When Google dropped its May 2020 Core Algorithm Update, things moved fast. Rankings jumped, traffic either spiked or dropped, and plenty of site owners were left scratching their heads, wondering what just happened.
The May 2020 Core Update rollout is complete.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 18, 2020
Pretty much every industry felt it. Real estate, health, travel, pet care, you name it. Some websites shot to the top overnight. Others fell off the map for no apparent reason. And it all happened in the space of a couple of weeks.
Looking back, it wasn’t just another algorithm tweak. It marked a real shift in how Google looks at content—what it values, what it trusts, and what it wants to show users first. And even now, years on, the lessons from that update are still shaping the way we think about SEO.
TL;DR (too long, didn’t read) 👇
- The May 2020 update was a major shake-up that changed how Google views content quality and relevance
- It wasn’t about punishing bad sites—it was about rewarding the most helpful, trustworthy content
- A drop in traffic didn’t always mean a drop in value—sometimes it just meant better traffic
- Today, the same lessons apply: write for real people, not just for rankings
The update that shook the SERPs ⚡
Back in 2020, SEO forums and Twitter feeds lit up. Some businesses lost a chunk of their traffic overnight. Others saw unexpected jumps, without changing a thing.
And that’s the tricky part about core updates. They’re not targeting you directly. They’re more like a reset—Google shifting the goalposts based on what it now considers high-quality, helpful content.
Google even compared it to updating a top movies list. The classics might still be good, but sometimes new titles deserve a spot at the top.
Here’s a statement from Google that may help provide some context:
“One way to think of how a core update operates is to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later, in 2019, you refreshed the list. It’s going to naturally change. Some new and wonderful movies that never existed before will now be candidates for inclusion.
You might also reassess some films and realize they deserved a higher place on the list than they had before. The list will change, and films previously higher on the list that move down aren’t bad. There are simply more deserving films that are coming before them.”
Quality content has always been key 🔑
One of the clearest takeaways from May 2020 was this: content quality isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it’s a ranking signal. Google even published a set of reflective questions to help site owners assess their own pages: Is the content original? Is it written by someone with experience? Does it serve the reader’s needs better than competing results?
That framework still holds weight today, especially in the context of more recent updates like Google’s Helpful Content System and the continued push for EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
A drop in traffic doesn’t mean a drop in value 📉
Another important lesson? Metrics don’t always tell the full story. Some websites saw traffic decline, but conversions held steady or even improved. Why? Because the update helped Google show those sites to more relevant users, even if it meant fewer visits overall.
These days, that idea matters more than ever. With AI Overviews, zero-click searches and all the extras showing up in Google, it’s not just about how many people land on your site. What really matters is if your content actually helps, keeps people engaged, and gives them what they came looking for.
What the May 2020 update taught us about modern SEO 📅
It’s easy to look at an algorithm update and panic, especially when rankings or traffic shift without warning. But May 2020 reminded us of something fundamental: SEO is an evolving conversation, not a set-in-stone checklist.
Since that update, we’ve seen:
- A stronger emphasis on intent-matched content that answers questions clearly and quickly
- The rise of topical authority over keyword-stuffed content
- A shift toward trust signals like author credentials and transparent sourcing
- And, more recently, the influence of AI summaries and user behaviour in shaping what actually gets seen and clicked
In other words, if your content still exists just to “rank” and not to help, inform, or engage, it’s probably already behind.
Looking at the bigger picture 🔍
The May 2020 update wasn’t just a ranking shake-up. It was a shift in mindset.
Google isn’t rewarding box-ticking or perfectly polished metadata. It’s rewarding relevance. Content that answers real questions, from people who know what they’re talking about, for users who genuinely need it.
The tools might change, and the SERPs might look different, but the goal stays the same: write for people first, not just the algorithm.
Because if there’s one thing every update has made clear, it’s that helpful content sticks around.
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