Google’s search engine was hit with a massive glitch that disrupted search results for hours (GOOG, GOOGL)

• Google’s search engine experienced a glitch on Monday that disrupted search results and impacted page rankings, according to reports.
• The issue caused poor search results that in some cases didn’t make sense, according to tweets posted at the time.
• The issue was initially believed to be an update, but Google confirmed that it was a glitch.
• The company has not yet said what caused the issue.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

If you noticed that Google’s search engine wasn’t turning up the results you expected on Monday, you’re not alone.

The search giant was impacted by a glitch that disrupted search results and mixed up page rankings, as reports from Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal first indicated. Google said in a tweet on Tuesday that it detected an issue with its indexing systems on Monday that impacted search results. The issue has since been mitigated. 

The glitch appeared to cause poor search results, as some in the SEO community tweeted when noticing the issue. Casey Markee, who runs an SEO consulting firm called Media Wyse, tweeted a screenshot of search results for “baked beans” that turned up recipes for teriyaki meatballs, sausage casserole, and baked salmon, for example, as Search Engine Journal noticed.

Google has not yet said what caused the glitch. The issue was initially believed to be an update to Google’s search algorithm. But John Mueller, senior webmaster trends analyst at Google, later confirmed it was a glitch.

“I don’t have all the details yet, but it seems like this was a glitch on our side and has been fixed in the meantime,” Mueller tweeted on Tuesday.

Google did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s questions about what caused the glitch or how widespread it was. But Search Engine Journal reports that the bug impacted users in Europe, Asia, and all English-speaking countries.

It’s not the only time over the past year that Google’s search engine had experienced issues. Back in June, for example, a bug prevented new content from being indexed in Google Search. Google resolved the issue the following day.

A search issue from last year in July 2019 prevented results from fully rendering for some users for several days, as Search Engine Journal reported at the time. 

SEE ALSO: I took a class at Google on how to get the best search results, and I learned 5 tricks everyone should know

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