Google’s March 2024 Core Update is here, bringing with it sweeping updates to its algorithms and policies that aim to cut down on low-quality content by penalizing manipulative practices that abuse AI and produce useless content.
Greater focus on quality rating
Google has stated that this update is more complex than effective malta mobile numbers list a typical core update, which is a big statement for them to make outright. The March 2024 core update implements the “useful content” system directly into their core ranking system. The goal of this integration is to drastically decrease the useless content appearing in search results and punish sites that have been creating spammy content.
New spam policies were also introduced targeting certain manipulative tactics, such as site reputation, domain staleness, and content abuse at scale. Google says they will take action against more types of these manipulative behaviors. Ranking systems prevent many types of low-quality content from ranking highly in Search, these updates allow for more targeted action to be taken based on Google's spam policies.
They also encourage content creators to review their spam policies to ensure they meet Google's standards.
One more key element to note regarding spam is that Google mentions a “manual spam action” in its core update notice. This means that one way Google is responding to automated abuse of systems by AI solutions is by relying more on human solutions.
By rolling out this multi-pronged update, Google hopes to improve the user experience by enhancing the quality of the search results they serve, as well as discourage site owners from trying to game the system. Some specific areas they are focusing on include:
Site reputation abuse: Site reputation abuse occurs when trusted sites publish third-party content without any oversight to take advantage of the site's own ranking signals and good standing with Google. This doesn't mean that all third-party content violates the rules. It does mean that the content published must provide value to the site's users and must not be produced solely to manipulate search rankings.
Expired Domain Abuse: Another area that Google is addressing in the March 2024 Core Update is expired domain abuse. This is when an expired domain is purchased and then used to boost the rankings of low-quality content, essentially tricking users into believing that the new content is coming from the old site.
Scaled Content Abuse: Scaled content abuse occurs when numerous pages are created with the primary goal of boosting the site’s position in search rankings rather than helping users. Google stated that this measure is meant to address content created by humans, as well as artificial intelligence, to push more useless content into the SERPs.
While this update presents challenges for both site owners and SEO professionals, there are some benefits for those who have adhered to Google's guidelines and have not attempted to cheat its system.
Google cannot and does not want to call AI content bad, instead it will use jargon like “scaled content abuse.” Even if this update is not technically targeting AI content, there is an extremely high likelihood that most of the sites affected by the update have used AI-generated content.
Conclusion
As with every update, many websites may experience fluctuations in rankings. It's important to give Google some time to complete the rollout and tweak some of the finer details of the update.