March Google Update – What does it mean for you?
Google is consistently making improvements and updates to its algorithm in a bid to provide its users with the best possible experiences.
Keeping on top of every update is important for any business wanting to continue to perform well in search results or increase rankings, which is why I’m here today to recap some of the key takeaways from Google’s March 2024 update.
– Helpful Content will be Boosted
Google has made some significant upgrades to its core ranking system, which means that it is now better equipped to identify informative and helpful content that is of the highest quality.
In order to ensure your visibility is maximised in search engine results pages (SERPs), you need to ensure that every piece of content you share is both original and delivers tangible value to your audience.
– Unhelpful Content will be Removed
As Google prioritises helpful content, it is estimating that as much as 40% of all content deemed as being unoriginal, unhelpful and of low quality will be removed from SERPs. Google is on a mission to ensure that every user has a positive search experience, so we can all expect to see a sizeable decrease in poor quality content.
Provided that you are dedicated to creating and sharing top quality content with plenty of unique insights, you shouldn’t run into any problems with this update. In fact, you could even see your content rise in SERPs.
– User Experience is Key
Google wants to remain at the top of the search game, and the only way to achieve that objective is to provide users with the best possible experiences. So, Google will prioritise user experience by working to recommend websites that are user-friendly, accessible, can be easily browsed on mobile devices, and don’t mislead users.
If your website could use some tweaks to its design or performance capabilities, now is an ideal time to invest in this area of your business.
– The Big Spam Crackdown
From social media to blogs and websites, there’s spam content absolutely everywhere online. Google wants to eliminate spam content from its SERPs to improve user experience and ensure that it is only recommending web pages that are valuable to browsers.
There are still myriad websites that are continuing to post large quantities of poor quality, low-value content as a way to manipulate rankings. Google is always taking steps to combat content mills and this latest update will hit ranking manipulators hard.
– Say Goodbye to Parasite SEO
Parasite SEO involves placing poor quality content on reputable and authoritative websites in order to benefit from increased ranking power. This is a deceptive practice that Google will now be more adept at identifying and punishing when required.
– Preventing Expired Domain Abuse
Another deceptive tactic is the abuse of expired domains for SEO purposes, which this update also aims to prevent from manipulating its SERPs. So, for example, someone could purchase a domain that previously shared authoritative gardening content and use that domain to host poor quality gambling content with the view to benefit from a search boost using the reputation built by the previous domain owners.
This has been a relatively common practice for some time, however Google is now taking a stand to ensure that search results aren’t being manipulated in this way any longer.
Top Tips to Positively Boost Your Rankings
So, we’ve taken a closer look at some of the key changes that Google has made to its algorithm. Now, let’s explore some positive approaches and tactics you can implement moving forwards to capitalise on these algorithm changes and boost your ranking position in key SERPs.
1. Create Content For Your Audience
Rather than focusing on content designed to attract clicks, it will be beneficial for you to switch your focus towards creating content that your audience will actually find useful and informative.
There are a number of tactics that you’ll want to keep in mind when creating helpful content, including:
– Ensuring your page titles and headers properly set out what audiences can expect
– Editing your content to address spelling, grammar and stylistic issues
– Supporting your content with original research and analysis
– Sharing content that offers some unique value that searchers can’t find elsewhere
It is also important to ensure that your content is:
– Free from factual errors
– Written by an author with relevant expertise
– Demonstrates a depth of knowledge
– Structured to deliver a satisfying and worthwhile experience
By focusing on creating genuinely helpful, informative and original content, your site will be rewarded with higher ranking positions and larger traffic streams from SERPs.
2. Don’t Create Search-Engine First Content
Content created primarily with search engines in mind will no longer drive positive outcomes. I don’t recommend creating content about a subject that is currently trending unless you have something unique and valuable to offer.
Search-engine first content also typically doesn’t leave readers feeling fully satisfied, and they will often continue their search elsewhere in order to find the information they are seeking.
I’m also currently seeing a lot of AI generated content that reads like content that has been created with search engines in mind. This isn’t to say that you can’t use automation at all in your content creation process, however it is important to be mindful that it will benefit from a thorough edit and will need to be enhanced by your own unique insights into the topic in order to rank well with the new search algorithm.
3. Always Avoid Manipulative Tactics
There are a lot of manipulative and deceptive tactics that can be used to achieve fast results, however, any benefits that are secured will ultimately end up being extremely detrimental to the future success of your online presence.
Addressing scaled content abuse is another manipulative tactic that the new algorithm update is equipped to address, as this involves generating a large quantity of unoriginal content solely to manipulate search rankings. The new algorithm will help Google to identify and take action against sites using this approach, which will ultimately see them disappear from SERPs altogether.