September 2022 Google Updates – Data and Trends

With the knowledge that there were two Google updates overlapping in English-language search results, we take an extended-timeframe look at the effects of the September 2022 Product Reviews Update and The Core Update that preceded it.

This article has been extensively updated from the original, which focused only on the Product Reviews Update. Below you’ll find lists of winners and losers, and a closer look at the news media and eCommerce sectors.

First, a summary of the key findings. This article will be updated as the update progresses.

  • Both Core and Product Review updates finished on the 26th September
  • Google announced the Product Review Update on the 20th September
  • The September Core Update started on the 12th September
  • Google’s Search ranking updates page has been updated
  • The Product Reviews Update update only affects English language search
  • A new SISTRIX chart pin has been added to help identify changes

To check the effects of the update for any domain, log in to SISTRIX now or create a free test account. If you would like to be notified of future algorithm updates by email, sign up for our newsletter.

How to tell if a domain has been affected by the Product Reviews Update

Update: 27th Sept. Based on data in other countries we can now be confident that the Core Update was still having effects during the period of the Product Reviews Update. This is clear from data in countries where the Product Reviews Update would have no effect. For example: Data from Germany.

This means that it is not possible to separate the effects of the two updates without looking deeply into the content for a losing domain.

The four sites above show the same graph development and are all related to pop-media and arguably opinion sites. Are the Top 10 Jamiroquai Songs, really the top 10, or is that just an opinion, or a personal review? Ronit Roy Is Disappointed but is that your news, Filmibeat, or an opinion, a review, of the original news?

The effects are clear to see across UK and USA:

Data from other countries is showing us that English language content is being affected in countries where the primary language is not English.

Tvtropes (tvtropes.org) has been affected in many countries and in the UK, it now longer appears in the top 100 domains. The VI Rank has dropped to 146 and the domain has lost 49% of visibility since the previous Monday (12th Sept.)

Winning and Losing domains during the Sept 2022 Core Update and Product Reviews Update

The date range covers both the Core and Product Reviews updates.

Here are the top 20 winning domains by percentage, including analysis notes.

Winning domains by percentage SISTRIX VI. 12th Sept - 27th Sept
DomainVI 12.09.2022VI 27.09.2022Percentage changeNotes
rbwm.gov.uk0.221.04371.4%Local council gained generic keywords
seslisozluk.net0.522.07293.9%Major gains
sandals.co.uk0.682.62283.8%Recovery. Potentially a local problem
homify.co.uk0.531.72222.3%Volatile since Sept 2021
adult0.541.73221.3%Adult
safer-networking.org0.591.58168.6%Volatile domain
findagrave.com0.601.52153.5%Recovery from May Core Update
datathistle.com0.481.18146.6%Events data. Large rise.
adult1.854.54145.7%Adult
circlehealthgroup.co.uk1.182.80137.7%Recovery from May Core Update
reelgood.com0.521.19129.3%Recovery from May Core Update
retrogames.cc0.471.04123.7%Clear gains
thekitchencommunity.org0.831.84122.5%Clear gains
uktvplay.co.uk0.982.13116.6%Migration
adult0.481.04116.4%Adult
rhino.com0.481.03116.3%Major recovery
koimoi.com0.581.22112.4%Recovery from May Core Update
parfumo.net0.511.07108.3%Recovery from May Core Update
blanco.com0.581.21108.1%Volatile
driverscape.com0.771.61108.0%Recovery from May Core Update

Here are the top 20 winning domains by absolute values.

Winning domains by absolute SISTRIX VI. 12th Sept - 27th Sept
DomainVI 12.09.2022VI 27.09.2022ChangeNotes
wikipedia.org5990.587351.311360.73Return to 2020 levels
amazon.co.uk2681.003153.07472.07
ebay.co.uk1295.961612.64316.68
facebook.com974.541155.69181.15
imdb.com1017.541156.88139.34
youtube.com1637.811770.41132.60Historically volatile
wiktionary.org416.64526.60109.96
etsy.com726.35814.2287.87
spotify.com341.79423.7181.92
instagram.com619.04695.8476.79
www.gov.uk380.94451.7770.83
cambridge.org938.13998.8260.69
www.nhs.uk516.82573.1356.32
bbcgoodfood.com135.54191.7756.23
tiktok.com77.86129.9052.04Large gain in 2022
indeed.com183.70221.5837.88
microsoft.com224.11258.0133.90
twitter.com337.17370.9633.78
google.com267.00297.4230.41
azlyrics.com82.41112.6530.23Lyrics

Here are the top 20 losing domains by percentage.

