Now that everything is done and the fog is lifting little by little, I’m here to tell you about Google March 2024 core update, its impact on websites, and honing in on some effective actionable steps to recover ASAP.
When your world depends on Google and its algorithms, you need to be ready to take action, but reasonably. This core update is a big one and has taken over a month to roll out completely (March 5 to April 19). So, let’s relax and take stock for a few minutes.
Read this simple guide to see things more clearly and get back on the right track to your SEO optimization.
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What Does Google March 2024 Core Update Include?
The short answer is:
Google has been updating its spam policies to reduce spam in search results by 45% and rank quality content higher.
Plus, some core system changes have been made in Google March 2024 core update.
Now, we should see why they are trying to remove spam content from search results, what is considered spam (more than before), and how to deal with it.
Why Is Google Updating Its Spam Policies and What Is Spam Content?
Preventing spam content from appearing and ranking high in search results isn’t new. The purpose of all algorithm updates over the years, including this Google March 2024 core update, has been to recognize high-quality original content and rank it higher in searches.
However, the new spam policies update promises to target this type of content more accurately and take action on it. And, most probably, one of the reasons Google has prioritized reducing spam is AI-generated content.
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Poor Quality AI-Generated Content Has Become an Issue
One of the consequences of the rise of AI-generated content over the past 18 months for web pages has been producing a high volume of content in a relatively very short time. Many website owners have started to take advantage of it and rank high without actually doing much.
There are even some tutorials that teach you how to rank high on Google search result pages in only a couple of days with the help of artificial intelligence!
So, obviously, websites that have been around for years and busting their chops to produce first-hand useful and accurate content are losing out here.
As we’ve discussed (and predicted) before (read our Review of AI Tools for SEO here), all AI-generated content is unoriginal and a copy of a copy. Besides, in more sensitive subjects, such as health, AI content can’t be trusted. Also, the database isn’t up-to-date and the article may have errors.
All these mean that Google has to deal with too many web pages with low-quality content that doesn’t add anything new and isn’t trustworthy. So, spam policies are reducing these kinds of web pages to help users find the most reliable and quality content across all searches.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use AI tools. We at Top Organic Leads also get help from AI tools for SEO optimization. But you can’t solely rely on AI.
For example, you can get a lot of ideas from AI for your content, how to organize the article, what to include, etc. However, you should make some changes, add useful first-hand information, and make sure it’s people-first content.
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Authority Matters
Reputation and authority for a website and its content have been a key factor in recent years.
Google prioritizes websites that are actually DOING what they’re writing about (real-life experience). For example, if a well-established company in the flooring industry produces high-quality and accurate content about different types of flooring, the content will be awarded by Google because the website has authority in this field.
Another important matter is to clarify when the content was produced by including the date as well as who produced the content by including the author’s bio. This transparency makes your content and website more trustworthy and reliable.
So, if a website has content about various unrelated topics written by AI or illegitimate authors, and third-party content, it’s in danger of being recognized as spam by Google’s new spam updates.
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Abusive Practices Are to Be Penalized
Any kind of abusive strategies to fool search engines (or users) will be penalized by Google. For example, some SEO copywriters just incorporate high-traffic keywords into different parts of an article that doesn’t give any real information about them (thin content or misleading content).
Another example is redirecting to expired domains in the hope of making your audience think the brand is older than it really is or for its ranking value.
In any case, as spam policies are getting smarter and stricter than ever, Google most probably considers these abusive practices spammy. So, forget about them. Manage your website for your users to have a good experience and get their answers, not just to rank high in Google.
What to Do to Recover from Google March 2024 Spam Update?
First, you should know that not every website needs to make changes after a core update, and this Google March 2024 core update is not an exception. So, don’t change your SEO strategies without any reason.
Now that the update is over, it’s a good time to check if your site has been affected by it. So,
- check your site’s visibility from March 5 to April 19 and compare it to the past. Is there any significant change?
- look for any changes in your traffic, rankings, impressions, conversion rate, etc.
- if you notice any significant drop, check Google Search Console for any manual action. If yes, fix the issues and request a review.
Manual actions are issued by Google for websites and web pages that are considered spammy (Read Google’s Spam Policies). But if a site is only affected by the core update, Google will not notify them.
Therefore, it’ll be a bit tricky to figure out what part of the update is responsible for your website’s drop. Regardless, here are some tips to help you recover or maintain your website’s relatively good position.
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Shape Up or Ship Out
After any important algorithm update, it’s recommended to go and check out the search engine result pages (SERPs) for your business’s main keywords. The impact of Google March 2024 core update on your competitors’ sites also matters to you.
