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What actually happens when an algorithm update hits
A walkthrough of how I diagnose a traffic drop before touching a single tag.
The first move is never a fix — it’s ruling things out. Segment the drop by query type, page template, and device before assuming the update is even the cause.
Most ‘update’ stories I get pulled into turn out to be a shipped bug, a lost backlink, or a competitor doing something better. The update just made it visible.