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Ranking Changes Related To Google March 2024 Core Update

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Google Logo Core Explosion

Today is the first day I have seen solid evidence of serious ranking volatility and changes related to the big Google March 2024 Core Update. As a reminder, the Google March 2024 Core Update officially started on March 5, 2024, and will take up to a month to roll out fully. We are expecting numerous ranking changes during the next few weeks.

Google said this core update should reduce the amount of unhelpful, low-quality, unoriginal content in its search results by 40%. Google is pushing out changes to numerous systems within the overall core ranking system, which is why it will take around a month to roll out and which is why you should expect ranking volatility numerous times throughout this roll out period.

Today I am seeing signs from both SEO professionals and site owners and also the automated Google tracking tools that this update has landed today, March 9th. Some saw early signs yesterday as well.

Also, keep in mind, Google dished out tons of manual action penalties on March 6th and 7th, mostly related to “pure spam” penalties. This is different from the core update or even the spam update, because manual actions are not algorithmic and you will get notified of a penalty in Google Search Console – I explain more over here.

Google Tracking Tools On March 2024 Core Update:

As you can see, most of the tools started to spike a bit on Friday, March 8th, but really started to show big volatility on Saturday, March 9th. I expect even more volatility to show tomorrow, Sunday, March 10th – I may update this story with more details then, so check back tomorrow:

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Mozcast:

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Semrush:

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SERPmetrics:

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Accuranker:

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Cognitive SEO:

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Mangools:

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Wincher:

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Algoroo:

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SEO Chatter

Here is some of the SEO chatter of people talking about this update kicking in. This is across X, WebmasterWorld and the over 1,200 comments here:

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Traffic is terrible this morning. Google vs spammers battle is more intense than ever. And they are not using precision munitions either. They are dropping nukes. Collateral damage is immense. Spammers are changing tactics. Reddit, Medium, Linkedin Pulse are turning into Blogspot style spam dumps. Quality of search continues to steadily decline. It’s Spamaggeddon!

Strangely, GSC shows a corresponding increase in indexed pages to around 150k for 1 ccTLD. It only has around 1200 pages to index. All noindex’s are checked and in order, so what’s going on, I wonder.

No manual penalties reported.

There is tremendous volatility on many queries right now. A guide of mine with several solutions on android auto problems is surpassed by news sites that give a solution that there was on a certain day a few years ago. Obviously this solution no longer works and is not valid for all the problems that can be had with the operation of Android auto, moreover these news dealt with only a bug of a version of Android auto. Once My article used to be among the top positions, rightly so Since it has all the possible solutions to try for solve.

I’m hoping that this is a Search Console bug too. But the other thing that my GA4 must be glitching too, because it also shows drop to 2 clicks per day. But…

I’m checking my Semrush, checking Hrefs numbers – they are all showing some changes (~10%), but no drop to zero or something like that. Hoping this is a glitch…

I am not seeing a huge decline in overall traffic, but this morning there is a big increase in traffic to obscure lower-level pages and also from unusual locations. I am also seeing single product pages with unusually high levels of visits from different unique visitors. It’s as if this one item suddenly rocketed to the top of searches and lots of people clicked it, then it dropped out of sight again. So I think there must be a lot of churning going on now as the pattern of visits is very different from the norm. The steady decline in converting traffic continues…zero serious inquiries from USA, UK, CA, AU or UAE…it’s like the blood being drained out of my business. I did get an inquiry from Mongolia though…no joke.

This remains to be seen, though many will believe it simply because Google said it. Instead observe the serps for evidence. I see numerous very high quality websites have taken a huge hit in the last few days. By high quality I’m talking about site’s created by professionals with degrees in their fields who have so much EEAT it is oozing out of their eyeballs. My observation suggests the facts don’t back up the claim about Google very easily penalizing AI sites. But we are still early in this update to come to any definitive conclusions.

USA traffic is -31% today, so something is definitely kicking in in the USA SERPS. My overall search traffic is actually up slightly, and UK, AU, CA, and most of Europe ex France is very high today.

I see a slight increase today, as opposed to the last 3 days and compared to the last 3 Saturdays – Saturday is an important mark for one of my sites. So, on this site I see a small increase.

Seeing a lot of sites drop total traffic i.e no impressions but page still shows on the index

So I really think this March 2024 core update started to dig its heels in today.

What are you all seeing?

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Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.



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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 27, 2024

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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.


Google Local Service Ads is asking for more photos. SEOs, please don’t remove the contact us and about us pages. Hotels can remove pricing details from its Google listings. Google Local reviews is testing reactions. Google Analytics real time reporting had issues today. Google help documentation is testing using AI features.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:


  • SEOs, Please Don’t Remove Contact Us & About Us Pages


    Google’s John Mueller asked if it would be alright not to list a contact us and about us page on their website. The reason is, they would only add it if Google wanted it, but not for users. John Mueller responded, “I can think of good reasons for some sites to have these kinds of pages, but, after double-checking, there’s nothing in our search developer documentation that suggests this is needed.”

  • Google Local Service Ads Sends Email Asking You To Upload Photos


    Google is sending some Local Service Ads advertisers emails asking them to upload photos to their profiles. The email says, “Photos are coming to your Local Services Ads. Upload images to your profile to help your business stand out.” But don’t LSAs already contain photos?

