Google’s March 2019 Core Update: Summary and Impact of the March 12, 2019 Update

For once, Google spoke up: it confirmed a new update to its core algorithm, rolled out on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Here’s everything you need to know about this update, which the search engine simply calls the “March 2019 Core Update.”

How Google Announced the March 2019 Core Update

On March 13, 2019, Google’s @searchliaison Twitter account confirmed that the search engine had released a broad core algorithm update the day before. That’s somewhat unusual for Google, which for several years had said little about these changes. According to Google, it’s the kind of update it rolls out several times a year to improve its search results.

Some in the SEO community quickly nicknamed it “Florida 2.” To avoid confusion, Google suggested calling it by its date instead: the March 2019 Core Update.

What Was the Impact of This Google Update?

The news spread quickly through the search marketing world, but what has the March update actually changed? Two weeks in, let’s try to draw a few conclusions.

1. A Reversal of the August 1, 2018 Update (the Medic Update)

One of the first findings after the March 2019 Core Update rolled out was that it seemed to have the opposite effect of the Medic Update of August 1, 2018. Many sites that lost ground in August have been recovering over the past few days, and vice versa. That’s the pattern reported in early data compiled by Search Engine Land. Among the big winners: BuzzFeed (+36%) and TechCrunch (+19%). Among the losers: Vanity Fair (−43.69%), Rolling Stone (−20.47%), Wired (−24.13%), and many others.

Still, take this analysis with a grain of salt. As Glenn Gabe showed in a post on his GSQI blog, some sites did recover the visibility they had lost, but others sank even further in the search results. And, as always, some sites gained ground after both the Medic Update and the March 2019 Core Update.

Here are a few charts from Glenn Gabe’s analysis:

2. Not Necessarily a Bigger Impact Than Other Updates

Google confirms only a few core updates each year, but it makes many more that go unannounced. For example, Rank Ranger reported that, based on its data, an unconfirmed algorithm update on February 27 caused similar volatility (91) to the March 12 update (89). The only real difference: the March 2019 Core Update caused fluctuations over several days.

3. Were Some Industries Hit Harder Than Others?

The August 2018 Medic Update, as its name suggests, mainly hit health and medical sites (though not only those). The March 2019 Core Update seems less focused on those niches. Many ecommerce sites, coupon sites, online gaming sites, how-to sites, and news sites have been affected.

4. No Link to “Neural Matching”

Google recently explained that its core algorithm updates (including the March 12 update) have nothing to do with “neural matching”, the AI-based method that helps Google connect words to concepts.

Conclusion

It’s hard to draw firm conclusions about an update launched just two weeks ago, especially when Google reveals so little about it. Apart from the engineers who worked on it, no one knows its exact impact. So it’s all speculation for now, but it’s a safe bet that a site that clearly answers the searcher’s question and intent has a relatively low chance of being hurt by an update.

Need help growing your visibility on Google? Référenceur is a French-speaking SEO agency from Belgium and Luxembourg that works with U.S. businesses remotely. If a core update has shaken your traffic, see our guide to Google penalty recovery or get a free assessment.

Where Things Stand in 2026

Google still releases broad core updates several times a year. It now announces them, along with their rollout start and end dates, on the Google Search Status Dashboard. For background, read what site owners should know about core updates, and for the next confirmed update, see our coverage of the June 2019 core update.