April has been a significant month across SEO, PPC and paid social. Google’s first Core Update of the year completed, a long-running data issue in Search Console was confirmed and resolved, and a major change to Google Ads was announced that affects anyone running paid search campaigns.
This blog covers the key updates from April, what they mean for your website and campaigns, and what to do next.
Google March 2026 Core Update Is Now Complete
Google’s March 2026 Core Update began rolling out on 27th March and completed on 8th April, taking just over 12 days in total. As covered in our March roundup, this followed the March Spam Update, meaning Google released two significant updates within the space of two weeks.
Now that the rollout has completed, rankings have largely settled, and it is a good time to assess what has changed.
What is a Core Update?
A Core Update is a broad change to how Google’s ranking systems evaluate content across the web. It is not targeted at a specific industry or site type, it affects all websites and all types of content. Unlike a Spam Update, a Core Update is not a penalty. It is a recalibration of how Google determines which pages are most helpful and relevant for a given search.
What Did This Update Reward and Penalise?
The consistent pattern across this update is one Google has been reinforcing for some time. Sites producing original, experience-led content from real people held or improved their positions. Pages that repeat what is already widely available online, or that were produced in high volumes with minimal human input, saw declines.
If your organic traffic or keyword rankings shifted around 27th March, the Core Update is the most likely cause. If changes happened on 24th or 25th March, that points to the Spam Update instead. It is important to distinguish between the two before taking action, as they require different responses.
Why This Matters
The completion of the rollout means you can now run a reliable before-and-after comparison in Search Console. Google recommends waiting at least a week after a rollout ends before drawing conclusions, so the second half of April is the right time to analyse performance properly.
If you have seen a drop in visibility and want to understand the cause, the priority is to assess whether affected pages lack depth, genuine expertise, or have a technical issue rather than making broad changes in response to short-term movement. If you are a Wildcat client and have questions about your rankings, your account manager will be in touch.
For more on creating content that performs well through updates like this, read our guide on how to write E-E-A-T content.
Google Search Console Has Been Over-Reporting Impressions Since May 2025
On 3rd April, Google updated its Data Anomalies page to confirm that a logging error had been inflating impression counts in Search Console since 13th May 2025, which is a period of almost eleven months. Google is rolling out a fix over the coming weeks.
If you notice impression numbers dropping in your Search Console Performance report, this is the correction taking effect, not a decline in your website’s visibility.
What Was Affected and What Wasn’t?
Clicks were not affected. The number of people visiting your site from Google was recorded accurately throughout. What was over-reported was impressions: how many times your pages appeared in search results.
The indirect effect is on click-through rate (CTR), which is calculated as clicks divided by impressions. Because the impressions figure was inflated, reported CTR figures were artificially lower than they should have been. If your CTR appeared to decline over the past year, some of that movement may have been a result of this error rather than a real change in performance.
What Should You Do?
If you see impressions fall over the coming weeks, cross-reference with your clicks and GA4 sessions first. If those are stable, there is nothing to be concerned about, the data is correcting itself.
It is also worth adding an annotation in Search Console marking 13th May 2025 as the start of the affected period, so that anyone reviewing historical data has the context they need. Going forward, clicks and conversions are the most reliable metrics to report on as they were unaffected by this issue throughout.
If you would like help reviewing your Search Console data in light of this, get in touch with the team.
Google Ads: Dynamic Search Ads Are Being Replaced by AI Max
On 15th April, Google announced that AI Max for Search campaigns has moved out of beta and is now available to all advertisers. At the same time, Google confirmed that Dynamic Search Ads (DSA), Automatically Created Assets, and campaign-level broad match will all be automatically upgraded to AI Max from September 2026.
This is a mandatory change. Campaigns using DSA will be migrated whether or not you take action. The voluntary migration window is open now.
What is AI Max?
