If your website has dropped a few places in Google this week, or your enquiries have gone a bit quiet, there's probably a reason, and it's probably nothing you did. Google is in the middle of a big ranking update, and at the same time it's testing a version of the local results that doesn't show a link to your website at all.
This post explains what's going on in plain English, what's worth doing about it, and what you should leave well alone.
What's happening with Google this month?
Two separate things, which is partly why it's confusing.
The first is the November 2026 core update. Google started rolling it out on 10 November and says it can take up to two weeks to finish. It applies everywhere and in every language, so it isn't a UK thing or a Leicester thing. When I checked Google's Search Status Dashboard on 12 November it was still listed as active.
The second is a test. Google has been showing some people on mobile a new, AI-driven version of the local results (the map and the list of three businesses you get when you search for something like "plumber near me"). In this version, the buttons to visit the website, call the business or get directions have gone. So have the reviews, the address and the opening hours.
The update affects pretty much every website. The test only affects some searches for some people, and it might not stay.
What is a core update?
Google changes how it ranks pages all the time, mostly in small ways nobody notices. A few times a year it makes a bigger change to the main ranking system and announces it. That's a core update.
Google doesn't say exactly what changed this time, and it didn't say which kinds of sites or content are affected. What it does say, every time, is that a core update isn't a penalty. Your site didn't break a rule. Google has just reassessed which pages it thinks answer each search best, so some sites go up and some go down.
While the update is rolling out, rankings can jump around from day to day. A drop on Wednesday can be gone by Friday. That's why the most useful thing you can do right now is mostly nothing.
What to do if your rankings drop
Google publishes its own advice for site owners after a core update, and it's more sensible than a lot of what you'll read on social media. The main points are:
- Wait until the update has finished. The Search Status Dashboard will show an end date when it's done.
- Then give it at least another week before you judge anything. In Google Search Console, compare the week after the update finished with the week before it started.
- If you've only slipped a couple of places, Google's advice is not to make drastic changes. Don't start rewriting pages that were working fine.
- If you've dropped a long way across lots of pages and it hasn't come back, that's when to take an honest look at your most affected pages. Are they genuinely useful to a customer, or were they written mainly for Google?
- Avoid quick fixes. Deleting pages or ripping bits out of your site because someone online said it would help usually does more harm than good.
One thing that catches people out: even when you do improve a site, it can take months for Google to notice properly. Sometimes the recovery doesn't show up until the next core update.
What I'd do this week is write down where you rank now for the three or four searches that bring you work. Then check again a week or so after the update ends. That way you're comparing real numbers, not going off a feeling that the phone's been quiet.
The local results test: no website button
This one is more interesting if you're a local business. It was spotted by Joy Hawkins, a local search consultant, who said she'd been seeing the new version over the last few days. Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable then saw it for himself and wrote it up on 10 November.
The new version still uses information from each business's Google Business Profile, but it drops the website, call and directions buttons, the reviews, the address, the opening hours and the photos. Hawkins said that whenever she got this version on mobile, the normal local results were gone. She called it probably the ugliest AI version of the local results she'd seen so far. Schwartz's view was that it can't be good for the number of people who click, call or ask for directions.
Google hasn't said anything about it, and it's only a test. Google tests things like this constantly and plenty of them never go live. I wouldn't change anything because of it yet. I still think it's worth knowing about, because it fits a pattern of Google answering more questions on its own page instead of sending people to yours.
So does your website still matter?
I would say this, as I build websites for a living, but yes. Probably more than before.
If Google stops sending people straight to your site from the map, it has to get its information about you from somewhere. That's your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and what's written on your website and other sites that mention you. A clear website that says what you do, where you do it and what people think of you is what the AI is reading when it decides whether to name you.
The other reason is simpler. People still check before they buy. If someone hears your name in an AI answer, or from a mate, the next thing they do is search for you to see if you look legit. If they find an out-of-date site or nothing at all, they'll go with whoever looks more trustworthy.
And your website is the one bit of all this you control. Google can change the local results tomorrow and there's nothing you can do about that, but nobody can take your own site away from you.
What I'd do this month
None of this needs a big project. If you run a small business, this is what I'd spend an hour on before Christmas:
- Check your Google Business Profile. Make sure your services, phone number and website are right, and add your Christmas and New Year opening hours now, before you forget.
- Read your homepage as if you were a customer. Can you tell in a few seconds what the business does and which area it covers? If not, that's the first thing to fix, for people and for Google's AI.
- Keep asking for reviews. Even if the test version hides them, they're still part of what Google knows about you.
- Hold off on big changes until the update finishes. If you change half your site mid-update, you'll never know what caused what.
If you want to go a bit deeper on how AI tools pick which businesses to mention, I wrote about it in SEO and AEO explained.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Google November 2026 core update start?
Google started rolling it out on 10 November 2026. It said the rollout could take up to two weeks. You can check whether it has finished on the Google Search Status Dashboard.
Has my site been penalised if my rankings dropped?
No. A core update isn't a penalty. Google has changed how it judges which pages are most useful, so some sites move up and others move down. Wait until the update has finished and give it another week before deciding whether anything needs fixing.
Should I change my website while the update is rolling out?
I wouldn't make big changes until it's finished. Rankings move around a lot during the rollout, and if you change things at the same time you won't be able to tell what made the difference.
Is Google removing the website button from local results?
Not for everyone, and not for definite. Some people on mobile are seeing a test version of the local results without the website, call and directions buttons. Google hasn't announced it, and tests like this often get dropped.
Do I still need a website if Google shows my details anyway?
Yes. Google and AI tools build their answers from what's on your website and Business Profile, and most people still look a business up before they call or buy. Your website is also the only part of this that Google can't change for you.
Want a hand with it?
We're a web design and SEO business based in Leicester. If your rankings have moved and you'd like a second opinion before you change anything, get in touch and I'll take a look. You can also read more about our local SEO and AI search optimisation services, or how we work with businesses around Leicester.
