Google Search Central Updates : March 2024 Core Update and Spam Policy Changes
March has arrived, and Google has delivered significant news for digital marketers worldwide. The latest comprehensive update from Google unveils the algorithms it will employ to rank content in the coming weeks and months. This update is split into two primary forms: the March 2024 core update and the March 2024 spam update. These updates target low-quality content and introduce new strategies to combat spamming tactics that manipulate Google rankings. Google anticipates a substantial impact on its rankings following these core updates. Additionally, the search engine platform asserts that this recent core update surpasses its predecessors in size and complexity.
Key Aspects of the Core Updates:
Enhanced Quality Ranking:
The focus of the current March 2024 core update is on refining Google’s ranking system. Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product for Search at Google, elaborated, “We are making algorithmic enhancements to our core ranking systems to ensure we surface the most helpful information on the web and reduce unoriginal content in search results.” This update aims to minimize unhelpful and unoriginal content, a pursuit that Google’s team has been dedicated to since 2022. By implementing refined systems, Google aims to differentiate between pages offering genuinely valuable content and those primarily designed to manipulate search engine rankings. This understanding of user intent and content quality enables search engines to present more relevant and useful results to users.
New Spam Policies:
The March 2024 spam update, as discussed earlier, is part of Google’s efforts to remove “lowest-quality” content from its search results. Google states, “We will take action on more types of these manipulative behaviors starting today. Our ranking systems keep many types of low-quality content from ranking highly on search results. These updates will allow us to take more targeted action under our spam policies.”
Scaled Content Abuse:
Stricter regulations are being implemented by Google to prevent the manipulation of search rankings through the mass production of low-quality or unoriginal content. This applies regardless of whether the content is generated by automation, humans, or a combination of both. The focus is on preventing abusive practices aimed at artificially boosting search rankings. Google emphasizes, “This will allow us to take action on more types of content with little to no value created at scale, like pages that pretend to have answers to popular searches but fail to deliver helpful content.”
Expired Domain Abuse:
Google’s March 2024 spam update zeroes in on the abuse of expired domains, where expired domains are repurchased and utilized to bolster the search rankings of third-party websites with low-quality content. This can lead users to mistakenly associate low-quality content with a previously trusted, expired website.
In Summary:
Digital marketers and SEOs worldwide have noted a discernible decline in Google’s search quality, particularly with crucial content from prominent websites like Reddit, which dominates many niches and industries. Suspicions were raised when Google announced its use of Reddit data for AI learning, although they claim ranking changes precede this. Nonetheless, there is optimism for more diverse search results, favoring smaller sites with quality content. This shift aims to combat spam and promote genuinely useful content.
Key Takeaways:
- Avoid spammy content practices.
- Ensure content quality through thorough editing.
- Monitor third-party postings closely.
- Refrain from purchasing expired domains to enhance authority.
If you’re seeking to align your website with Google’s new policies, our team of SEO Experts is here to assist you. Contact us to seamlessly update your website in accordance with the latest updates.
