It’s been a massive relief to see the details of this latest Google March 2024 Core Update. By finally implementing major changes to combat AI-generated content spam (Scaled content spam), this particular Google update comes at a crucial moment for businesses and marketers, further emphasising the importance of quality over quantity in content strategy.
The Current State of Digital Content
The rise of generative AI since late 2022, when ChatGPT-3.5 was unleashed to the public, has dramatically transformed content creation. While AI tools offer incredible opportunities, they’ve also led to an unprecedented surge in the volume of web content, and not all of it is good quality.
Just for perspective, Google was detecting 40 billion spam pages daily in 2020, before the AI content explosion. By 2022, this number had grown exponentially, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing digital marketers and businesses. And today the number of web spam pages detected daily is “so off the scale” that Google no longer reports the figure. They must be astronomical.
Understanding Google’s March 2024 Update
Google’s latest March 2024 core update introduces improved quality ranking systems. The main priority of this update has been to prioritise “helpful content”, that is content that is useful for users and of good quality. Websites with low-quality, thin content, or even masses of AI-generated content are in the crosshairs of this update.
As always, Google’s advice is that website content creators need to continue to focus on publishing unique, valuable content that gives users a positive online experience. Google often states that website owners need not do anything to their websites other than continue to provide valuable resources for their audiences. Their usual advice is that if your website has lost rankings, it may not be anything that you’ve done, rather what your competitors may be doing better than you.
Additionally, this core update has been really proactive in tackling increasing amounts of web spam, with enhanced spam policies, specifically targeting:
Scaled Content Abuse
The scaled content abuse part of the update directly addresses mass-produced, AI-generated content lacking originality and value. This targets practices like bulk content generation that prioritise quantity over quality and is purely created to manipulate the search engine rankings
Site Reputation Management
Google is now scrutinising and penalising websites that mix high-quality content with lower-quality third-party contributions, affecting content partnerships and guest posting strategies. Some big name websites with subsections providing unrelated content for irrelevant services, have been particularly affected. News websites should present the news and not tenuous subjects only allowed to for rank.
Domain Authority Tactics
The March 2024 core update addresses the practice of purchasing expired domains to leverage historical SEO value, a tactic some marketers have used to gain quick authority. There was even a YouTube video demonstrating this tactic just a few weeks ago – we were pleased to see this issue tackled.
These were the spam updates within the March 2024 core update and participating in any of these activities goes against Google’s Terms of Service (TOS). So website owners are warned to steer clear of these tactics. Ask your digital marketing and SEO experts to provide clarity and transparency on their work and make sure that you are complying with “white hat” SEO strategies.
The Business Implications
For businesses and marketing professionals, the March 2024 core update brings several important considerations:
Quality Over Automation
While AI tools remain valuable, they should enhance rather than replace human expertise. The focus should be on creating meaningful, valuable content that serves your audience’s needs.
Content Strategy Adaptation
Organisations need to reassess their content strategies to ensure they align with Google’s quality standards:
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- Prioritise expert knowledge and original insights
- Focus on delivering genuine value to your audience
- Maintain consistent quality across all content channels
Investment in Expertise
The update reinforces the value of industry expertise and professional content creation. Businesses should consider:
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- Developing in-house content expertise
- Partnering with qualified content professionals
- Implementing robust content quality controls
Moving Forward
This update represents a significant opportunity for businesses committed to quality content marketing. While AI tools can enhance efficiency, they should complement rather than replace human expertise and creativity.
Recommendations for Businesses
There are a few steps that website owners should take to ensure that they are following best practice, complying with Google’s TOS, and avoiding being caught in any questionable tactics:
- Audit your existing content for quality and originality
- Develop comprehensive content guidelines that prioritise expertise and value
- Invest in professional content creation and management
- Use AI tools strategically to enhance, not replace, human creativity
Looking Ahead
The Google March 2024 update marks a reinforcement of and a return to the fundamentals of quality, expertise, and value. For businesses and marketers who have maintained high standards in their content creation, this update validates their approach. For others, it’s an opportunity to realign their strategy with best practices that will drive sustainable success.
If your website is not performing the way you’d like it to, and you’re not impressed with your current or past digital marketing agencies, then call 22i and get us onboard to audit your website and make all those fixes that should have been done years ago! You’ll be glad you did.
Call us on 01252 692 765 or complete the contact form.
Stay tuned for further developments as we continue to monitor the impact of these changes.
