At the beginning of March Google released several updates aimed at improving the quality of the search results generated by its platform.
The Director of Product, Search at Google has stated that the update will reduce the amount of unhelpful content in Google’s search results by 40%.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
The main part of this update will hit webpages that…
- are unhelp
- have a poor user experience
- were created for search engines instead of for people
If you have been following the online marketing best practices for a while then none of this will be news to you. Any piece of content on your website should be helpful, be easy to navigate by your website visitor, and serve a purpose for your intended customer.
If you are checking your rankings then you can expect some fluctuations as the new update is rolled out. However, good websites should see their ranking positions recover and improve thanks to this update.
There are other parts to this update that aim to tackle…
- spam content – this is any content specifically created for the sake of content instead of adding value
- expired domain abuse – which is the action of buying an expired domain and repurposing it to boost a lower quality site’s content
- site reputation abuse, otherwise known as Parasite SEO – which is where a websites host low-quality content provided by a third party to piggyback on the ranking power of the original website. Not to be confused with native advertising or advertorial.
Why is Google Making this Update
Google’s business is to provide great content to its users, if it fails to do so then those same users will begin to use a different search engine.
In a constantly evolving online world full of tricksters, spammers, and content that serves no real purpose, Google needs to ensure that the content that it provides its customers is top-notch.
These steps will ensure that Google maintains its position as the top search engine, protects its users, and ultimately continues to be able to generate income from advertising.
Published: 13th Mar 2024