If you’re not up-to-date with Google’s search algorithm changes, you need to be! Back in March, Google released a core update that, according to Jeff Coyle (@jeffrey_coyle on X), “feels like a seismic shift” in search engine rankings.

Google was harsh in this update, really harsh, with some websites experiencing losses of over 60% in organic search traffic. This core update was followed by a smaller “Spam Update” in June, which buried some websites even further.

March 2024 Core Update: Quality Over Quantity

Focus on Content Quality and User Intent

The March 2024 Core Update improved how Google assess the quality and relevance of web pages. It primarily targeted content deemend “unhelpful” or created mainly for search engines, essentially penalising those sites that try to manipulate the search algorithm, rather than providing content to the end consumer. Google states that they expect to reduce low-quality content by 40%, encouraging human-centric content.

Whilst this may seem all “doom and gloom”, this update means that websites that were already creating high quality content saw significant traffic gains. According to Sarah Wright, “this update feels like Google finally has a handle on AI-generated content. It’s a win for human writers and real information.”

Keyword Stuffing & Thin Content

This isn’t anything new, however Google is certainly cracking down even further on keyword stuffing. If you’re writing content that’s overflowing with keywords, but it flows like a dry river bed (i.e it doesn’t flow at all), then you’re wasting your time. In fact, it’s worse than that, it actually may be hurting your website, to the point where it would be better off without that content.

Google is now favouring content that flows naturally and answers user queries. Gary Schwartz summed this up perfect during a recent live stream, saying “it’s time to move beyond keyword stuffing and focus on creating valuable content for users.”

Helpful tip: think about the specific terms/questions people are searching for that are related to your product/service. Provide useful information on these topics & answer the specific questions!

New Spam Policies

Within this core update, Google also introduced new spam policies that heavily penalised:

• Scaled Content Abuse: Automated or manual content produced at scale purely to manipulate search rankings.
• Site Reputation Abuse: Hosting low-quality, third-party content (such as sponsored or affiliate content) to boost search rankings.
• Expired Domain Abuse: Repurposing expired domains to improve rankings for low-quality content.

These new spam policies confirm that Google is aiming to create a cleaner search environment with websites that demonstrably offer value to users.

User Experience

With the March 2024 Core Update, google is sending a strong message that user experience is of absolute importance. As a result, websites with these particular features stand to gain a significant ranking boost:

• Mobile-Friendliness: Over 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, therefore a smooth mobile experience is essential and should be of the utmost priority.
• Clear Page Structure: Web pages with a logical layout, easy navigation, and proper use of headings have been heavily rewarded.
• Fast Loading Speeds: We all know that fast page loading speeds equal a better user experience. Google also knows this, which means fast-loading pages have received a ranking boot. According to Kissmetrics, if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, over a quarter of users will click away.
• Engage the User: Content that’s informative, well-written and keeps users engaged is now a top priority – it should be like a good book: damn hard to put down.

June 2024 Spam Update: Cleaning Up the Web

Broad Spam Tactics

The June 2024 Spam Update is Google’s latest attempt to weed out the remaining bad appes. Rather than implementing anything new, they are doubling-down on the spam aspect of the March Core Update.

• Poor quality or Duplicated Content: If your content is thin, hard to read or copied from other sources, it’s getting hit.
• Spammy Links: Google is really cracking down on sites that are buying or selling links to game the system.
• Deceptive Techniques: Other Black-hat SEO tactics like hidden redirects or cloaking tactics are high on Google’s priority list to shut down, so watch out if you’re doing this.
• Automatically-Generated Content: Content created purely for SEO without any real value for the reader is getting flagged, and in some cases, resulting in deindexing.

Moving Forward: How to Adapt to These Changes

High Quality Content

Creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content should be priority number 1. The concept of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is now central to content strategy, especially in niches like health, law and finance. Chris Nelson, Senior Analyst and SEO Specialist at Google, suggests that “there’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people.”

Prioritising User Experience (UX)

Ensuring a smooth mobile experience, clear structure, and fast loading speeds is critical. These factors enhance user satisfaction and contribute to better search rankings.

Avoiding Black Hat SEO Tactics

Practices like keyword stuffing, buying links, or cloaking will hurt website rankings. Sticking to ethical SEO practices is essential for long-term success.

This update has emphasised the importance of a holistic SEO approach. Content quality, technical SEO, and UX all matter now more than ever.

Optimising for Semantic Search

Understanding user intent beyond just keywords is vital, and can help in other areas of your business beyond just SEO. From an SEO standpoint, this involves creating content that addresses the underlying questions and needs of users. Building natural backlinks from high-quality, relevant websites is also important.

Humanising AI-Generated Content

AI is incredibly useful for creating content and it should be utilised to help speed the process up for the content creator. However, the end product must be humanised to connect with the reader, because most people can smell AI-generated content from a mile away.

Adding personal insights, experiences, and a natural writing style helps achieve this.