March 2024 saw the launch of Google SEO March Update 2024, and many have regarded it as the biggest update in the history of SEO. Some of the reasons why this update is significant to a lot of firms is because it was solely aimed at spam and the core ranking factors.
This hasn’t been surprising as a number of firms have gone on social media to talk about the potential impact on their business or others.
As stated in the latest release of the SEO March update 2024, it aimed to improve its algorithms to promote useful content, while also limiting the ability for people to create unhelpful content. A major focus of this update was on E-A-T principles, these measures help improve the content to better align with a user’s intentions.
However, there remain a number of social media pages dedicated to click-draining content, which makes the recent updates regarding spam on Google quite ironic.
So, for those of you who have been dreading the updates and are relieved that they haven’t affected you and your firm as of yet, should you start panicking? The answer may be in the following section.
Content
Google’s Insights on the SEO March Update 2024
With the major February changes that were made in regards to social media SEO activities, smaller firms SDLC has focused all of these changes towards altering page optimizations and on greater changes towards Internal SEO.
The undertaking of SEO audits was essential for assessing the site traffic and the algorithmic updates made by Google. The interrelation between the search engine algorithms and the SEO performance including various aspects of digital marketing was essential to understand. SEO, like any other field, calls for constant evolution on one’s part.
In a recent blog entry about the core update, Google’s Director of Product Management Elizabeth Tucker, mentioned:
1. Targeting Low-Quality Content
The primary objective of this update is to guarantee when conducting an online search, users are assisted and presented with true information. Presently, nearly 40% of the material that can be found on Google is subpar and not assistive, for instance – it has not been written originally. Thus, the goal of this update is to curb this kind of content.
2. Refining Core Ranking System
One important thing that will be different is the way Google classifies a website in its search index. This will shift more towards the question of whether or not the webpage describes good content and is easy to work with. This means sites that do not add value to users and are created chiefly to exploit search engines will get buried. What this means is that time and resources will be saved as relevant information will be more readily available.
3. Combatting Content Abuse
Another concern this update is focusing on is the creation of mass content just to manipulate search engines in ranking websites in the top tier. This could be done through automated tools or by hiring other people. Google does not want that to happen.
4. Cracking Down on Site Reputation Abuse
There are instances when popular and ordinary sites allow the posting of bad content on their site and this is done to improve their rankings on search engines. Google is against this practice too. It is not reasonable for major websites to be undermined by poor content just because it’s available at an established site.
5. Addressing Expired Domain Abuse
You know how when these long unused domain names are never heard of only to be heard of and filled with trashy content to the world? Well, Google is on top of that too. They are ensuring that doesn’t happen too much as involved in scraping expired domain names and filling them with worthless content.
Now, there are some concerns. Some people appear to be perturbed with how exactly Google is serving notice to people who own websites. They say that only two months amount of notice is enough. This seems fair for big websites but smaller ones might not have enough time to fix their issues. So, others propose that Google should offer a longer adjustment period.
Insights from Other Sources on the Core Update
The recent Google update in March 2024 raised some eyebrows among the SEO people. This update, which concentrated on changing the core algorithms while targeting the spam, tinkered with search rankings and rankings and left several webmasters baffled. Let us try to classify the news into core themes of what is being discussed.
Big Changes, Big Confusion
A lot of search engine optimization experts have raised a red flag arguing that there are so many windfalls that were noticeable in the search results. There was quite a lot of jump in the rankings over the weekend which ruled the Monday and then they all seemed to even out to some extent. Adding to this confusion was the fact that webmasters’ updates seemed to address issues of low-quality content websites and spammy websites at the same time. However, this is not what Google does normally, to make it easier for the user to understand each update, they try and separate them.
Adding to the discussion, Matt G. Southern from SEJ reported:
“Google’s March 2024 core update has seen tons of websites streamlined as a result of poor and spammy content created by AI,”
This is consistent with the findings of Originality. AI. They noticed high levels of AI content on the affected sites.
According to what the community is advising, the focus should be more on how to enhance the website and the usability of it for the users.
And as more updates come out, it might be wise to sit back and watch to see what unfolds before making any drastic changes.
That is of course what Southern implied when he remarked, “For me, watching these updates every day might be simply a source of joy because I pen about them. Apparently, for SEO specialists and owners of websites, it’s rather devastating.”
Is SEO March Update 2024 Targeting AI Content?
There’s been a contention about whether or not Google is deliberately setting out to target and punish web pages that contain AI content creation tools. Some reports say this is the case, it’s more plausible that what does not apply to targeting spam is the case.
After all, I do believe that Google isn’t targeting AI content per se; they don’t like unhelpful content.
The Impact of SEO March Update 2024
In March 2024, the position of your website in search results changed. Websites whose content was adequate and useful received rewards while those whose content was of poor quality or whose aim was solely to rank higher were punished.
Are you afraid your site might be affected? Look out for the following:
- Drop in the volume of website visitors: Are you experiencing a decrease in the audience coming through search engines?
- Reduction in keyword rankings: Have your important keywords sunk even though they were comfortably ranking before?
- High rate of visitors leaving the site: Immediately after subscribers enter the site, do they get out of it without viewing it further?
If none of the above signs seem to apply, then maybe it’s high time to revise the content of your website. Concentrate on the development of unique and useful material to hold the visitors.
What to Do If You’ve Been Hit?
If your website was affected due to the March 2024 Google update, here is what you can do so that the damage does not continue worsening:
- Assess the level of loss your website has suffered through assessing your website analytics.
- Reassess your content to improve its quality or to delete the waste part of it.
- Abide by Google’s policies regarding excessive information.
- Evaluate your website using Google Search Console to check its performance and to ensure that there are not any issues.
- Let’s see what Google has to say in their future communications that can help you understand certain things.
- If you are unable to figure things out, reach out to someone who is knowledgeable and has experience in doing SEO.
FAQs
Is The Seo March Update 2024 An Update Which Should Be Rushed Away As Fast As Possible?
Definitely not, instead it is a step forward. By targeting low SEO practices and poor content, it is clear that Google wants to create an environment where people can search and interact with as many trustworthy websites as possible. Sure, certain entities will have to make some adjustments in their approaches, but in general, the web is going to be better.
How Are The Updates Going To Affect My Website?
For websites that do not manipulate traffic and make all of the content user-friendly and mobile-friendly where pages load almost instantly, rankings are likely to increase. Sites that provide barely there content and use terrible SEO practices are on the other hand likely to get bashed and rotated deep.
I Have Seen That The Traffic For My Website Am Already Suffering, What Should I Do?
Don’t worry! The first thing you want to do is perform an update of your content and clean any mess that might have existed. Then focus on coming up with new, intelligent content that is engaging and written by experts in the respective field. Furthermore, ensure that all your websites are intelligent, easy to use, and compatible with mobile devices.
My Verdict
My conclusion regarding the SEO March Update 2024 is that it is targeted. Yes! Low-quality content and malicious practices to achieve better rank should be targeted. This crackdown is to bring improvement in the reliability and usefulness of the internet as a whole.
AI is not going out of fashion. There is no way AI is going to leave this world. With the help of AI matched with human intelligence, the goal should be achieved am sure it will be very smart.
