The SEO business is going through a huge change because of Google’s March 2024 core update. This big change could make the web go crazy like the Panda and Penguin changes did.
5 things you need to know about Google’s March 2024 core update
1. Google Is Taking Websites Off Of Its Index Totally
Imagine if your website was no longer shown in Google’s search results when you woke up. Yes, that’s what happened to a lot of websites after the March 2024 update.
In its March 5 announcement, Google made it clear that it wants to get rid of useless, irrelevant, and copied material from search results.
This cleanup drive says it will get rid of up to 40% of low-quality websites that offer useless information and a bad user experience. These are pages that were made just to match certain search terms.
If Google finds that a website is breaking its rules or using questionable SEO techniques, it will not only be punished but also taken out of the search results and the index.
2. The Penalties Come Quickly
The Penalties for this update were harsh and quick, leaving site owners scrambling to figure out what to do.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that sites affected by the March 2024 core update and spam update would not receive notification of a ranking decline through Google Search Console’s manual action viewer. To check if your website still exists in the search results Type “site:website.com” into Google. This is one way to know if the March 2024 update has affected your site.
3. Even The Websites That Were Not Affected By The Last Update Are Not Safe
Older websites now have to deal with the consequences of algorithm changes that didn’t affect them earlier. Some people are happy because they think it’s about time those bad sites were kicked off SERPs after years of cheating the system to stay there.
4. Sites That Are Old And Full Of Mistakes Are Weak Spots
When talking about E-E-A-T, take a look at how Google has now added another thing to the list of things it looks at to decide if the information is trustworthy:
AI makes content that is out of date and full of mistakes.
5. Even Small Sites With AI information Will Not Be Spared.
It’s interesting that small AI content sites are now being looked at more closely. Because Google is now more adept at spotting artificial intelligence-generated content, even smaller businesses that use AI to create content are now subject to penalties.
One thing needs to be made clear: Google is not after AI material. Google wants to get rid of content that isn’t useful, is repeated, or isn’t original, whether it was written by a person, an AI, or both.
With this update, bad websites that don’t help people will be taken down, and good websites with useful information will be shown more. Website owners who thought their history would protect them should pay attention to this. It shows once more that changing is important to stay alive in the modern world.
Don’t worry just yet if you’re in charge of one of these older, smaller names. Do an in-depth site audit first, and then fix these problems right away.
Originality, meaning, and value for the reader have always been important to Google. Websites that were taken down and deindexed usually had a lot of thin or duplicate material that didn’t offer any new ideas or insights.
It’s important to remember that these changes won’t just help search engines; they will also make your website better for everyone who sees it.
You can also read: Impact of AI Content vs. Human-Written Content
Conclusion
The vast number of de-indexed websites that search marketers have noticed supports Google’s plan to significantly alter their ranking algorithms. To find patterns, it is wise to look at how updates have affected other websites. This will help you figure out what’s wrong with your own website and change how you’re doing things.
- Quality material is important.
- Make the user experience better.
- Check out your site and make changes.
It may look like a hard road ahead, but remember that every step you take to get better is one less step you take toward Google hell.