Google shook up the search engine optimization (SEO) world this week with two algorithm updates: the March 2024 Core Update and the Spam Update. Launching within minutes, these two updates have the potential to deliver a punch to low-quality, automated content and sites that exist purely to harness the power of organic search.
Expect rankings to fluctuate throughout the month as Google updates various algorithmic systems that are part of an overall core update. Chris Nelson from the Search Quality team explained: “The March 2024 Core Update is a more complex update than a regular Core Update and includes changes to multiple core systems. …as various systems are fully updated and mutually enhanced. , which may result in more fluctuations in rankings than regular core updates.”
Essentially, various systems are updated throughout the 3-4 week period of this algorithm update, so instead of everyone seeing one big uptick or downtick at the same time, we're seeing individual sites at multiple points in the process. You can check the changes in ranking. time. This is different from his typical two-week algorithm update. This is reportedly much more complex and will take longer to roll out.
What algorithm updates have been released?
Historically, core updates and spam updates have occurred over the years, with varying degrees of severity.
Google's Core Update, originally called the Broad Core Update, aims to reward sites with great content written with people in mind. Basically, sites that don't focus on SEO and do what's right for their audience and their business aim to improve their rankings.
Conversely, spam updates aim to punish bad actors whose SEO strategies violate Google's spam policies. Activities such as creating unnatural link profiles, automatically generating content that has no value for visitors, and generating multiple pages of content focusing on small differences in keywords can result in reduced or removed search results. , you may fall into the wrong direction of spam updates. .
What is the difference between these algorithm updates?
Google Search officials have hinted that big changes are coming to the quality of search results, primarily in response to complaints about search quality from the SEO community. Elizabeth Tucker, product director for Google Search, said that this update, combined with recent efforts, “will collectively reduce the amount of low-quality, unoriginal content that appears in search results.” , it seems likely that this update is at least part of that change. Increased by 40%. ”
Now you need to pay attention to her expression. She's not saying her 40% of her search results change. That would certainly be huge. Still, her 40% reduction in low quality results is a big change.
Additionally, this Core Update brings powerful and helpful content updates to this and future Core Updates. Helpful Content Update has previously been shown to be a powerful algorithmic force, and its separation from Core Update will help determine what algorithmic impacts a site faces. It was helpful. At the same time, core updates always include content quality elements.
When it comes to content quality, Google has also updated its search quality rater guidelines to address factual inaccuracies. This is another nod to ensure that the content meets high quality standards and is factually correct. This, coupled with a focus on useful content and the addition of large-scale content abuse to its spam guidelines, means that Google will be clearly targeting sites that post vulgar, automated content as a way to trick its search algorithms. It feels like you are claiming that.
Finally, things get even more uncertain when spam updates are layered on top of core updates. Sites that dance on the line between profitable white hat strategies and gray areas are unsure whether easily acquired but low-quality link building is pushing them over the edge, or if the quality of their content is questionable. You may not be able to hold it.
In particular, the amplified content component can feel like a double-edged sword for sites that generate a lot of low-quality content for SEO purposes. In addition to rewarding audience-first, informative content at the expense of sites that don't, the useful content system actively punishes sites that abuse amplified content through the amplified content abuse aspect of spam updates. To do.
Which algorithm updates affected you?
The multi-update nature of this makes it difficult to figure out, but if you've ever done anything that violated Google's spam policies, you probably know.
Be especially careful if you're doing the following, which Google just added to its spam policy:
- Massive Content Abuse: This is the opposite of audience-centric, informative content. Scaled content, whether human-generated or AI-generated, refers to lower-quality content that is lower-quality content in the hopes that some of it will stick and draw in organic search traffic. Refers to the act of generating large quantities.
- Abuse of expired domains: Purchasing a previously existing domain in order to benefit from the domain's linking authority. Usually combined with off-topic or low-quality content.
- Abuse of site reputation: This is also known as parasitic SEO and occurs when third-party publishers are allowed to post content on a site with little or no oversight from the site owner.
If you're doing any of these things or anything that violates Google's spam policy, please stop. Even if Google hasn't noticed you're doing it yet, it's only a matter of time.
In some cases, Google will send you a manual action (notification via Google Search Console that your site has been penalized) alongside algorithm updates and spam policy updates. However, in most cases you will not see any warning or confirmation that your site is being targeted.
If you're not doing any of these things and honestly violating Google's other spam policies, it's probably a core update. At a high level, then, you're probably looking at user-first content quality or user experience challenges.
To recover from a core update, you need to identify the content that caused the issue and rework it into more useful, more unique, more valuable, and more audience-focused content. If a particularly useful content system is the cause of the problem, it can take months to recover after an update because Google has to algorithmically check whether the changes you made remain in place. You may.
Future opinion
This is the direction Google is heading in, not just with one algorithm update, but with a progression of updates it has made over the years. Each service increasingly focuses on valuable, useful, quality content and the best interests of its users.
Whether you believe that Google does a great job of determining these things algorithmically or not. They will only continue to progress in this direction, and the sooner they jump into doing the right thing right as defined by those who make the rules, the better the long-term results will be.
For a detailed analysis of core or spam updates, click on Search Engine Roundtable.