Google has announced its first update to its search algorithms and policies for 2024.
The March 2024 update by Google is all about curbing low-quality content and introducing new spam policies as well. With this update, the search engine giant has officially announced to reduce unoriginal, low-quality content in search results by 40%.
This statement by Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product for Search at Google, says it all—
“We’re making algorithmic enhancements to our core ranking systems to ensure we surface the most helpful information on the web and reduce unoriginal content in search results.,”
According to Google, the March 2024 core update is a “more complex update than” their usual core updates. Implementing these algorithms will cause more fluctuations in ranking.
Sure. This update has alarmed the websites creating manipulative or substandard content. However, it can even negatively impact those creating content to improve their ranking, not to help users.
Let’s explore more about Google’s March 2024 update and find out how it can impact the ranking ecosystem.
Where It All Started?
In recent months, there has been a surge in complaints and studies highlighting the declining quality of Google search results. Many users have noticed that web content is lacking quality, with Google seemingly favoring larger websites over smaller ones. This trend has become especially evident with Reddit consistently outperforming other sites in Google search rankings.
Sullivan, now Google’s designated Search Liaison, has consistently assured about upcoming updates aimed at improving quality. In November, Google advised users to “buckle up,” in January and February as well.
Maybe this one is the long-awaited Google update.
What’s So Special about March 2024 Google Update?
Unlike previous updates, this one isn’t just a tweak here or there. It’s a big overhaul impacting many parts of Google’s core system. According to Google, it is a series of updates to be rolled over several coming weeks to fully implement the changes.
Chris Nelson from the Google’s Search Quality team opines—
“The March 2024 core update is a more complex update than our usual core updates. It also marks an evolution in how we identify the helpfulness of content.”
They’ve made adjustments to multiple core systems to make search results even better.
Because the update has been done on a large scale at once, expect to see changes in your search rankings.
One big focus of this update is figuring out which websites aren’t so helpful or user-friendly. Google wants to weed out sites that feel like they’re just there to please search engines, not people.
Improving Ranking System is at the Heart of Google March Core Update
As you have read, Google’s March 2024 core update aims to improve Google’s ranking system for better search results. With this update, Google’s message is clear: they’re cleaning up low-quality search results and guiding users to more helpful and high-quality websites. This update is a big leap towards that goal.
The search engine giant is looking to make a 40% reduction in low-quality, repetitive content appearing in search results.
Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product for Search at Google, explains—
“We’re making algorithmic enhancements to our core ranking systems to ensure we surface the most helpful information on the web and reduce unoriginal content in search results.,”
Google Anti-Spam Policies Updates: What’s On the Radar
Also, Google has announced the rollout of new spam updates.
Among these updates, two updates will take action this week, both automatically and manually. Additionally, the site reputation abuse spam update will start on May 5th, exactly two months from now.
Scaled Content Abuse:
With this new update in its anti-spam policies, Google is getting stricter on websites creating plenty of low-quality or copied content just to manipulate the search results–no matter if the content is created by AI tools, humans, or both.
Simply put, Google has considered it an unfair practice to generate excessive content just to get a higher spot in search results with AI or human writers.
For example, many web pages pretend to be experts but don’t give useful information, thereby misleading the visitors.
Site Reputation Abuse:
Google is cracking down on “Parasite SEO,” where reputable sites are manipulated to rank for competitive keywords by hosting generic “best product” pages and similar content.
The goal is to keep good websites safe from manipulative practices or low-quality content creators trying to use their reputation to boost their ranking.
If a website site lets in a lot of low-quality content just to rank better and doesn’t keep a close eye on it, Google will call it spam.
Expired Domain Abuse:
Google has also highlighted a malpractice called “expired domain abuse” in their March 2024 Core Update. This happens when someone buys a domain name that used to belong to another website but is now expired. Then, they use it to make low-quality content appear more popular by showing it’s from the old site. This practice will now be penalized, especially if the new content differs greatly from the original theme of the domain.
How to Deal with Google March 2024 Update?
Well, this question is likely to arise. After all, this update can impact ranking to a large extent.
Luckily, you don’t need to do anything special to comply with this new update as Nelson says—
“There’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people. For those that might not be ranking as well, we strongly encourage reading our creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help page,”
But what to do if your website’s ranking drops due to this new update?
Google also addresses this query. According to it, you don’t need to take any particular action for recovery. A drop in rankings doesn’t necessarily indicate issues with your pages. While you might notice some improvements between core updates, significant changes are more likely to occur after the next core update.
However, you should always focus on creating helpful and usable content for your target audience. This way, you don’t need to be bothered by any Google update. Another important thing to do is to check your site for issues and spam alerts. Always stick to the Google guidelines.
OVER TO YOU…
Like with every update, some websites might see changes in their rankings.
There’s a two-month period for sites to follow the new site reputation-policy introduced in this update, but other changes are happening this week.
If you’ve been following Google’s guidelines and notice a drop in your site’s ranking, don’t panic. Avoid making big changes right away. If your site was affected because it had low-quality or spammy content, it’s a sign to change your approach. Focus on creating better content that aligns with Google’s guidelines. Happy Reading!!!