Unconfirmed Yandex Update (February 2020)

Following the turbulence in January, the SERPs in February have felt relatively calm and subdued. However, since February 18th we have seen consistent volatility across almost all sectors being tracked.

Since February 18th (and included today – February 25th), trackers have averaged 7.725/10 for SERP volatility (low of 7, high of 8.2).

Below is a breakdown per day of the volatility score, and the most active verticals. A full analysis of this update will come in March.

Each day and region saw varying levels of volatility, however, standout days were February 20th, where all categories in the Almaty region showed high volatility, whereas towards the end of the period, Moscow became less volatile.

Date Volatility /10 Most Active Verticals
February 18th 8.2 Moscow region: Beauty and health, Travel and tourism, St. Petersburg region: Industrial and commercial equipment, Kyiv region: Beauty and health, Home improvement, building materials, and tools, Clothes and accessories, Minsk region: DIY
February 19th 7.7 Moscow region: Beauty & Health, Insurance (all categories), Industrial and commercial equipment, Real estate, St. Petersburg regionLegal services, Beauty and health, Kyiv region: Automotive, Travel and tourism, Beauty and health, Minsk regionInsurance (all categories), Beauty and health, Almaty region: Beauty & health, Travel & Tourism, Digital services and SaaS
February 20th 7.7 Moscow regionReal estate, Financial services, St. Petersburg region: Real estate, Financial services, Kyiv region: Beauty and health, DIY, Automotive, Electrical products and household appliances, Clothes and accessories, Minsk regionIndustrial and commercial equipment, Insurance (all categories), Beauty and health, Almaty region: All categories
February 21st 8 St. Petersburg region: Real estate, DIY, Kyiv region: Automotive, Electrical products and household appliances, Beauty and health, Minsk regionIndustrial and commercial equipment, Almaty regionBeauty and health, Home furnishing
February 22nd 8 Moscow regionReal estate, Kyiv region: Automotive, Online gaming and gambling, Clothes and accessories, Minsk region: Automotive, Insurance (all categories), Home furnishings, Almaty region: Electrical products and household appliances
February 23rd 7 St. Petersburg region: Real estate, DIY, Kyiv region: DIY, Travel and tourism, Minsk regionElectrical products and household appliances, Beauty and health, Real estate, Travel and tourism, Almaty region: Digital services and SaaS, Home furnishings, Beauty and health
February 24th 8 Kyiv regionDigital services and SaaS, Legal services, Home furnishings, Beauty and health, Minsk region: DIY, Beauty and health, Home improvement, building materials, and tools, Almaty region: Beauty and health
February 25th 7.2 Moscow regionBeauty and health, St. Petersburg region: DIYs, Beauty and health, Kyiv region: Automotive, Electrical products and household appliances, DIY, Beauty and health, Minsk region: Real estate, Industrial and commercial equipmentHuman logistics (car rentals, taxis, transport), Almaty region: Insurance (all categories), Beauty and health, Financial services

At the time of publishing, Yandex has been contacted but has not yet confirmed an update.

Dan Taylor
Dan Taylor is an experienced SEO consultant and has worked with brands and companies on optimizing for Russia (and Yandex) for a number of years. Winner of the inaugural 2018 TechSEO Boost competition, webmaster at HreflangChecker.com and Sloth.Cloud, and founder of RussianSearchNews.com.