rate.
Tiny movement on one serp i watch, one position movement on one site!
Some slight improvement.Traffic-wise it is the first week back to work for a lot of people so that is not unusual.
Looking like down 30% YoY for December and Jan so far.
Continuing the downward trend. Down 62% from last year.
Google has introduced an experimental update to Search Console Insights that adds social media channel performance data alongside website search metrics. This update helps marketers see how their social profiles and content perform in Google Search from one unified dashboard.
With this feature, teams can track social clicks, impressions, trending content, and audience insights without relying on multiple analytics tools. The goal is to improve visibility into how search and social work together, making it easier to align SEO and social strategies.
The feature is currently available to selected properties only and is being tested by Google, with a wider rollout expected in the future. Overall, it offers a more connected view of brand performance across search and social channels, saving time and improving data-driven decision-making.
DEC 2025
Track social clicks in Search.
View unified brand performance data.
Limited testing for selected properties.
Enhances organic social strategy insights.
Meta Tests New Link Sharing Limits for Businesses
Google has launched a new experimental update in Search Console Insights that includes social media channel data along with website performance metrics. This update helps marketers understand how their social profiles and posts appear and perform in Google Search.
Users can now see key details like clicks, impressions, trending social content, and audience insights in one place. This makes it easier to connect SEO and social media performance without switching between tools.
The feature is currently available to selected users only as Google tests it further. Overall, this update helps brands get a clearer picture of their online visibility and make better, data-driven marketing decisions.
Restricts links on business profiles.
Encourages native platform content usage.
Impacts referral traffic for marketers.
Aims to increase user retention.
Google Discover Integrates Advanced “AI Mode” Features
Meet AI Mode Get AI-powered responses & ask follow-ups with a new experiment
Google is expanding AI-powered features in Search to help users handle more complex questions. AI Overviews, now used by over a billion people, are being upgraded with Gemini 2.0 in the U.S., starting with coding, advanced math, and multimodal queries. These updates deliver faster, higher-quality responses and are now available to teens, with no sign-in required.
Google is also testing a new AI Mode in Search through Labs. This mode offers deeper reasoning, follow-up questions, and helpful web links for complex, multi-part searches. It combines Gemini 2.0 with real-time data sources like the Knowledge Graph and shopping information to deliver more detailed answers.
AI Mode is currently a limited, opt-in experiment, starting with Google One AI Premium users. Google will refine it based on feedback before wider rollout.
Summarize articles directly in feed.
Ask follow-up questions about news.
Links to source content included.
Improves transparency for web publishers.
DeepSeek R1 Model Disrupts Global AI Market
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI startup that is disrupting the global AI industry with high-performance, low-cost AI models. Its latest models, DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, are claimed to match or outperform leading U.S. models from OpenAI and Meta, but at a fraction of the cost.
DeepSeek drew major attention after revealing that training DeepSeek-V3 cost under $6 million, far less than what U.S. companies typically spend. Its AI assistant has even overtaken ChatGPT as the top free app on Apple’s U.S. App Store.
The company’s success is challenging assumptions behind massive AI spending by U.S. tech firms and has impacted investor confidence. DeepSeek-R1 is reported to be 20–50 times cheaper than comparable OpenAI models, making advanced AI more accessible and reshaping the competitive AI landscape.
Open-source model matches top competitors.
Lower training costs shock industry.
Shakes US tech firm dominance.
Developers get free model access.
Snapchat Debuts Text-to-Lens AI Creative Feature
Snapchat Launches “Imagine”: It’s First Open Prompt AI Lens
Snapchat has made its Imagine Lens, a text-to-image AI Lens, available to all users in the U.S. with no subscription required. Previously limited to paid users, the feature is now expanding to Canada, UK, and Australia.
The Imagine Lens lets users create custom visuals by typing a text prompt directly into the Snapchat camera. Users can instantly generate creative scenes, try out ideas, and share them with friends or on Stories. Snapchat is also offering free generations so everyone can try it out.
This update makes AI-powered creativity more accessible and encourages users to explore, create, and share unique content easily within Snapchat.
Generates lenses from text prompts.
Boosts AR engagement for brands.
Simplifies complex 3D asset creation.
Available for immediate user testing.
X Launches New Creator Studio Hub for Mobile
X has launched a new Creator Studio in its mobile app, giving creators a single hub to manage tools and insights on the go. The new tab provides quick access to revenue sharing status, subscriptions, analytics, payment settings, and creator support.
Creators can now easily track earnings, check eligibility for monetization features, and monitor performance directly from the mobile app, features that were previously limited to desktop.
X has also added an Inspiration tab that highlights top-performing posts over daily, weekly, and monthly periods. This helps creators understand what content is trending and get ideas for their own posts. Overall, the update makes content management and performance tracking more convenient for mobile-first creators.
Tracks growth and monetization stats.
Provides holiday marketing trend insights.
Simplifies mobile content management tasks.
Aims to attract more creators.
YouTube Shares Insights on Viral Video Thumbnail Data
YouTube data shows that thumbnails play a major role in driving video clicks and success. Around 90% of top-performing videos use custom thumbnails, and viewers decide whether to click within milliseconds.
Videos with higher click-through rates (CTR) are promoted more by YouTube, especially when paired with good watch time. Thumbnails featuring human faces, emotions, clear text, and strong contrast tend to perform better. Consistent design also helps build brand recognition.
YouTube allows creators to A/B test thumbnails using built-in tools, while AI-powered tools are increasingly used to improve designs. Most importantly, thumbnails must match the content to avoid clickbait and low retention.
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