Answers
How can I tell if a content site was hit by a Google update before I buy it?
Short answer: Overlay the site's Search Console clicks for the last 16 to 24 months on the dates in Google's Search Status Dashboard. A drop or jump that starts within days of a core or spam update and lasts points to the update. Ask for Search Console access, not Analytics screenshots, and price the risk with a traffic-drop test.
What data do I need?
Search Console clicks and impressions by day or week, for the last 16 months at least, from an account you can see yourself. Restricted-user access is enough, and Search Console Help (read 7 October 2026) describes it as simple view rights on most data. Analytics screenshots are a poor substitute: they mix channels, and a seller can choose the date range that looks best. Ask for clicks by page too, so you can see whether a drop hit the whole site or a few pages.
Which Google updates should I check against?
Google's Search Status Dashboard lists 17 core and spam updates since March 2024: 9 core updates and 8 spam updates. Each has a start date and a rollout period, and effects can appear any time during the rollout.
| Start date | Update | Type | Rollout listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-05 | March 2024 core update | core | 45 days |
| 2024-03-05 | March 2024 spam update | spam | 14 days, 21 hours |
| 2024-06-20 | June 2024 spam update | spam | 7 days, 1 hour |
| 2024-08-15 | August 2024 core update | core | 19 days, 4 hours |
| 2024-11-11 | November 2024 core update | core | 23 days, 13 hours |
| 2024-12-12 | December 2024 core update | core | 6 days, 4 hours |
| 2024-12-19 | December 2024 spam update | spam | 7 days, 2 hours |
| 2025-03-13 | March 2025 core update | core | 13 days, 21 hours |
| 2025-06-30 | June 2025 core update | core | 16 days, 18 hours |
| 2025-08-26 | August 2025 spam update | spam | 26 days, 15 hours |
| 2025-12-11 | December 2025 core update | core | 18 days, 2 hours |
| 2026-03-24 | March 2026 spam update | spam | 19 hours, 30 minutes |
| 2026-03-27 | March 2026 core update | core | 12 days, 4 hours |
| 2026-05-21 | May 2026 core update | core | 11 days, 21 hours |
| 2026-06-24 | June 2026 spam update | spam | 2 days, 1 hour |
| 2026-08-18 | August 2026 spam update | spam | 2 days, 16 hours |
| 2026-09-24 | September 2026 spam update | spam | listed as information, no end time |
Google Search Status Dashboard, Ranking incident history, read 7 October 2026. Core and spam updates only; since March 2024 the dashboard also lists a February 2026 Discover update and one ranking incident (15 August 2024).
How do I read the overlay?
Mark each start date on the clicks chart and look for a change in level that begins during a rollout and lasts for weeks, not days. In the composite below, clicks held near 41,000 a month until March 2026, when a spam update and a core update began three days apart, then settled near 31,000.
| Month | Search Console clicks (composite) | Updates starting that month |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 41,200 | none |
| Feb 2026 | 40,100 | none |
| Mar 2026 | 42,300 | March 2026 spam update (24 Mar) and core update (27 Mar) start |
| Apr 2026 | 30,900 | none |
| May 2026 | 29,800 | May 2026 core update (21 May) starts |
| Jun 2026 | 31,500 | none |
| Jul 2026 | 30,700 | none |
| Aug 2026 | 31,200 | none |
| Sep 2026 | 30,400 | none |
Composite site, invented for the example. Update dates from the Google Search Status Dashboard.
The average fell from 41,200 to 30,750 clicks a month, a fall of 25%. The May core update did not bring it back. A drop that matches an update this closely, and lasts, is most likely the update. A drop that starts weeks away from any update points elsewhere: a technical problem, lost links, a seasonal pattern or a competitor.
What about partial recoveries?
Some sites recover part of a loss at a later core update; many do not. Do not price a recovery the seller expects. Price the traffic the site has now, and treat any recovery as upside you did not pay for. Seasonal sites need the same months compared year on year before you call anything a drop.
How do I price the risk of the next update?
Run the current numbers through a traffic-drop test at the size of fall the site has already shown. In the composite, 80% of revenue comes from search; another 25% fall in search revenue moves payback from about 29 months to about 39.
Composite example, run through the traffic-drop test
| Monthly revenue | $2,400 |
|---|---|
| Monthly profit | $1,900 |
| Share of revenue from organic search | 80% |
| Assumed fall in search revenue | 25% |
| Asking price | $55,000 |
| Payback as listed | 28.9 months |
| Revenue lost each month | $480 |
| Profit after the fall | $1,420 |
| Payback after the fall | 38.7 months |
| Annual multiple after the fall | 3.23× |
| Search fall that wipes out all profit | 99% |
Flippa's H1 2026 Insights report (read 7 October 2026) says content sales fell 39% half on half and that sold content businesses averaged more than ten years old, which fits buyers paying for a long record across updates. For the price this implies, see what multiple to pay for a $50k content site; to check the traffic itself, how to verify website traffic; and for everything else, is buying a content site worth it?
Sources
- Google Search Status Dashboard, Ranking incident history, read 7 October 2026
- Flippa, The New Era of Digital M&A: Flippa's H1 2026 Insights Report (updated 24 July 2026), read 7 October 2026
- Search Console Help, Managing owners, users, and permissions, read 7 October 2026
- FirstPass Memo, free buyer calculators, our own calculators; the formulas are on each page
Related
- Is buying a content site worth it?
- Traffic-drop test
- What multiple should I pay for a $50k content site?
- How to verify website traffic
- Red flag: organic search over half of traffic
- Glossary of listing terms
- More questions buyers ask
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Composite examples are invented and labelled. Figures from other sites are quoted with a link and the date we read them; FirstPass figures are asking prices and seller-stated profit, not sale prices. Informational screening only, not investment, legal or tax advice.