Losing domains by percentage SISTRIX VI. 12th Sept - 27th Sept
DomainVI 12.09.2022VI 27.09.2022Percentage changeNotes
doheth.co.uk5.571.12-79.9%May gains reversed
bilibili.tv5.211.47-71.7%Videos
adult4.241.21-71.4%Adult
oxfordreference.com7.342.12-71.2%Reference
dnb.com4.131.41-65.9%Business directory
yourdictionary.com137.1648.55-64.6%Reference
shabdkosh.com3.711.32-64.3%Translations
karaoke-lyrics.net2.961.08-63.4%Lyrics
hindawi.com3.221.19-63.0%Sci. Research
adult3.851.46-62.0%Adult
adult11.224.29-61.7%Adult
notino.co.uk5.182.04-60.7%Retail
hunker.com2.681.06-60.4%Info site US
metro.co.uk46.8218.66-60.1%news media
tvtropes.org81.6434.02-58.3%TV news UGC
365games.co.uk3.941.64-58.3%Online games
adult2.791.18-57.9%Adult
tenor.com27.9311.81-57.7%GIFs
moreofit.com3.061.30-57.6%Directory
mapcarta.com2.861.22-57.4%Directory

Here are the top 20 losing domains by absolute visibility.

Losing domains by absolute SISTRIX VI. 12th Sept - 27th Sept
DomainVI 12.09.2022VI 27.09.2022ChangeNotes
merriam-webster.com903.33809.63-93.70Reference
yourdictionary.com137.1648.55-88.61Reference
linkedin.com295.93225.72-70.22Social
argos.co.uk559.02509.63-49.39Retail
tvtropes.org81.6434.02-47.63Pop culture ref.
genius.com282.89241.85-41.04Lyrics
gumtree.com81.7440.99-40.75Classifieds
thefreedictionary.com213.29180.33-32.96Reference
metro.co.uk46.8218.66-28.16News media
dailymail.co.uk76.1648.23-27.93News media
webmd.com296.70271.85-24.86Medical
houseoffraser.co.uk79.5757.45-22.11Retail
discogs.com244.81223.33-21.47Reference
definitions.net59.3838.34-21.05Reference
picclick.co.uk32.4114.11-18.30Ebay content
techradar.com71.4953.48-18.01Tech news media
fandom.com678.59661.06-17.53UGC
mirror.co.uk60.5343.90-16.63News media
tenor.com27.9311.81-16.11GIFs
independent.co.uk139.66123.96-15.70News media

News media domains in UK search

Here are a selection of news media domains, in a sortable table, that had significant VI gains or losses during the September Core and Product Review updates.

Selected news media domains in UK search. 12th Sept - 27th Sept
Domain2022-09-122022-09-27Change VIChange %
metro.co.uk46.818.7-28.2-60.1%
dailymail.co.uk76.248.2-27.9-36.7%
mirror.co.uk60.543.9-16.6-27.5%
independent.co.uk139.7124.0-15.7-11.2%
cnn.com36.426.3-10.1-27.8%
inews.co.uk12.77.9-4.7-37.2%
bloomberg.com35.731.3-4.4-12.4%
express.co.uk19.415.9-3.5-17.9%
dailyrecord.co.uk9.87.5-2.3-23.2%
washingtonpost.com19.718.0-1.7-8.7%
cnbc.com21.219.6-1.6-7.6%
dailystar.co.uk6.25.2-1.0-16.5%
economist.com6.05.0-1.0-16.3%
mylondon.news1.81.0-0.8-45.2%
theweek.co.uk2.41.7-0.7-27.1%
aljazeera.com11.811.1-0.6-5.5%
entertainmentdaily.co.uk0.70.5-0.2-30.5%
irishtimes.com3.43.2-0.2-6.0%
forbes.com95.795.5-0.1-0.1%
belfasttelegraph.co.uk2.12.0-0.1-3.3%
telegraph.co.uk52.752.6-0.1-0.1%
thenorthernecho.co.uk1.71.70.0-1.5%
spectator.co.uk2.42.30.0-1.1%
heraldscotland.com2.22.20.0-0.4%
edp24.co.uk1.21.20.01.1%
kentonline.co.uk0.90.90.02.1%
gbnews.uk0.20.30.020.4%
yorkshirepost.co.uk1.11.30.110.2%
lbc.co.uk1.01.20.218.3%
leicestermercury.co.uk1.21.60.431.1%
usatoday.com12.513.00.53.8%
thetimes.co.uk12.513.20.75.2%
bbc.com65.766.50.71.1%
examinerlive.co.uk1.22.21.081.5%
eonline.com5.76.81.018.1%
manchestereveningnews.co.uk7.28.31.216.1%
thesun.co.uk53.955.51.63.0%
nytimes.com77.879.61.92.4%
people.com16.919.42.615.1%
news.sky.com32.535.02.67.9%
walesonline.co.uk4.98.23.366.3%
standard.co.uk27.532.55.018.1%
finance.yahoo.com55.461.66.211.2%
hellomagazine.com20.326.76.431.6%
theguardian.com253.3266.913.65.4%

