When rankings drop after a Google update, most business owners ask the same thing: "What did I do wrong?" In April 2018, Google gave an answer that surprised many people. In many cases, the answer was: nothing.
On Monday, April 16, 2018, Google released a broad core algorithm update, just five weeks after the March 2018 core update the industry nicknamed "Brackets." Google confirmed it on April 20 and pointed everyone back to the same message: some pages that were "previously under-rewarded" were now doing better, and pages that slipped were not being punished.
This update had no dramatic name and no clear group of losers. But it is where Google's modern core update message really took hold. Let me explain what was announced, how it connects to March, what "relevance, not quality" meant, and how it set the stage for the Medic update a few months later. Our Google algorithm updates timeline shows all of these in order.
The April 2018 core update at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rollout started | Monday, April 16, 2018 |
| Confirmed | Friday, April 20, 2018, by Google SearchLiaison on Twitter |
| Type | Broad core algorithm update |
| Confirmed by Google? | Yes |
| Stated target | None; Google described it as routine |
| Who was affected | Not specified; no clear niche pattern was widely documented |
| Before it | March 2018 broad core update ("Brackets") |
| After it | August 1, 2018 broad core update ("Medic") |
The April 20 announcement and what it pointed back to
Google confirmed the update with a short tweet from its Search Liaison account. Search Engine Journal's Matt Southern reported it the same day:
“On Monday, we released a broad core algorithm update, as we routinely do throughout the year.”
— Google SearchLiaison, as reported by Search Engine Journal, Google Confirms Algorithm Update Released on April 16th
The tweet did not explain anything new. Instead, it said: "For background and advice about these, see our tweet from last month." That reference matters. It told everyone that April was the same kind of change as March, with the same advice attached.
Notice the four-day gap between rollout and confirmation. In 2018, Google did not pre-announce core updates. Site owners saw movement first, and confirmation came later. That changed in June 2019, when Google started pre-announcing core updates, which we cover in our post on the first pre-announced core update.
What Google said in March that it repeated in April
The "tweet from last month" was Google's March 2018 guidance on broad core updates. As summarized by Keywords Everywhere, it said that some sites may see drops or gains and then made three points that Google has repeated, in different words, ever since:
- Nothing is wrong with pages that fall: "There's nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well."
- Other pages were under-rated before: "changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded."
- There is no quick fix: there is no "fix" for pages that may perform less well, "other than to remain focused on building great content."
Search Engine Journal also recalled Google's March 12 tweet, which said: "We do these routinely several times per year…." In other words, core updates were not special events. They were part of normal maintenance, just bigger than usual.
Here is how the two 2018 spring updates compare:
| Question | March 2018 ("Brackets") | April 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Start date | Around March 7 to 8 (dated March 8 in Wikipedia's Google Search timeline) | April 16 |
| Confirmed | March 12 | April 20 |
| Nickname | "Brackets," coined by Glenn Gabe | None widely used |
| Google's explanation | Detailed tweet thread: under-rewarded pages, no fix | Short tweet pointing back to March |
| Framing | Relevance rather than quality | Same |
For the full story of the first one, see our post on the March 2018 Brackets core update and the 'no fix' message.
Relevance vs quality: the idea at the center of this update
Southern's article made a point that I think is still under-appreciated. Since Google had confirmed that the March update was about content relevance rather than content quality, April likely was too. As he put it, a ranking drop does not necessarily mean your content is poor. It may need to better match what searchers are actually looking for.
Let me make that concrete. Imagine two pages competing for "best running shoes for flat feet":
- Page A is a beautifully written, expert article about the biomechanics of flat feet, with one paragraph about shoes at the end.
- Page B is a clear comparison of ten shoes, with notes on arch support and fit for flat feet.
Page A might be "higher quality" by many measures. But Page B is more relevant to what the searcher wants. If Google's systems get better at spotting that, Page A drops and Page B rises, without anything being wrong with Page A. That is what "previously under-rewarded" means in practice.
Google's current core updates documentation uses a restaurant example for the same idea. If a friend asks for your top food recommendations and you update your list after trying new places, "restaurants that move down aren't necessarily 'bad'; there are just other restaurants that make your top 20."
Who moved in April 2018, and how little we really know
I want to be honest here. Compared with later core updates, the public record for April 2018 is thin. Google named no target. The articles I reviewed, including Keywords Everywhere's update page and Radd Interactive's write-up, contain no traffic data and name no affected sites or industries.
What we can say:
- Search Engine Journal described core updates as routine changes that happen several times a year, and Google's wording supported that.
- Radd Interactive read the update as one meant "to boost the relevancy of the results returned" rather than penalize sites. That is an agency's interpretation, but it matches Google's framing.
- No widely accepted niche pattern emerged, unlike the health and finance pattern people saw in August 2018.
If you see a confident list of "April 2018 winners and losers" today, I would treat it as direction, not hard science. Much of what was said at the time was based on small samples.
Google's no-fix guidance and how it has evolved
The phrase "no fix" upset a lot of people in 2018. It sounded like Google was saying "too bad." I think it is better read as: there is no technical switch to flip. You cannot add a tag, disavow some links or change a setting to undo a relevance reassessment.