For sure there are some changes in rankings. You might find some new competitors or see some of them are doing better than before after this update. So, it’s time to see what they have been doing that has made them gain a better rank.
Google is putting user experience and quality content above everything else. This is clear from all their recent updates. As a business and website owner, if you want to stay in the competition, you should adapt yourself to these new changes. So, follow the new algorithm updates closely and always be ready to make necessary changes to your SEO strategies.
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Dig Deeper
Go and analyze your pages and see which ones are doing better than others. Then try to find out the problems. Fix them and don’t repeat them again.
For example, you might see that some of your blogs are drawing lots of traffic, but your product/service pages are not doing well. See how they are different. Maybe they don’t have good content (text, images, and videos) compared to those blogs. Or maybe they are too slow to load.
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Align Your Content with EEAT
In one of our recent blogs about EEAT in Google March 2024 Core Update, we fully discussed what Google means by EEAT in 2024. Make sure the content you’re producing meets all these criteria.
This is not just about the new content you’re going to publish; it also includes the older ones. Go through your old content, rewrite it, update it, and look for any unrelated topics, duplicates, or incorrect information. Prove your site’s authority and transparency to win your audience’s trust as well as search engines’.
Also, don’t forget about the role of social media in the success of your website. Read How Social Media Engagement Enhances SEO Efforts.
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Fix SEO Technical Issues
Are you sure your website doesn’t have any technical problems? Maybe it’s too slow, not mobile-friendly, or has problems with indexability, etc. Fix any SEO technical problem ASAP and regularly check to see if everything is working properly.
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Improve User Experience
Prioritize improving user experience. Keep your visitors happy to see higher conversions and better rankings. Don’t just try to satisfy Google and other search engines, focus on what makes your users have a good experience from spending time on your website.
Overall, to recover from this core update, you should start by analyzing and monitoring first. Then, you fix the problems (if any), and keep playing by Google’s rules to avoid being removed from search results.
If you’re at a loss, we’re here to help you get back on track. Call or fill out the contact form to discuss with one of our SEO experts.
FAQs about Ranking Changes After March 2024 Update
Let’s answer some questions that are worrying you.
How Can I Understand If My Website Has Been Hit by Google March 2024 Core Update?
First, check if your site appears in Google search results by typing ‘site:website.com’. Then you should analyze and monitor your traffic, rankings, clicks, impressions, visibility, etc. to see if there’s a significant change at the time of updates compared to before them.
If there’s a big surge or almost no difference, good for you. Continue producing people-first content, keep an eye open for any SEO technical problems, look out for new competitors, and stay up-to-date for future algorithm changes.
If your site has been impacted negatively by the new updates, try to find out the issues, fix them, and start complying with Google’s spam policies, EEAT, and helpful content strategy.
Does Google Notify Me If My Website Is Considered Spam by the New Spam Updates?
No. These updates aren’t manual, that’s why Google doesn’t notify you whether your website has been affected positively or negatively.
If I Only Publish Human-Generated Content I Will Not Be Recognized as Spammy?
Google doesn’t care if a piece of content was generated by AI, humans, or both. The most important thing is the content should be useful, original, up-to-date, error-free, and people-first. As AI-generated content is only a duplicate of already existing content and usually contains errors, it’s more likely to be recognized as spammy.
Does Google Understand If My Content Is AI-Generated?
Many AI-generated content pages after Google March 2024 core update have been removed from search results. So, our best guess is Google can tell if an article is AI-generated through various factors. For example, usually AI content is thin, there’s no external link in the middle of the text, and the website may be producing too much content.
However, Google itself has made it clear that it’s not easy to tell which is which and they’re not after it. The new spam updates are just to limit poor-quality content and websites that are using abusive practices, such as producing too much content with the help of AI to get to the top of the search results.
Conclusion; Can I Recover from Google Spam Update?
Google is trying to show better results for users across all searches. To do so, it has to find a way to limit low-quality content, misleading content, and websites that aren’t trustworthy. And, these new updates have apparently been successful in reducing such content by 45%.
Now, the message is clear. If you want to be seen in search results, you have to
- produce quality content following EEAT guidelines.
- put users’ satisfaction above everything else.
- forget about abusive practices.
- audit your site for outdated unhelpful content, duplicates, unrelated content, and any technical SEO issues and deal with them.
Always keep up with the new algorithm updates and, in case it’s getting too complicated for you, ask experienced SEO professionals to help you out.
If you’re a business owner in the United States, you can count on us to optimize your website for more organic leads. Call 971-248-0953 to talk to our SEO experts.
