January 6 Search Rankings Fluctuate; AdSense Earnings Decline

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There have been numerous reports from SEO professionals and website owners regarding a significant drop in Google Search rankings observed yesterday, January 6, 2026. While this suspected update from Google hasn’t been officially confirmed and appears less widespread than previous updates, documenting these changes can be useful for those affected.

To provide some context, the December 2025 core update from Google commenced on December 11, 2025, around 12:25 pm ET and concluded on December 29, 2025, at approximately 2:05 pm ET. The update experienced two notable spikes in activity on December 13 and December 20. Following that, there was a period of relative calm before increased volatility into the new year, with some fluctuations around January 3. The recent significant declines seem to coincide with the dates of January 6 and 7.

In connection with this decline, many website owners have reported drops in AdSense earnings, further suggesting a broader impact on site traffic and revenue.

Online discussions reflect a variety of experiences, including:

– Traffic reductions of up to 90%
– Fluctuations in visitors, with some days showing increases and others sharp drops
– Concerns that a spam update may be influencing rankings
– Significant decreases in impressions and AdSense revenue, with some owners noting a decline of over 85%
– Stable rankings but evident drops in traffic and income
– Slight improvements amid ongoing volatility
– Year-over-year decreases of approximately 30-62% for recent months

Various SEO tracking tools are currently displaying signs of this shift, including:

– Semrush, which shows noticeable drops in traffic metrics
– Wireboard’s aggregator visualizing declines across multiple tools
– Accuranker, illustrating decreased rankings
– Advanced Web Rankings, SimilarWeb, Zutrix, Algoroo, Mozcast, Wincher, Mangools, DataForSEO, SERPstat, Sistrix, CognitiveSEO—all indicating shifts or increased volatility in search metrics

The consensus among industry observers suggests that this may be part of ongoing algorithm adjustments, but precise causes remain uncertain. Discussions across SEO forums highlight widespread concern, with many users noting sharp declines in visibility, revenue, and rankings, and questioning the nature of these changes.