The latest Google core update was released in March 2024 and was completed, as of late April. These core updates happen multiple times a year and they provide changes to Google’s search engine algorithm and systems. The purpose of these updates is to improve the user experience and ensure that the content that is being surfaced is relevant and accurate. This update was a big one but if you were already “following the rules” then it’s just important to understand what this update was all about in case you see any impact in your analytics data.
See ya low-quality content!
With Google’s latest core algorithm update, there was a reduction in low-quality and unhelpful content by around 45%. This surpassed the original estimate of a 40% reduction. Reducing the amount of low-quality or irrelevant content that shows up in search engine results improves the user’s experience by providing them with relevant and helpful information. The goal is to have users do less searching to find what they are looking for – and prevent “bad actors” from maliciously ranking.
Where’d you go?
With the latest update, Google completely de-indexed some websites that weren’t following the rules. As a result, specific pages or even whole websites were removed from search engine results pages after this core update. If you find that your website is missing from Google’s search results, experienced decreased rankings, or experienced decreased traffic, then you are probably a culprit with a low-quality website. To learn more about what Google deems to be a low-quality website, check out their page quality rating guidelines.
What do I do?
If your website was one of the many that was de-indexed, you may be left wondering what the best next steps to take are. To start, it is important to understand what your website’s weaknesses are and come up with a strategy to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We suggest making the quality of your website’s content your main focus, enhancing your user’s experience, and routinely auditing your website and making changes as issues are discovered. If you aren’t able to monitor your website internally, then it would be smart to invest in an SEO audit. This will help evaluate if there are things you are doing wrong, and what short and long-term opportunities there are to fix it.
Why does this matter?
It’s important to stay on top of the updates that Google rolls out because your website’s performance in search results can be impacted. A few ways that you can check for core updates are following Google SearchLiason on Twitter or using algorithm monitoring tools, such as SERP Seismometer or AccuRanker. Changes that come from a core update can impact your website’s organic traffic, conversions, and revenue. Being aware of what these updates are and when they are being released will give you an idea of when and why your website traffic may fluctuate.
Additional Google Updates
Google has also released a few smaller algorithm updates after the spring core update:
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In May 2024, Google released an update targeting sites that are trying to leverage the positive reputation of a site for affiliate marketing. This “site reputation abuse policy” affects sites such as product reviews, credit card comparisons and others hosting third-party content that ultimately can be seen by Google as spam. Also, in May 2024, Google introduced AI-powered overviews to search results in the U.S. This is based on a customized Gemini language model and is labeled as “AI Overview” in select results.
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In June 2024, Google rolled out a new spam update which like many others targets websites that violate Google’s spam policies.
Keep Your Site (SEO) Healthy
Google receives over two trillion searches per year, so it’s no surprise that their core algorithm updates will continue to happen often. While smaller updates often go unnoticed, core updates create buzz because of the effect that they can have on some website’s search ranking and visibility. Staying on top of your website’s content, avoiding black hat techniques and monitoring key Google updates will save you from putting a lot of time and energy into recovery after Google’s next update is rolled out. Contact us to discuss our SEO audit and support services if you don't already have a defined plan in place, or your current agency is falling short.