{"id":2502,"date":"2025-06-27T06:49:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2502"},"modified":"2025-06-25T12:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T11:19:27","slug":"should-you-react-to-a-google-update-or-wait-it-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/06\/should-you-react-to-a-google-update-or-wait-it-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You React to a Google Update or Wait It Out?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 6<\/span> minutes : <\/span><\/span>

Should You React to a Google Update or Wait It Out?<\/h1>\n

This has been written after a chat with a client who was panicing that Google had reduced the number of pages of their site that they showed as “indexed”, hopefully, by the end of the article you will understand a little more about the reasons and what to do.<\/p>\n

If you run a small business website, you\u2019ve probably heard about Google updates. Maybe you’ve even panicked a bit when one dropped. One day, everything looks normal. Then the next, you notice Google has indexed more (or fewer) of your pages\u2014but the number of clicks from search results hasn\u2019t changed. So\u2026 should you do something? Or should you just wait and see what happens?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break it down in a friendly, no-jargon way, and talk about what you can do when Google makes changes\u2014and your site starts acting a little odd.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What Even Is a Google Update?<\/h2>\n

Google updates its search system all the time. Most of these updates are small and no one notices. But now and then, there\u2019s a big one\u2014what people call a \u201ccore update.\u201d These are like full-on system rewires where Google changes how it decides which websites should show up first when someone searches.<\/p>\n

Sometimes Google is trying to clean up spam, improve search quality, or give people better answers. Other times, they change how they look at things like page experience, backlinks, or helpful content.<\/p>\n

What Happens After an Update?<\/h2>\n

For some businesses, it\u2019s all good. Rankings go up, more people visit their site, and life\u2019s great. But for others, it can feel like a mini disaster. Pages disappear from the top search results, or your site looks like it\u2019s being ignored by Google.<\/p>\n

But here’s the weird bit: sometimes the number of people clicking through from Google (your search traffic) doesn\u2019t change\u2014but the number of pages indexed by Google does. That\u2019s confusing, right?<\/p>\n

Wait, What\u2019s Indexing?<\/h2>\n

When we talk about pages being \u201cindexed,\u201d we mean Google has added them to its library. If a page isn\u2019t indexed, it\u2019s like it doesn\u2019t exist in Google\u2019s world. People can\u2019t find it through search, even if it\u2019s live on your site.<\/p>\n

So, when the number of indexed pages goes up or down after an update\u2014but your search clicks stay the same\u2014it\u2019s like Google\u2019s quietly rearranged your bookshelf, but hasn\u2019t taken or added any readers just yet.<\/p>\n

Should You Panic When Indexed Pages Change?<\/h2>\n

Nope. Not right away. Here\u2019s why: Google updates don\u2019t always settle instantly. They can roll out over days or even weeks. And during that time, things can look messy. Pages come and go from the index, rankings bounce around, and the data in Google Search Console might not match up with what you expect.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, Google even \u201ctests\u201d changes on live sites. You might lose a bunch of pages from the index on Monday, then see them come back on Thursday.<\/p>\n

What If My Clicks Haven\u2019t Changed?<\/h2>\n

This is actually a good sign! If people are still finding and clicking your site just like before, it means your most important pages<\/a>\u2014the ones doing the heavy lifting\u2014are probably still okay.<\/p>\n

When your clicks stay the same, but indexing changes, it usually means Google is rethinking how much of your site it needs in the index. That\u2019s not always bad. It could be ditching duplicate pages, tag archives, or old stuff it thinks no one needs (after all, if you have a section for news on your site and it still shows news from 5 years ago, is it really needed in the Google results?).<\/p>\n

When to Wait<\/h2>\n

So, let\u2019s say Google just rolled out an update. Your indexed pages drop a bit. But your traffic and clicks are steady. What now?<\/p>\n