{"id":208045,"date":"2024-03-20T16:30:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T08:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seo-hacker.com\/?p=208045"},"modified":"2024-10-03T09:24:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T01:24:47","slug":"google-march-2024-core-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seo-hacker.com\/google-march-2024-core-update\/","title":{"rendered":"The Google March 2024 Core Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"All<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been over two weeks since Google\u2019s March 2024 core update rolled out \u2013 and it\u2019s one of the most significant updates I have seen to date. It\u2019s currently sweeping the web in the same way we saw Panda and Penguin updates do more than ten years ago, and all the forums agree: this update is a <\/span>big deal<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 2024 Core Update<\/span><\/h2>\n

After reading the official Google announcement, it was very clear that it was <\/span>very <\/span><\/i>different from past core updates for two reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

First: not only did it cover the usual major changes to ranking systems, but it rolled out at the same time brand-new spam policies were announced. Second: it was packaged with a helpful content system.<\/span><\/p>\n

What this means is Google has updated what it will consider \u201cspam\u201d from sites, and we won\u2019t be seeing any more Helpful Content Updates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why the March 2024 Core Update Matters<\/b><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no secret that Google’s reputation has fallen lately, with many users reporting poor user experience caused by the rising number of AI-generated content clogging up the SERPs.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that\u2019s been happening for months now, and this likely is why they have decided to package this core update with several others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, I mentioned Panda<\/a> and Penguin<\/a> earlier \u2013 and if you\u2019ve been in the SEO game for about as long as I have, then you know how significant my statement is.<\/span><\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re newer to SEO, I\u2019ll summarize. Back when those two updates came out, Google cracked down, <\/span>hard<\/span><\/i>, on websites. Hundreds upon thousands of websites were penalized and even de-indeed, causing many to lose 100% of their traffic. And this all happened basically overnight.<\/span><\/p>\n

And something similar is happening now, from what I\u2019ve been seeing on news updates and forums.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Effects of the March 2024 Core Update So Far<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the days since the Google March 2024 core and spam updates have started rolling out, the SERPs have been busy. We\u2019ve seen significant search ranking volatility, which is partially due to the algorithmic updates, and partially related to Google issuing manual actions connected to the new spam policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note that this update is not over yet. These things usually take a few weeks to roll out \u2013 Google themselves said it would take about a month to finish (<\/span>check their dashboard<\/span><\/a> if you want to see when it finishes.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, several systems will be updated at the same time. We could see even more volatility in the next two weeks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here is a brief timeline of what SEOs and webmasters have been reporting on forums since the launch:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n