ECommerce domains in UK search

Thanks to Re:Signal for providing us with a copy of their eCommerce domain list. You can find their recent research here.

We’ve processed their list of domains for changes that occurred during the period of the September updates. There was a net gain in visibility overall for this list of domains. The data is raw and not checked for other influences. Total number of domains: 219

Re:Signal eCommerce domain tracker. 12th Sept - 27th Sept
DomainVI 12-09-2022VI 27-09-2022Abs.Perc.
amazon.co.uk2681.003153.07472.0717.6%
ebay.co.uk1374.751612.64237.8917.3%
etsy.com726.35814.2287.8712.1%
tesco.com84.08100.5316.4519.6%
johnlewis.com235.09250.3715.286.5%
boots.com109.68120.5210.849.9%
asos.com123.39132.909.517.7%
very.co.uk65.6973.988.2912.6%
screwfix.com181.48189.207.714.3%
currys.co.uk138.93144.035.103.7%
hollandandbarrett.com26.3730.934.5617.3%
next.co.uk157.29161.734.442.8%
marksandspencer.com73.4077.814.416.0%
prettylittlething.com25.6929.213.5213.7%
amazon.com231.86235.343.471.5%
wilko.com49.6652.983.326.7%
ikea.com102.44105.432.992.9%
game.co.uk16.8619.672.8216.7%
dunelm.com75.4078.142.753.6%
wickes.co.uk52.2854.642.364.5%
gear4music.com42.2644.622.365.6%
nike.com22.2224.392.169.7%
claires.com3.525.552.0357.5%
asda.com84.8586.791.942.3%
newlook.com21.2423.181.949.1%
hsamuel.co.uk32.3234.071.755.4%
made.com8.9310.521.5917.8%
littlewoods.com5.887.351.4725.0%
lego.com7.779.211.4418.6%
alibaba.com10.6611.951.2912.1%
andertons.co.uk28.7330.021.294.5%
prezzybox.com7.738.971.2315.9%
levi.com1.302.461.1689.1%
costco.co.uk9.3410.491.1512.3%
coop.co.uk6.537.681.1517.5%
appliancesdirect.co.uk25.8726.981.114.3%
clarks.co.uk6.727.821.1116.5%
richersounds.com13.5614.420.866.4%
gap.co.uk1.942.780.8443.4%
matalan.co.uk36.1336.960.832.3%
mandmdirect.com9.7210.560.838.6%
thewhitecompany.com3.934.720.8020.2%
allsaints.com2.052.790.7335.7%
primark.com5.526.220.7012.7%
theperfumeshop.com7.868.530.678.6%
thetoyshop.com15.6516.310.664.2%
lakeland.co.uk17.7518.360.613.5%
wiggle.co.uk25.8626.450.582.3%
jdwilliams.co.uk2.362.940.5724.3%
oakfurnitureland.co.uk6.136.680.559.0%
burton.co.uk1.622.160.5332.7%
pmtonline.co.uk10.6211.140.524.9%
superdry.com1.572.040.4729.8%
zara.com5.235.700.468.8%
bestbuy.com13.6714.100.433.1%
wallis.co.uk1.952.370.4322.0%
buyagift.co.uk3.954.370.4210.7%
mulberry.com0.931.320.3840.9%
footlocker.co.uk3.213.590.3811.9%
guitarguitar.co.uk13.4313.800.372.8%
riverisland.com8.969.330.374.1%
majestic.co.uk4.444.800.368.2%
burberry.com1.401.740.3424.2%
shoezone.com4.314.630.327.4%
