Google’s March 2024 Core Update is coming to combat low-quality content and introduce stricter spam policies in an effort to make search results more reliable. The update, which Google claims is more comprehensive than usual, aims to enhance search result quality and reduce spammy content. Here’s what you need to know about the update:
Improved Quality Ranking
Google is refining its ranking systems to prioritize helpful and original content. Elizabeth Tucker, Google’s search product director, says they’re busy tweaking algorithms to spot pages that could be more beneficial to users or seem created mainly for search engines. This effort builds upon previous work since 2022, with the goal of slashing low-quality, unoriginal content by 40%.
New Spam Policies
Apart from ranking adjustments, Google is revamping its spam policies to weed out the lowest-quality content from search results.
Scaled Content Abuse
Google is cracking down on the misuse of automation to churn out low-quality content for search ranking manipulation. Regardless of whether it’s automated or human-generated, if content is mass-produced to game search rankings, it’s a violation.
Site Reputation Abuse
To combat the practice of reputable sites hosting low-quality third-party content to leverage their strong reputation, Google will now label such content as spam if it’s primarily created for ranking purposes without proper oversight.
Expired Domain Abuse
Google’s updated spam policies target the abuse of expired domains. When expired domains are bought and repurposed to boost the search ranking of low-quality content, it can mislead users. Google aims to stamp out this practice.
March 2024 Core Update Is Rolling Out Now
Website owners have two months to align with the new site reputation policy. Other changes take effect immediately. Google’s announcement underscores its ongoing dedication to enhancing search result quality.