What are Google Core Updates?
Google Core Updates are changes that are made to the search engine algorithm of Google. These updates are usually done to improve the quality of search results of the search engine. Google Core Updates are important for website owners and online businesses as they can have a significant impact on their website traffic and search engine ranking.
Google Core Updates are released periodically, and they can affect visibility of many types of websites and industries. Some updates are focused on improving the user experience, while others are aimed at improving the quality of content. These updates can result in changes to the search engine ranking of websites, which can therefore affect website traffic and revenue.
It is important to keep up with Google Core Updates and understand how they might be affecting the visibility of your website (even though Google rarely share the detail of what they have done). This can help you make any necessary changes to your marketing activity to ensure your website is not negatively impacted by any updates versus your competition.
What is in the March 23 core update?
The March 23 Google core update is the first since Autumn 2022, and is all about improving the overall quality of search results. This means that Google is trying to provide more relevant and useful information to its users. Some websites might see a drop in their rankings, while others might see an increase. It all depends on how well their content meets the new standards set by Google. The update has taken 2 weeks to roll out, so as yet it is hard to predict the impact on specific sites as the search engines take time to re-index all of the pages out there on the internet – there is a period of volatility in rankings whilst this is happening.
Secondly, the update focuses on E-A-T, which stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. This means that Google is looking for websites that have high-quality content from experts in their field, are reputable sources, and have a positive reputation. So, if you want to improve your website’s ranking, make sure that your content is accurate, well-researched, and comes from a trustworthy source.
Lastly, the March 23 Google core update is a reminder that SEO is an ongoing process. You need to constantly monitor your website’s performance, improve your content, and stay up-to-date with the latest trends in your industry. By doing so, you’ll not only improve your website’s ranking but also provide a better user experience for your visitors.
What do Google say?
The guidance from Google is to create helpful, reliable, people first content. So they are prioritising content which is written with the website’s reader in mind. Here are a few of the questions they suggest challenging yourself with – you can see how they are starting to combat some of the copy generating AI now commonly in use ….
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond the obvious?
- If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources, and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does the content have any spelling or stylistic issues?
- Is the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
If your website is negatively affected (which may be temporary whilst pages are re-indexing), Google refers us to it’s E-A-T for hints and tips as to how to improve the searchability of your content.
Conclusion
This is a relatively large update, so it will take a while to understand the impact on the visibility of an individual website. If your rankings drop, it may be a temporary effect, but if it does happen,
you should review your site content and assess whether it meets Google’s E-A-T guidelines for building high-quality sites. Remember, Search Engine Optimisation is an ongoing process which builds over time, so the sooner you start adjusting your content, the sooner you’ll improve your rankings.
