Google announced the release of their August 2024 core update recently, which will take about a month to fully roll out. This latest update to Google’s search algorithm aims to improve results by boosting high-quality content from small and independent publishers.
Update as on September 3: Google August 2024 Core Update Rollout Is Now Complete
The Google August 2024 core update finished rolling out on September 3rd, as confirmed by Google. It had started on August 15th, 2024, and took over 19 days to complete. For SEO professionals and independent publishers, this core update is crucial as it was implemented based on the feedback received for the September ’23 helpful content update. The core update is part of Google’s ongoing effort to improve the quality of search engine results to deliver helpful content for searchers. Google had previously advised to wait until the core update is completed before assessing the effect of this update on your website. Now that the core update rollout is confirmed to be done, it is time to examine the results of this update. According to a Search Engine Roundtable poll, it was reported that over 44% of users experienced ranking or traffic drops, whereas only 27% experienced ranking or traffic improvements. Meanwhile, about 29% of users reported no change to their sites’ performance. Overall, the positive effect of this update is seen to be limited to a few sites, as more sites experienced worsening or the same position in ranking.
Based on the feedback received since September ’23 helpful content update, Google’s John Mueller wrote that, “This latest update takes into account the feedback we’ve heard from some creators and others over the past few months. As always, we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content, when relevant to users’ searches. This is an area we’ll continue to address in future updates. This update also aims to better capture improvements that sites may have made, so we can continue to show the best of the web.”
As keeping up with each Google update and other varying SEO strategies is not an easy task for business owners, you can hire professional SEO services to track and improve SEO for your website.
Salient Points of the August Core Update
- The update was issued on August 15th and may take about one month to completely come into effect
- This update is primarily designed to improve the quality of the search results by boosting content that users genuinely find useful
- Google highlighted that the recent feedback received from content creators and others over the past few months has influenced this update
- The intention of the core update is to boost high-quality, useful content, especially from smaller, independent websites and reduce SEO-focused content that lacks user value as it was only created to rank highly on search engines
- The rollout period is expected to take at least a month to complete
Guidance for Webmasters
The main goal of Google’s core update is to promote genuine, useful content from smaller, independent publishers and treat them on par with authority websites that dominate the SERP. Google announced, “This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.” They also linked a help page that includes in-depth documentation about core updates for web masters and SEO professionals, who may see changes after the update.
The key actionable advices that can be taken to recover from any ranking drops include:
- Use Google Search Console – If you suspect that a drop in ranking or page traffic might be due the core update, there are new sections available on Search Console to analyze and conduct website audit for finding any position change of your site. Small changes can be neglected, whereas a large drop in position means a deeper evaluation is required.
- Carry out self-assessment – Google has created a self-assessment guide for content creators to assess their overall site and identify areas in need of improvement. Evaluating the individual performances of pages helps to determine which content ranks better than others.
- Review and update content – Google recommends against doing any “quick fix” changes, such as removing any element that you’ve heard is bad for SEO. Instead, concentrate on enhancing your content in meaningful ways so it makes sense for your users and produces long-term quality results.
- Delete content for SEO – If the content on your site was formed with only achieving SEO intended results in mind, it’s highly unlikely that your users find it helpful. So, unhelpful content should be removed and user-focused content that is accurate and beneficial for your audience must be placed.
If you have made any significant changes to your website, Google commented that it may take a while before you see an outcome in the search results.
Google added, “Some changes can take effect in a few days, but it could take several months for our systems to learn and confirm that the site as a whole is now producing helpful, reliable, people-first content in the long term. If it’s been a few months and you still haven’t seen any effect, that could mean waiting until the next core update.”
Industry Implications
For SEO professionals and website owners who have been facing issues due to the September 2023 helpful content update change, this core update suggests a ray of hope. The last few core updates were met with backlash for wiping out a good majority of smaller, independent bloggers and site owners despite delivering substantive content. The August core algorithm update is a step towards rectifying this previous mistake and reinforcing the company’s mission of delivering high-quality, relevant search results for users. This is a notable paradigm shift that prioritizes quality over optimization for SEO strategies.
Small business and blog owners can track their metrics and focus on creating original, accurate and high-quality content that users genuinely find valuable. Delegate this job to content writing services for producing informative, unique and authoritative content backed by credible sources. Businesses that emphasize crafting comprehensive, highly specialized user-centric content are favored by search engines and are more likely to see improved rankings. Ultimately, maintaining success for your website is achieved by monitoring SEO metrics and staying informed about evolving SEO trends.
