Around November 17, 2012, MetaFilter got nailed by a Google update that back then Google denied.

As we explained in March, Google was working on a way to fix the algorithm that hit them back in November 2012. Now, it seems, at least according to SearchMetrics, the traffic has returned 20-months later.

SearchMetrics shows a 34% increase in SEO visibility, showing the traffic has returned to pre-November 2012 levels.

Just a couple months ago, Google confirmed that MetaFilter was one of the sites hit by an undisclosed Google update. In fact, one they completely denied in the past.

So I wonder, did other sites also notice a boost in traffic, the ones hit by that update back in November 2012? We did cover a possible update last week, maybe it was related to that?

Stuff like this, that can really kill a business, where Google admits it was a mistake, makes you wonder if someone can get away with suing Google and actually winning over ranking issues?

Forum discussion continued at Twitter.