A brief overview of the key 2024 Google updates
2024 was the year of the algorithm update for Google. They came thick and fast, focusing on everything from low-quality content to spam, all designed to enhance search quality and user experience. If you’re responsible for your organisation’s SEO performance, here’s what you need to know about the key updates.
Google March 2024 Core Update
This update had it in for spam tactics. Google launched what they called ‘a number of meaningful enhancements to its core systems’ which meant multiple updates across its systems. Following this update Google published debugging guidelines for users whose rankings had been impacted. Overall it was highly successful with a Google spokesperson reporting a 45% drop in unhelpful content.
Google March and June 2024 spam updates
Year-on-year Google is getting better at identifying content that’s trying to manipulate Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Spam was a big focus in the March and June 2024 updates where Google made clear that sites which didn’t comply with its spam policy would be penalised. This includes tactics such as cloaking, keyword stuffing, hidden text and link abuse.
As part of the June update, Google also made improvements to SpamBrain its AI-based spam-prevention system. It warned again that violation of their spam policy could see a drop in ranking or sites may not appear at all!
Google August 2024 Core Update
This update aimed to promote high-quality content while demoting low-value SEO content. The update took around a month to roll out and mid August the Google team reported a bug which caused some ranking volatility. They emphasised their goals to connect people with high quality content, including small or independent sites that create useful content, stressing that this would be something they will continue to focus on.
November and December 2024 Updates
Early in December, Google Search Centre announced across social media that it had completed a Core Update in November. This was a further effort to penalise content created specifically for search and show users useful content in SERPs. Again, it sign-posted users to its Core Update guidelines, a how-to guide for those who find themselves negatively impacted.
This was followed swiftly by a December Core Update and had people wondering what they could possibly be focusing on so soon after the previous update. Google responded that it was focusing on different systems. It rounded the year off with a final spam update, while not specifying the type of spam, it made it clear that content violating its spam policy would be penalised.
What do the Google updates mean for my content strategy?
There’s an old saying content is king and with a succession of core updates between August and December this has never been more true than today. Google continues to fine-tune and it’s more important than ever that content creators follow Google’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) guidelines.
These updates mark a significant shift further towards favouring high-quality, original, and trustworthy content. When you are producing content, whether that is truly to fill a customer need or to fill a keyword gap it should always be focused on the end user. It needs to be useful to those searching for it and not just content for content's sake. Likewise, low-quality, mass-produced AI content with no human oversight is more likely to be penalised.
There’s also more emphasis than ever before on reputation and authority. You need to be providing well-researched original content. This includes useful insights and resources as well as reviews and client experiences. The days of low-quality guest posts and spammy SEO tactics such as keyword stuffing are long behind us.
If you’ve borne the brunt of Google's 2024 Core Updates, it can be difficult to know where to start rebuilding. We take a straightforward approach to SEO. As well as optimising a site from a technical point of view, we specialise in quality, useful content that compels readers to take action. We also continually monitor and adjust. Like so many things, SEO is essentially about consistency.
If you’d like to discuss your SEO strategy, get in touch and let’s have a chat. We can support you with everything from audits and maintenance to detailed content strategy.
