Unannounced Google algorithm change in early September causes devastating traffic drops
lilyraynyc · x · 2026-09-13
SEO experts Marie Haynes and Lily Ray report an unannounced but significant change to Google's algorithms in early September (around Sep 2–3), with several sites suffering devastating traffic drops.
- Haynes initially wondered if it related to Gemini 3.8 Flash—not in AI mode, but perhaps new Gemini advancements affecting Google's deep learning ranking systems.
- However, one affected site she analyzed clearly used programmatic scaled content, so the drops may instead be the aftermath of the late-August spam update.
- The exact cause remains unclear; both are collecting affected-site reports and theories from the community.
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