  • Google Search Developer Docs Gain AI Generated Help Features


    A week ago Monday, March 18th, I noticed Google’s search developer documentation had generative AI features to help you find the answers to your question. This is in the form of an improved search, summary of the page content, a chat feature and more. I was told this was rolled out on some developer docs earlier in the year.



  • Google Local Reviews Reactions Notice


    In November 2023 we started to see Google allow reactions on local photos and some reviews. Well, it seems to be rolling out more widely now.

  • Google Analytics Real Time Data Lagging Today


    There are countless complaints across the forums and social media that Google Analytics real time data is lagging and not reporting accurately. It seems like those complaints are legit after checking a number of sites.


  • Google Cafe Cleaning & Delivery Robot


    You probably have seen these cleaning and delivery robots in some restaurants and lounges but have you seen them in the Google cafes? Here is one doing its thing at one of the cafes at the GooglePlex in Mountain View, California.



Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

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SEO

PPC

Other Search

Feedback:


Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.



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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 26, 2024

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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.


Google Search Console is testing an Android App. Google is testing places and places sites in the search bar menu. Google spoke about if a business should have a website and a blog. Google added 3D models to product structured data. Google Search does not support AVIF images, yet. Mikhail Parakhin stepped down as the head of Bing Search and Microsoft Advertising.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:


  • Google Search Console Tests Android App


    Google seems to be testing an Android App for Google Search Console. This comes several weeks after I reported that Google has no plans for a mobile app for Google Search Console.


  • Google Tests Places & Places Sites Search Bar Filter Tabs


    Yesterday we reported Google is testing products and products sites in the search bar tab in the European regions. Today, Google is testing places and places sites in the search bar tab in the European regions.

  • Google: Should Small Service Businesses Start A Website & A Blog?


    Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, was asked about if a business should always have a website and if so, should they also have a blog. Sullivan replied that he believes all businesses should have at least a basic website, but when it comes to a blog, that depends on what they have to say on that blog.



  • Google Adds 3D Models Markup To Product Structured Data For Linking


    Google has added new 3D models markup support to the product structured data documentation so that you can connect, associate or link your products to the appropriate 3D model.



  • Google Search Does Not Support AVIF Images Just Yet


    Did you know that Google Search does not support the AVIF image format? At least not yet. Google Search doesn’t list it on its supported image formats and Google Image Search simply won’t index them. But John Mueller of Google said on X, “I’m sure this won’t be necessary long term.”



  • Mikhail Parakhin Steps Down As Head Of Bing Search & Microsoft Advertising


    Mikhail Parakhin, the head of Bing Search and Microsoft Advertising, is stepping down from that role as Parakhin “decided to explore new roles.” We’ve quoted Mikhail Parakhin here countless times over the past couple of years, to hear that he is leaving the role makes me super sad. His transparency and willingness to listen to the community was amazing.



  • St. Patrick’s Day Dancers At Google Ireland


    Here is a video I found on Instagram from the Google Ireland office of dancers performing at the Google office in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It looks like they call themselves the Golden Beats.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

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Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Other Search

Feedback:


Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.

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Daily Search Forum Recap: March 25, 2024

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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.


Google is begging SEOs to stop trying to show Google things and work on showing their users things. Google is testing the Search Generative Experience in the wild to a subset of US users. Google says publishing more content doesn’t improve site quality. Google is testing products and product sites in the search bar. Google shares how to remove a subdomain of a subdomain in Google Search Console.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:


  • Google Tests SGE AI Overviews In The Wild (Subset Of US Users)


    On Friday, Google began to test SGE-based AI overviews in the real Google search results. That means you may see AI overview snapshot answers in Google search results without being opted into the Google search labs experiment. This is being tested on a small subset of searchers based in the U.S., Google told me.

  • Google Begs SEOs To Stop Showing Google Things; Show Visitors Things Instead


    Google’s Search Liaison responded to a series of posts on Twitter, leading him to beg SEOs to stop trying to “show Google” things, explaining that the process of doing things to your site to rank better in Google is the opposite of the advice Google is giving. Instead, show things to your users/visitors that those people will like.


  • Google: Publishing More Content Doesn’t Improve Quality For Faster Indexing


    A couple of weeks ago, Gary Illyes and Lizzi Sassman of Google had Dave Smart as a guest on the Search Off The Record podcast and they spoke about crawling. In one part, they said again that the quality of your site can impact how fast and how much Google will crawl your website.



  • Google Tests Products & Product Sites Search Bar Filter Tabs


    Google is now testing placing “product sites” as its own search bar filter tab in the search results. Also, Google is testing replacing “Shopping” with “Products” in that search bar.



  • How To Remove A Subdomain Of A Subdomain Via Google Search Console


    Let’s say you have a subdomain of a subdomain, such as sub.sub.domain.tld, how do you remove sub.sub.domain.tld from Google while keeping sub.domain.tld in the Google search results. The answer is to verify the sub.sub.domain.tld property directly in Search Console and remove just that property.



  • Flock Of Geese At Google


    Here is a flock of geese near the new Google Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. I guess the geese are making its way from the GooglePlex to the Bay View campus?

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

Advertisement

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Other Search

Feedback:


Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.

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