Google's March 2024 Core Update will definitely be one of the most talked about SEO topics of this year, if not years.
This update has a lot going for it, from its length to the removal of useful content updates (HCUs) to all the quality issues on the SERPs (I'm talking about Reddit).
There's a lot to be said about this update. Here are some things I would like to share based on the data that Semrush shared with me. We scoured hundreds of SERPs and looked at ranking patterns along with the sites themselves.
To be clear, none of this is definitive. The analysis below is what I saw and my interpretation.
1. This update is difficult to analyze
Analyzing Google's March 2024 Core Update is difficult for a variety of reasons. Just understanding what happened with HCU and its integration (or lack thereof) into the core is confusing for a variety of reasons.
Another question is how long it took for the update to roll out. This presents significant complications compared to traditional data.
For example, one of the “indicators” shown by tool providers is the level of “peak volatility.”
As we have said on various occasions (including at SMX Next 2023), this metric is often the most elusive when assessing the impact of algorithm updates, but it still helps paint a picture .
I think it's almost irrelevant in this case.
If you look below, you can see that the level of peak rank volatility seen during the March 2024 Core Update is actually lower than what Semrush tracked during the November 2023 Core Update.
shocking? not much.
The March 2024 Core Update was a completely different update. It was not a week-long burst of intensive algorithmic activity, but a prolonged moment of algorithmic concentration.
Observing the “peak” moment (in our case, 1 day in 45) is not the way to analyze this update.
The same goes for another very easy-to-understand metric: change in volatility. This data examines the level of change in rank during the baseline period (a period of relative calm) and compares it to the level of change seen during the update.
If you look below, you can see that the March 2024 Core Update and the November 2023 Core Update show exactly the same amount of relative changes per Semrush.
Again, metrics rely on comparing one moment to another. With the March 2024 core update, you can analyze the entire shebang rather than specific algorithmic moments.
All of this makes assessing the impact of Google's March 2024 Core Update much more difficult than usual (and usually very difficult).
2. Big movements in the bottom half of SERPs across the web
Throughout the update, you should have looked at the ranking patterns of around 300 SERPs and the top 20 results.
One of my early observations was that although there was a large amount of movement toward the bottom of “Page 1 of the SERP,” the top results showed increased volatility compared to other updates I analyzed. It seemed like they couldn't do it.
This is not to say that the site was not affected by major ranking drops at the top of the SERPs. All in all, I'm saying that I expected to see more movement at the top of the SERPs.
(If you're screaming, “Oh no, I saw the rankings swapping around at the top of the SERPs, idiot!” you're not wrong. I'll tackle that.)
This assessment seems to be supported by the data that Semrush provided to me.
Looking at the percentage of URLs that ranked in the top 10 after the update that were not in the top 20 before the update, there was a difference between the March 2024 core update and the November 2023 core update. You can see that there is.
In November, 6.46% of URLs in the top 10 came from positions 20 and above. In March, that number increased significantly to 9.38%.
To me, this is more important than peak volatility or change in volatility. This is an analysis of what happened during the update and where we ended up. We're not just looking at one-shot moments.
It also helps you see how wild the rankings were fluctuating and whether Google was really rewarding something you didn't know was being rewarded before.
However, when looking at the top five results, the same pattern does not hold true.
Among the top five results, the difference between the March 2024 Core Update and the November 2023 Core Update is much smaller.
This indicates that the March 2024 core update is not disproportionately powerful compared to the other most important core update, i.e. at the top of the SERP. (Again, when viewed through this very specific lens).
It also points out something I've seen and mentioned before. In other words, this update was a pushover for his 6th to 10th place.
Please note – this is horizontal data analysis intended to cover the entire web – it is highly normalized. We still need to dig a little more “vertically” and that's part of what makes this update so difficult to analyze.
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3. Aggregated data only tells part of the story
Especially with this update, we think it's not enough to simply scour the web and see top-level data. Oddly enough, it's become so normalized.
If you look at the web horizontally, it will include sites that have lost ranks, sites that have risen, but most likely sites that have done nothing.
To better understand the update, we need to focus on who was affected and the nature of that impact. This is a more vertical and qualitative analysis.
From what I've seen (and again, this is just what I've seen, and this is anecdotal), the March 2024 Core Update contains impacts not normally seen in Core Updates. I did.
Below are sites that started to see slow growth in September 2023 (ironically around the time of the September 2023 Helpful Content Update), and then really started to grow in Q4 of 2023 (so… I doubt it, but I haven't dug into it enough to say with confidence).
The March 2024 core update broke that.
Since we mentioned September 2023 HCU, below are sites that gained ranking rewards in the August 2023 core update, but lost ranking rewards a month later in September 2023 HCU.
Almost done with the March 2024 core update.
There seems to be a bit of a pattern with sites being attacked by the September 2023 HCU and then losing money with the March 2024 core update.
My theory is, no, Google hasn't abandoned HCU. It just makes no sense to me that they invested so much into building that construct and then just threw it in the trash.
What I personally think has happened is that the classifier used in HCU has been built and serves as the basis for a multifaceted way in which Google evaluates usefulness algorithmically.
Think of it like a Model T. No, the Model T is no longer in production, but the processes used to mass produce the Model T serve as the basis and foundation for mass producing the cars we drive today.
For the record, not all sites were hit. Some got paid. Below are the informational content folders for the site that have been significantly enhanced in the March 2024 Core Update.
So just how “big” was the March 2024 Core Update?
Trying to scale algorithm updates is a very risky endeavor. Especially with the March 2024 Core Update.
I hate to use the old SEO cliché, but it depends. It depends on how you look at it.
Would you define the impact of the March 2024 Core Update in terms of its impact on the web as a whole? If so, there are indications that it will be more powerful than regular updates, but it is not definitively more powerful.
However, if we define the impact of the March 2024 Core Update in terms of its capabilities and aggressive tendencies, then the March 2024 Core Update appears to have had additional impact by any measure.
My personal opinion is that there was something different about this update. All of this combined highlights what a very “unique” update it is, including the negative impact this update has on the site and the special rank fluctuations seen in ranks 6-10. Masu.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily those of Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.