Google's November core update: what to do now
Google started the November 2026 core update on 10 November. It can run up to 2 weeks, into Black Friday week. What to do now, and what not to touch.
Google started the November 2026 core update on Tuesday, 10 November, at about 19:07 Prague time. Google says the rollout may take up to 2 weeks.
Black Friday is on 27 November. So your rankings can still move in the most expensive week of the year for e-shops.
Google's own words: "This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites." Search Engine Roundtable saw bigger ranking moves already on 9 November, a day before the announcement. Barry Schwartz expects the rollout to finish around Thanksgiving, 26 November. That is his guess, not Google's.
My take: for most shops the risk is not the update. The risk is panic. Somebody sees red numbers on Monday, rewrites the category pages on Tuesday, and loses the pages that still worked on Friday.
What Google itself says to do
Google has a help page for core updates. In short:
- Wait until the update is finished. Check the start and end date on the Google Search Status Dashboard.
- Then wait at least one more full week before you analyse anything in Search Console.
- Compare that week with a week before the update started.
- A small drop usually needs no action. Do not change content that already performs well.
- No quick fixes, like removing page parts because somebody said they hurt SEO. Deleting content is the last option.
- Recovery can take months. Sometimes the next core update is the first time you see a change.
What to do this week
1. Save your baseline today.
In Search Console, export pages and queries for 2 to 8 November: clicks, impressions, position. That is the clean week before the first moves. Without it you will compare against a week that already moved.
2. Pick your money pages.
The 10 to 20 pages that sell in Black Friday week: main categories, top products, the sale page. Only these get a daily look. Everything else waits.
3. Prepare a plan B in paid search, do not switch it on.
For each money page, have a Google Ads campaign ready on its main queries, with a budget and an end date. If a money page loses most of its clicks for 3 days in a row, turn it on. If not, you spent nothing.
4. Do not touch what works.
No new titles, no rewritten category texts, no deleted pages during the rollout. If you must change something for the sale (prices, banners), change only that.
5. Analyse in December.
When Google marks the update as finished, wait one full week. Then compare with your baseline. Small drops: leave them. Big drops on many pages: plan a content review for December, not in the sale week.
Copy this into your calendar
| Date | What | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 13 November | Update running | Export baseline 2 to 8 November |
| 13 to 26 November | Rollout, up to 2 weeks | Daily look at money pages only |
| Any day | Money page loses most clicks 3 days in a row | Switch on the prepared Ads campaign |
| 27 November | Black Friday | No content changes on money pages |
| End + 7 days | One full week after the update | Compare with baseline in Search Console |
| December | Review | Fix pages with big, lasting drops |
And AI search?
Clicks from Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode also land in Organic Search in your analytics. You can not split them from normal results there. So read your Search Console numbers as "Google in total", not as "classic blue links".
Short summary
Google's November core update started on 10 November and can run until the week of Black Friday. Save a baseline now, watch only your money pages, keep a paid plan B ready, change nothing that works, and analyse one full week after the update ends.
If you want a second pair of eyes on your Search Console and Ads plan for Black Friday, book a free 20-min call on tomakadlec.com.
Did you see your rankings move this week?
Sources: Google Search Central, announcement of the November 2026 core update (10 November 2026, LinkedIn and Search Status Dashboard), via Search Engine Roundtable, 10 November 2026 · Google Search Central, "Google Search's core updates and your website" (help page) · Clickport, GA4 AI Assistant channel (AI Overviews and AI Mode clicks stay in Organic Search).