On March 5 Google announced an update called the March 2024 core update. Core updates might have a large impact on the organic traffic of a website. This article will give website developers and other stakeholders insights about the March 2024 update and what they should be aware of.

Google updates in general

Google often changes some of the aspects its search engine takes into account to rank websites. It is an ongoing process and literally thousands of changes are made in a year. Most of these changes are small adjustments and don’t have an impact on the overall SERPs.

However, sometimes Google makes updates which have a serious impact on website rankings. They are, usually, publicly announced and are known as core updates.

What is a Google core update?

With “normal” Google updates, adjustments are only made to individual aspects to alter the ranking of websites. A core update, however. changes the core algorithm. The result is a sudden, and in most instances, significant impact on website traffic. This type of update aims to improve the quality of search results on Google.

Things to be aware of about March 2024 core update

This update influences the SEO industry as a whole. Therefore, website developers and designers must be aware of the most important changes and the impact of these changes on, for instance, Sydney search engine optimisation.

Reducing unoriginal content

This update not only reduces irrelevant content from search engines but will also completely remove questionable SEO tactics, such as creating web pages for the sole purpose of matching specific search queries.

Every SEO agency in Sydney should check all existing content on sites and remove all unoriginal and unnecessary material to prevent the removal of the site from the Google search engine.

Removal and penalties without notice

The owners of affected sites will not be notified of a change in the ranking of their sites as a result of the March 2024 update. Businesses might have lost many potential clients because the website is not ranking high anymore before the owners realise that their sites have been penalised.

AI content is vulnerable

A new factor now included when Google considers content to be trustworthy or not is that AI-generated content may be considered outdated and not free from errors. Google is not against AI-generated content but only wants to remove useless, repetitive, and unoriginal material from its search engine. AI-generated material often provides these types of content.

Link-related issues

The March 2024 update influences the role of website links. The following may have negative marketing implications for SEO marketing Sydney:

  • The de-emphasising of links – can be negative for search engine optimisation Sydney.
  • Penalising of manipulative links from the site when the material is created solely for the manipulation of links.
  • Penalising of the website’s search engine ranking because of manipulated links to the business site.

Conclusion

SEO in Sydney might be influenced negatively by the March 2024 core update and the SEO industry must take notice of the most important aspects that might influence SEO marketing.