SEO Best Practices Post-Google Search Update March 2024

SEO Best Practices Post-Google Search Update March 2024

Posted On : October 9th, 2024   By : Diptimayee Mohanty   To : SEO Analysis

Has your website’s traffic been in downward/upward trend since a few months?

Well, you’re not alone… Many publishers have experienced similar shifts in their traffic following Google’s March 2024 core update.

If you’re in upward trend, well & good. But if your traffic has been impacted negatively and the trend is consistent, this blog post is definitely for you.

Today’s blog post aims to decipher the changes the search engine made to its core systems as part of the update to help users get―what it thinks is―the most relevant information. The post also discusses the SEO best practices to adapt to the latest changes.

March 2024 Google Search Update: What Do We Know So Far?

Google, being Google, hasn’t shared the exact changes it made to its core systems as part of the March 2024 core update. It did, however, publish a blog post on the topic. As you go through the specific phrases and careful wording of that article, you’ll get a perspective on the changes that the tech giant might have made to its ranking systems. As SEO professionals who have been closely monitoring Google ranking updates for quite a while, here’s our perspective on the March 2024 update.

Core update Google announced on 5th of March 2024 includes…

#1- An update to the core ranking algorithm

#2- New policies to address search spam

Learn more about them in the following segment.

March 2024 Core Update: What’s It About?

Making the core systems more capable of identifying and displaying helpful content in

Google Search, at the most basic level, is an information processing unit… programmed to find and serve the most relevant and reliable piece of information to the user. Since it’s the dominant player in search industry with an 81.9% market share, an infinite number of attempts have been made to deceive its algorithm and gain web traffic in illegitimate ways. Google updates its core systems and spam policies from time to time to demote such efforts and promote unique, relevant, and reliable content in search results.

Google’s March 2024 update aims to make the core systems more capable of assessing the helpfulness of web page content and promoting original, reliable, and useful information on SERPs. Another objective of this update is to penalize low-quality content aimed at manipulating its algorithm.

Here’s what Elizabeth Tucker (Director, Product Management) wrote about the update…

we expect that the combination of this update and our previous efforts will collectively reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%.”

40%… that’s a lot.

Integration of ‘Helpful Content Update‘ To the Core Ranking System

Yup, you read that right. Google integrated “Helpful Content Update” to its core ranking systems during the March 2024 core update.

For those who don’t know, the purpose of Google’s “August 2022 helpful content update” was to promote original, people-centric content in SERPs. Now that it has become an integral part of the core ranking systems, content that genuinely addresses user queries will outperform those targeting specific search terms to rank well in search results.

Should You Be Worried?

Is Your SEO Strategy at Risk

  • Are you creating content for search engines, not for genuine users?
  • Have you been targeting specific search terms in your web content for ranking enhancement on SERPs?
  • Are you publishing unoriginal content produced by unethical means?
  • Are you going after trending topics that are irrelevant to your expertise in the hope of attracting more web traffic?

If your answer to any of the aforementioned questions is yes, you’re right to be worried of March 2024 core update.

New spam policies: Who Are They Aimed At?

New Google Spam Policies-Who Are They Aimed At

Entities Engaging in Expired Domain Abuse

Domains, even after they expire, do carry residual traffic and authority from past ownership. Hosting low-quality, extraneous content on such domains with the objective of manipulating search rankings can attract a penalty from Google. Indulging in such practices can lead to severe consequences.

  • The search engine might downgrade the domain’s authority.
  • The domain may even get flagged for spammy behavior, which could result in its blacklisting.

Just to make sure we’re on the same page… there are ethical ways to use an older domain for a new. Follow Google’s guidelines to the letter while doing so.

Entities Involved in Scaled Content Abuse

Have you been publishing a large volume of unoriginal content produced by unethical means to attract search engine traffic for a wide range of keywords? Google has officially labelled such practices as unethical and spammy. Here’s how it could harm you besides that:

  • It could curtail user engagement and amplify bounce rate.
  • It could harm your platform’s reputation and hinder the flow of organic traffic.
  • Google might even penalize your site for such practices.

So, think twice before flooding your website with low-quality content created through automated tools… only to manipulate search rankings, not to serve people.

Entities Practicing Site Reputation Abuse

It’s the tricky one… It can be defined as a practice where third-party pages are published on high-authority websites without adequate oversight- with the sole objective of exaggerating their reputation in the perception of search engines.

Such pages are usually published under the labels such as sponsored, advertising, partner, etc. Indulging in such manipulative practices can attract penalties from search engines.

However, there are exceptions… to know more, please go through Google’s official spam policy documentation.

Best SEO Practices

Listed below are a few things that you can do to thrive in the post-March 2024 landscape…

Best SEO Practices

#1- Focus on E-E-A-T

In the era of AI, where tools like ChatGPT and Gemini can be used to write literally thousands of articles per hour―Google values well-researched original content. It still believes in quality and understands the importance of content focused on people. If you don’t want your web content to be impacted by major core updates including the one they implemented on March 2024, align it with Google’s E-E-A-T framework aka Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

  • Who is writing the content?
  • What level of knowledge does the author have on that specific topic?
  • How established and credible is the site in that specific niche?

Above are some of key factors that Google considers to judge you E-E-A-T.

#2- Create High-Quality, User-Centric Content

The content you’re publishing on your platform should be people-centric… focusing on solving user queries and needs. Craft in-depth, informative, and engaging content that meets user expectations. Don’t go after trendy topics… they won’t lead you anywhere. Stay within a specific niche and craft unique, researched, and original content that adds value to the internet. Here’s how you can do that…

  • Identify your audience―find out what your target audience values and seeks.
  • Set a realistic goal and craft your content accordingly.
  • Focus on quality… take your time and conduct thorough research on the topic.
  • Keep things clear, engaging, easy to read and understand.

Engage with your audience through various means including comments, surveys, social media, etc.

#3- Work on Optimizing Site’s UX

Your website should be easy to navigate… both for search engine crawlers and users. When someone lands on your site, they should be able to access all the required information and resources quickly with minimal clicks and short scrolls. Here’s how you can accomplish that…

  • Make your site responsive that offers seamless experience across various screen sizes.
  • Simplify your site’s navigation with clear menus, breadcrumb navigation, and a search bar.
  • Maintaining a clean layout.
  • Optimizing your site’s layout and architecture.

Working on your site’s UX can contribute to higher engagement, longer session durations, and of course… improved search rankings.

#4- Core Web Vitals (CWVs)

Work on optimizing your site for core web vitals like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction To Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). There are a few things that you can do to optimize your site for these metrics…

  • To enhance your site’s LCP, you can optimize its images, make use of a CDN, and minimize server response time.
  • For a consistent INP, implement efficient JavaScript and optimize event handlers.
  • To improve CLS, create stable layouts that can adapt without causing much shifts.

Websites with properly optimized CWVs can enhance user satisfaction; resulting in improved search rankings.

#5- Stay Updated with Evolving SEO Trends

SEO is an ever-changing field… Shifts in user behavior can prompt search engines to adjust their algorithms. Monitor reputed SEO blogs, forums, and industry publications for any algorithm updates by major search engines.

Closing Remark

So, there you have it… A brief note on Google’s March 2024 Search update and things that you can do stay compliant moving forward.

Diptimayee Mohanty
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