paperchase.com3.353.660.319.3%
accessorize.com5.525.790.274.9%
accessorize.com5.525.790.274.9%
mamasandpapas.com12.7913.050.262.0%
findmeagift.co.uk3.483.720.246.9%
tedbaker.com1.311.520.2116.1%
mango.com2.512.720.218.3%
hamleys.com1.942.140.2110.7%
fortnumandmason.com1.822.020.2011.0%
laptopsdirect.co.uk19.4419.640.191.0%
libertylondon.com3.063.250.196.1%
flyingtiger.com0.620.800.1828.7%
toppstiles.co.uk6.196.370.182.9%
fatface.com0.540.710.1732.3%
preloved.co.uk17.0117.180.171.0%
nordstrom.com4.034.190.164.0%
moss.co.uk6.476.620.152.3%
tapi.co.uk1.521.670.149.4%
sephora.com0.961.090.1313.5%
thebodyshop.com2.742.860.124.5%
moonpig.com9.459.570.121.2%
jigsaw-online.com0.430.550.1227.2%
whistles.com0.921.030.1111.6%
gak.co.uk10.1210.230.101.0%
mintvelvet.co.uk0.921.020.1010.7%
annsummers.com0.570.660.0916.0%
inthestyle.com0.911.000.099.8%
habitat.co.uk17.5717.650.080.5%
woolovers.com1.331.410.085.9%
harveynichols.com5.625.690.071.3%
trouva.com0.410.470.0717.1%
little-mistress.com0.680.740.079.8%
jacamo.co.uk1.541.590.052.9%
ohpolly.com1.011.050.044.4%
lovehoney.co.uk2.582.620.041.7%
sofa.com0.640.680.046.7%
sweatybetty.com0.220.260.0419.3%
coastfashion.com7.157.190.040.6%
matchesfashion.com2.042.080.041.9%
frenchconnection.com0.300.330.0311.2%
theoutnet.com3.793.810.020.6%
hobbycraft.co.uk39.7539.780.020.1%
spar.co.uk0.440.470.024.7%
evans.co.uk1.691.710.021.1%
clintonsretail.com0.970.980.021.8%
thorntons.co.uk0.150.170.019.7%
karenmillen.com1.061.080.011.1%
bathstore.com0.440.450.012.6%
mccolls.co.uk0.170.180.016.1%
sofology.co.uk3.173.180.010.3%
tofs.com0.350.360.012.1%
sportsshoes.com4.654.640.00-0.1%
jcpenney.com1.991.98-0.01-0.5%
safeway.co.uk0.230.22-0.02-7.0%
spacenk.com1.891.87-0.02-1.0%
homebargains.co.uk3.133.11-0.02-0.6%
skechers.com0.140.12-0.02-15.4%
mountainwarehouse.com3.923.89-0.03-0.8%
ewm.co.uk0.360.33-0.03-8.3%
bonmarche.co.uk0.850.80-0.04-5.1%
amara.com1.691.64-0.04-2.6%
whitestuff.com0.750.71-0.05-6.1%
theworks.co.uk20.4220.36-0.06-0.3%
scan.co.uk19.6119.55-0.06-0.3%
millets.co.uk5.875.79-0.08-1.4%
yoursclothing.co.uk4.914.83-0.08-1.7%
jackwills.com0.520.43-0.09-16.9%
cotswoldoutdoor.com10.3010.21-0.09-0.9%
brandalley.co.uk1.671.56-0.11-6.4%
iwantoneofthose.com2.932.81-0.12-4.0%
lidl.co.uk1.931.81-0.12-6.2%
simplybe.co.uk5.935.80-0.13-2.1%
dreams.co.uk10.1410.01-0.13-1.3%
missguided.co.uk6.326.19-0.14-2.1%
yoox.com1.211.08-0.14-11.2%
decathlon.co.uk48.2048.05-0.15-0.3%
monki.com0.780.63-0.15-19.0%
usc.co.uk2.822.68-0.15-5.3%
normans.co.uk1.431.27-0.16-11.5%
qvcuk.com4.314.13-0.18-4.2%
blacks.co.uk7.667.47-0.19-2.4%