AI Max is Google’s AI-powered replacement for Dynamic Search Ads. Rather than matching ads based on keyword lists or website content alone, AI Max uses real-time intent signals to determine which search queries are most relevant to your business and which of your landing pages to serve. Google reports that advertisers using the full AI Max feature suite see an average of 7% more conversions at a similar cost per acquisition compared to using search term matching alone.
Why This Matters
Reviewing and migrating your DSA campaigns now rather than waiting for the automatic upgrade in September gives you more control over how your targeting, creative assets, and URL settings transfer across. Waiting for the auto-upgrade means accepting Google’s default settings, which may not reflect your preferences.
If you are a Wildcat PPC client with DSA campaigns currently running, your account manager will be reviewing these with you. If you manage Google Ads independently and are unsure how this affects your account, arrange a consultation and we can talk through your options.
Meta Ads: How Click Attribution Has Changed
Meta has updated how it measures click-through performance. Previously, interactions including likes, shares and saves were counted as clicks within standard reporting. These engagement actions have now been moved to a new category called “engage-through” conversions, and only genuine link clicks now count as click-through conversions.
Your actual ad performance is unlikely to have changed as a result of this. What has changed is how it is measured and reported.
If your Meta campaign click numbers or CTR appear lower than expected, this reclassification is the most likely reason. The recommended approach is to update your reporting dashboards to include both click-through and engage-through conversions together, so that you have a complete view of how your campaigns are influencing behaviour, rather than just counting direct link clicks.
LinkedIn Updates Worth Noting in April
Two changes on LinkedIn this month are particularly relevant for businesses using the platform for B2B marketing.
AI-Powered Conversational Search
LinkedIn has rolled out AI-powered conversational search to all users globally. Rather than searching by keyword alone, users can now describe what they are looking for in natural language and receive relevant results. For businesses, this changes how your company page and your team’s profiles are likely to be discovered. A clear, specific description of what your business does and who it helps will carry more weight than keyword-heavy job titles or generic company descriptions.
Creator Sponsorships
LinkedIn has introduced Premium Creator Sponsorships with Top Voices, making it easier for brands to partner with established LinkedIn creators across posts, events, and content series. This is an expansion of their BrandLink ad offering and reflects a broader shift towards creator-led content on the platform, particularly for B2B audiences.
LinkedIn Live: Action Required Before June 22
From 22nd June, all LinkedIn Live broadcasts will require a pre-scheduled LinkedIn Event to be attached before going live. If your business uses LinkedIn Live, make sure this is built into your workflow ahead of the deadline.
Short-Form Video: The Highest-ROI Content Format in 2026
According to the HubSpot 2026 State of Marketing Report, short-form video continues to generate the highest return on investment of any content format. What is changing is how it is being used. The report highlights that it is increasingly being used not just for brand awareness, but for service explainers, trust-building, and moving warm audiences closer to conversion.
If short-form video is not yet part of your content strategy, the data consistently points to it being one of the most effective places to invest time. It does not require significant production budgets as the format tends to reward authenticity and clarity over polish.
Key Dates for Your Marketing Diary — May 2026
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which presents a useful content opportunity for businesses in healthcare, professional services, HR and wellness. Other notable dates to plan around include:
- 4th May — Star Wars Day
- 7th May — World Password Day
- 12th May — International Nurses Day
- 15th May — International Day of Families
- 18th May — World Baking Day
- 25th May — National Wine Day
- 26th May — Spring Bank Holiday
Stay Up to Date With Wildcat Digital
Keeping up with changes in digital marketing is one thing, but understanding what they mean for your specific website and campaigns is another. If any of the updates this month have raised questions, or if you would like a review of your current SEO or PPC performance, arrange a free consultation with the Wildcat team.
Read more from the Wildcat blog:
- SEO Trust Signals: How to Build Authority with E-E-A-T
- How Do You Write E-E-A-T Content?
- What is Topical Authority in SEO?
Paul Pennington
SEO Account Director
