Google’s March 2024 core update has completed its rollout. It began on March 5, 2024, and concluded 45 days later, on April 19, 2024. This significant update involved changes to multiple core systems and marked the end of the standalone helpful content update.
Google only informed us on April 26, 52 days after the rollout had started, that the update finished on April 19. A spokesperson mentioned, “As the web and spam tactics continue to evolve, we’ll continue to work to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in Search. We appreciate and encourage feedback from users and site owners alike.”
Key highlights from the update:
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Ranking Improvements: The update focused on tackling spam and low-quality content. On March 5, several enhancements to the core systems and updates to spam policies were launched to reduce content created for search engines.
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Reduction in Low-Quality Content: Originally, Google estimated a 40% reduction in low-quality and unhelpful content. However, they later reported a 45% reduction due to the update.
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Changes to Help Resources: Google updated their help center page with information for site owners on how to address drops in Google Search ranking and created a new feedback form for site ranking changes.
- Overlapping Updates: The March 2024 spam update started on March 5 and completed on March 20. Along with this, Google released numerous manual actions related to pure spam issues and modified its core web vitals to use INP instead of FID.
Because there were multiple overlapping updates during this period, it is challenging to identify which specific change impacted a site’s performance.
Details on the March 2024 Core Update:
This update is more intricate than previous core updates, involving several core systems and marking an evolution in how Google identifies helpful content. Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product, Search at Google, mentioned that this update aimed to significantly reduce unhelpful content in search results, with the reduction figure revised to 45%.
Google explained that this update has improved how the system identifies unhelpful webpages created primarily for matching specific search queries rather than providing genuine value to users. With this update, ongoing standalone announcements for helpful content updates will cease, as this system is now incorporated into the core updates.
The previous helpful content update in September 2023 impacted many sites. Some of those affected sites might see improvements from the March 2024 core update, which now includes the overhauled classifier for the helpful content system.
Impact and Recovery:
If your site is negatively impacted by a core update, Google provides advice on how to respond. They emphasize there are no specific actions to take for recovery, and a negative rankings impact does not necessarily indicate a problem with your site. Google offers a list of questions to consider if your site is hit and mentions possible recovery between core updates, with the most significant changes occurring after another core update.
In essence, creating helpful content for users, not just for search engines, is crucial. Google encourages reading their guide on creating helpful, reliable, people-first content.
Previous Core Updates:
- November 2023 core update: November 2 – November 28.
- October 2023 core update: October 5 – October 19.
- August 2023 core update: August 22 – September 7.
- March 2023 core update: March 15 – March 28.
- September 2022 broad core update: Relatively less impactful, finished on September 26.
- May 2022 broad core update: Significant and fast update.
- November 2021 core update.
- July 2021 core update.
- June 2021 core update: Slow to roll out but significant.
Understanding these updates is essential for brands, businesses, and organizations, as they can significantly impact site performance in search results, influencing organic traffic, conversions, and revenue. Being aware of when these updates occur helps site owners distinguish between site-specific issues and changes brought about by Google’s ranking algorithm updates.