reiss.com0.670.45-0.22-32.3%
zavvi.com5.034.78-0.24-4.9%
dunelondon.com3.473.22-0.26-7.4%
nastygal.com10.249.96-0.28-2.7%
ao.com29.7429.46-0.28-0.9%
booths.co.uk0.900.62-0.28-31.5%
bhphotovideo.com10.249.95-0.29-2.8%
zappos.com1.531.21-0.31-20.4%
net-a-porter.com2.231.92-0.32-14.1%
hm.com29.1228.80-0.33-1.1%
poundland.co.uk3.723.32-0.40-10.8%
urbanoutfitters.com6.656.25-0.41-6.1%
secretsales.com1.791.38-0.41-22.9%
quizclothing.co.uk7.817.39-0.42-5.4%
lush.com3.853.41-0.44-11.5%
sunglasshut.com4.594.15-0.45-9.7%
nisbets.co.uk16.3515.90-0.45-2.8%
monsoon.co.uk5.394.93-0.46-8.5%
boohoo.com65.8265.35-0.47-0.7%
size.co.uk4.073.60-0.47-11.5%
iceland.co.uk7.326.83-0.49-6.7%
victoriaplum.com5.094.59-0.50-9.9%
farfetch.com12.3711.83-0.54-4.3%
idealhome.co.uk9.859.29-0.55-5.6%
morrisons.com16.7016.13-0.57-3.4%
sportsdirect.com71.1170.52-0.58-0.8%
bestproducts.com7.737.12-0.61-7.8%
scs.co.uk4.754.12-0.63-13.3%
office.co.uk19.6118.95-0.66-3.4%
aldi.co.uk9.028.35-0.67-7.4%
tkmaxx.com13.6412.97-0.67-4.9%
schuh.co.uk15.8815.20-0.68-4.3%
dorothyperkins.com7.176.46-0.70-9.8%
ocado.com8.157.38-0.77-9.4%
furniturevillage.co.uk10.9310.10-0.84-7.6%
jdsports.co.uk19.7518.90-0.84-4.3%
fenwick.co.uk4.813.92-0.89-18.4%
peacocks.co.uk4.473.58-0.89-19.9%
gooutdoors.co.uk27.1426.24-0.90-3.3%
robertdyas.co.uk18.1717.25-0.92-5.1%
jessops.com9.828.89-0.94-9.6%
ryman.co.uk20.1719.11-1.06-5.2%
evanscycles.com15.4814.37-1.10-7.1%
superdrug.com24.1923.07-1.12-4.6%
diy.com133.42132.28-1.15-0.9%
carphonewarehouse.com6.014.80-1.22-20.2%
bmstores.co.uk20.7719.54-1.23-5.9%
homebase.co.uk19.3518.09-1.25-6.5%
gettingpersonal.co.uk7.275.87-1.41-19.3%
uniqlo.com6.745.30-1.44-21.3%
aliexpress.com22.4120.66-1.75-7.8%
harrods.com15.5913.73-1.87-12.0%
halfords.com83.1481.28-1.87-2.2%
lloydspharmacy.com17.6115.57-2.05-11.6%
petsathome.com32.4030.31-2.09-6.4%
smythstoys.com68.2766.04-2.22-3.3%
notonthehighstreet.com44.1441.74-2.40-5.4%
cardfactory.co.uk12.5510.13-2.42-19.3%
wish.com6.473.94-2.53-39.1%
wayfair.co.uk149.84147.30-2.53-1.7%
waitrose.com16.5613.79-2.77-16.7%
debenhams.com29.5526.65-2.90-9.8%
target.com15.8912.98-2.91-18.3%
hmv.com21.9718.93-3.04-13.8%
sainsburys.co.uk57.0053.28-3.72-6.5%
waterstones.com60.8655.59-5.27-8.7%
selfridges.com39.6034.33-5.27-13.3%
zalando.co.uk32.6827.02-5.66-17.3%
ebay.com44.8938.53-6.36-14.2%
whsmith.co.uk35.1828.46-6.72-19.1%
therange.co.uk131.57116.13-15.44-11.7%
houseoffraser.co.uk72.2455.32-16.92-23.4%
gumtree.com81.7440.99-40.75-49.9%
argos.co.uk559.02509.63-49.39-8.8%

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