Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
Google has announced a set of major updates in March 2024 to improve search result quality and reduce spam, signifying a commitment to enhancing user experience. Here’s a breakdown of the key changes and their implications:
- Core Update: The March 2024 core update aims to significantly reduce unhelpful content by 40%. It is more complex than previous updates, affecting multiple systems within Google’s core ranking process. The rollout may take up to a month, with expected fluctuations in search rankings as the updates are implemented.
- Spam Policy Enhancements: Alongside the core update, Google introduced stringent spam policies targeting:
- Scaled Content Abuse: Tackling spammy content produced at scale, whether through automation or manual efforts, to manipulate rankings.
- Expired Domain Abuse: Preventing the misuse of expired domains to boost the ranking of low-quality content.
- Helpful Content Integration: The helpful content system is now a part of the core update mechanism, streamlining Google’s approach to prioritising valuable and user-focused content. This means no separate announcements for helpful content updates going forward.
- Guidance for Affected Websites: Google advises that there aren’t specific actions to recover from a rankings drop immediately. The focus should be on creating high-quality content that fulfils user needs. Significant recovery is likely to be observed following subsequent core updates.
- Impact on Digital Marketing: These updates underscore the importance of quality and relevance in content creation. Digital marketers should ensure their content strategies are aligned with providing genuine value to users, rather than employing tactics solely aimed at improving search rankings.
Google’s Commitment to Quality
These comprehensive updates respond to critiques about the quality of search results and represent Google’s ongoing efforts to ensure users find relevant, informative content. By focusing on enhancing the overall search experience, Google aims to maintain its position as the leading search engine while fostering a healthier digital content ecosystem.
