Google Fights Low-Quality Content. How Will the Latest Updates Affect SEO and Content Marketing Activities?
Google's Core Update began on 15 August. This is not the first modification in 2024 – a major Google update already took place in March, and two spam-related updates were also rolled out in the first half of the year. Every change to ranking systems is closely watched by SEO experts and content marketing specialists. How have recent months affected their activities? Do the coming weeks mean a revolution in the industry, or will they be a natural continuation of Google's strategy so far?
The Latest Google Update Is Underway
According to the official Google Search Central profile, the August update has been confirmed, and it will place further emphasis on improving the quality of search results and displaying original content that is useful to search engine users. Google once again pointed out that Core Updates affect search results as a whole, rather than individual subpages or pages. A natural effect of the update will be minor changes in rankings. However, those who notice significant changes for most URLs in a domain should consider taking intensive action.
The last major update was rolled out in March 2024. Its primary goal was to increase the visibility of useful and valuable content for users. According to Google's estimates, these changes also reduced the display of low-quality content by as much as 45 percent, which is 5 percent more than originally assumed. As Agata Gruszka, International SEO Manager at WhitePress, points out, the March 2024 Core Update was a natural effect of Google's strategy of rewarding valuable, useful content.
– The major update from March 2024 was not a big surprise in the industry. It was rather a consistent continuation of the path initiated in 2022 with the implementation of the helpful content system. Google's goal is to provide users primarily with credible and useful content. The main emphasis was placed on the originality of information, the value of texts, and their substantive aspect. Content focused on achieving the highest possible search rankings at the expense of quality and usefulness lost out due to the changes. Google gave creators a clear signal: write for people, not for algorithms. This approach can also be seen in the ongoing major update, whose goal is to refine the current content evaluation systems – says Agata Gruszka, WhitePress.
In March 2024, the rules concerning spam were also updated. The Spam Update was intended to combat the exploitation of the reputation of existing domains, the abuse of expired domains in the website positioning process, and the mass, automated production of low-quality content. Although Google emphasizes in official communications that ranking systems assess the value of a text rather than how it was created, many specialists believe that creating content on a mass scale is a problem resulting mainly from the improper use of generative artificial intelligence. This view would be confirmed by the June 2024 Spam Update. Google improved its mechanisms for detecting AI content whose sole purpose is to fill a page with keywords.
Do Updates Keep SEO Experts Awake at Night?
Google updates are a permanent part of the work of SEO specialists and content marketers. Each change requires from them not only vigilance, but also patience – after all, reacting to changes must be preceded by observation and analysis of their effects, and rebuilding results takes much longer than losing them. As Tomasz Biegun, Head of Content Marketing & SEO at WhitePress, emphasizes, the only certain thing in SEO is change, and most experts are aware of this.
– With the development of technology, the needs and expectations of audiences change. Content that was interesting and valuable to them just a few years ago may be completely useless today. This situation is reflected in Google updates, whose task is to match search results as well as possible to user intent. Adding to this constantly growing competition and an increasing number of websites, the conclusion suggests itself – effectiveness in the SEO industry is closely tied to the ability to adapt action strategies to ongoing changes – adds Tomasz Biegun.
How to React to Declines Caused by Google Updates?
The implementation of Google updates stirs up considerable emotions, especially when the effect of an update may be drops in search positions. And although in such a situation the first impulse is the desire to take immediate action, it is definitely better to approach the matter calmly. According to Agata Gruszka, International SEO Manager at WhitePress, the key to success lies in auditing the content on the site and analyzing competitors' pages.
– Attempting to instantly solve problems that arose after an update can be counterproductive. Therefore, first of all, it is worth checking whether Google has officially confirmed the implementation of all changes, or whether the update has not yet been completed and the drops are temporary. A good idea is to analyze the results of competing pages and check what content appears in the top positions for the keywords we are interested in. It may be that the purpose of the update was to better match results to the user's query, and therefore the ranking system began rewarding a different type of content or website. What else? You should certainly regularly review already published content – there is a chance that it contains outdated information and requires corrections. Tools that provide a lot of data for analysis, such as Google Search Console, are also invaluable help during an update crisis – adds Agata Gruszka, WhitePress.
