If you have noticed big changes to your website traffic, it may be due to the Google core update taking place between August 15th and September 3rd of 2024. The update continues Google’s mission of purging their search results of spam content, providing only the most reputable products and useful information. Unfortunately, this ideal does not always work out in practice and valuable pages are sometimes penalized, particularly if they fit the particular criteria Google is screening for.
Google’s New Page-Vetting Criteria
In the announcement by Google, search advocate John Mueller described the purpose as “showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.”
In other words, the update attempts to penalize content that:
- Spams keywords
- Provides incorrect information
And promote content that:
- Provides unique and helpful information
- Retains users’ interest
How the Update Affects AI Content
By nature, AI content is built from preexisting websites, meaning any information included is already published elsewhere. Any information not directly copied may be faulty, based on a random content generator rather than business knowledge. While not declared specifically, the August 2024 Google core update is designed to penalize both of these primary aspects of content written by AI.
What to do if You Lost Rankings
Unlike the trend of core updates since Google Panda, the update focuses on individual pages rather than rewarding and penalizing websites as a whole. This gives website owners a distinct advantage: By looking into the specific keyword ranking changes, it’s easier to identify which pages need to be updated.
In the August 2024 core update guidelines, Google cautions against deleting content that can instead be improved, encouraging businesses to find ways to “improve your content in meaningful ways” that make it “easier for your audience to read and navigate the page.”
In light of these recommendations in combination with our own data, Lightning Digital is offering a specialized SEO service for websites affected by the August 2024 Google core update.
Our SEO team will:
- Audit the changes in keyword rankings over the course of August and September 2024
- Cross-reference Google Search Console with keyword ranking aggregate software
- Identify pages receiving the greatest boons and heaviest losses
- Work closely with you to develop a game plan
- Revamp the selected pages including on-page content recommendations and back-end SEO optimization
- Accomplish any other goals your team identifies during the investigation and resolution process
We will work seamlessly with your team to not just recover page rankings but build new rankings taking full advantage of the August 2024 Google core update.
Not sure whether your website was affected by the core update or how to recover rankings? Start a conversation with our team.