Google's guidance has become more detailed since then. Here is how it has developed:
| Period | Google's message | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| March to April 2018 | No "fix" other than building great content | Do not look for a technical cause |
| August 2019 | Published a list of self-assessment questions for core updates | Audit your content against specific questions |
| Today (core updates documentation) | Some changes "can take effect in a few days, but it could take several months for our systems to learn and confirm" | Improve, then be patient |
| Today | "If it's been a few months and you still haven't seen any effect, that could mean waiting until the next core update." | Recovery often shows at the next core update |
We go deeper on this in what Google means when it says there's no fix for core updates and in why recoveries often show up at the next core update.
How to review a core update drop the April 2018 way
The 2018 message, "relevance, not punishment," gives you a practical method. Here is how I would review a drop after any core update:
- Measure the drop properly. In Search Console, compare two equal periods before and after the update start date. Separate brand from non-brand queries.
- List the top 20 losing queries. Not pages first, queries. You want to know which searches you lost.
- Search each query yourself. Look at what now ranks above you. What format is it? A list, a tool, a product page, a forum thread, a video?
- Compare intent honestly. Ask: does my page answer what this searcher wants, as directly as the pages that beat me?
- Rewrite for the gap. Add what the winners have and you lack: comparison tables, first-hand detail, clearer answers near the top.
- Leave what still works alone. Do not rewrite pages that held or gained.
- Track over months. Expect gradual change, and judge results after the next core update.
Here is a worked example with hypothetical numbers. A home-improvement blog loses 22% of non-brand clicks over the two weeks after a core update. Most of the loss is on 12 "how much does X cost" articles. Checking the results, the blog owner sees that the pages now ranking open with a price range and a cost table, while her articles bury prices under 800 words of background. Moving a clear cost summary and table to the top of those 12 articles is a relevance fix, not a quality fix, and it matches exactly what Google described in 2018. Our guide on diagnosing a core update drop in Search Console shows the reports to use, and our free lesson on search intent explains the basics.
How April 2018 led into the Medic update
April turned out to be a warm-up. On August 1, 2018, Google released another broad core update, which Barry Schwartz nicknamed "Medic" because so many health and wellness sites were affected. Unlike April, Medic had a visible pattern, and it pushed E-A-T (now E-E-A-T) into everyday SEO talk.
The April update matters in this chain because it set the expectations. Google confirmed core updates, explained them as relevance reassessments, and refused to offer a quick fix. When Medic hit, Google repeated the same guidance. Read more in our post on the Medic update and YMYL sites.
Looking backward, the shift from late 2017 is also clear. In December 2017, Google described the Maccabees changes only as "several minor improvements" and said there was no single update. By spring 2018, it was naming broad core updates and explaining them. In the same year, Google's local results were also changing, a thread that continues with the November 2019 local search update.
Questions people ask about the April 2018 core update
When exactly did the April 2018 core update happen?
It started on Monday, April 16, 2018. Google confirmed it four days later, on Friday, April 20, through its Search Liaison account. Google did not announce an end date, which was normal for core updates at the time.
Was the April 2018 update a penalty?
No. Google said there was nothing wrong with pages that performed less well and that the changes benefited pages that were previously under-rewarded. A drop meant other pages were now judged more relevant, not that your site broke a rule.
Was the April 2018 update the same as the March 2018 update?
They were separate broad core updates about five weeks apart. Google linked them by pointing back to its March guidance, and the advice for both was the same.
What sites were hit by the April 2018 core update?
Google did not say, and good public data on winners and losers is thin. Unlike the August 2018 Medic update, no clear niche pattern was widely documented. I would treat any specific list of losers from that time with caution.
Is there a fix for a core update drop?
Google's line in 2018 was that there is no 'fix' other than focusing on great content. Today it says improvements can take several months to be reflected, and sometimes you have to wait for the next core update.
What the "under-rewarded" message means for your site now
The most useful thing about the April 2018 update is not what it changed but how Google explained it. When you lose rankings in a core update, start by asking "who is better matched to this search than me, and why?" rather than "what rule did I break?" That one change in thinking saves a lot of wasted effort on technical fixes that do nothing.
If a core update has hit your traffic and you want an honest second opinion, our team can review your losing queries and pages with you. Take a look at our SEO services or ask us for a free quote.
Google updates around the same time
Before this update:
- Mobile-First Indexing: The Rollout From 2018 Announcement to Default (Mar 2018)
- The March 2018 'Brackets' Core Update and Google's 'No Fix' Message (Mar 2018)
After this update:
- The Speed Update (2018): When Page Speed Hit Mobile Rankings (Jul 2018)
- The Medic Update (August 2018 Core Update) and YMYL Sites (Aug 2018)
Or browse every Google update on one timeline, newest first.
Sources for this April 2018 core update article
- Search Engine Journal: Google Confirms Algorithm Update Released on April 16th
- Keywords Everywhere: April 2018 Google core update: rollout and analysis
- Radd Interactive: April 2018 Google broad core algorithm update
- Google Search Central: Google Search's core updates
- Wikipedia: Timeline of Google Search
