Do These 5 Things Now To Prevent Google’s New March 2024 Release From Affecting Your Rankings

Google recently released the March 2024 core update aimed at providing better search results. Other changes include incorporating the helpful content system into its overall core ranking system and enforcing spam policies through automated algorithms and manual actions.

This is going to affect everyone, and you should be planning for the changes proactively and monitoring your site performance. Read on to learn how to get ready and better understand how Google works.

Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product for Search at Google, told Search Engine Land that the update will help reduce unhelpful content in Google Search by 40%.

The rollout of the March 2024 core update may take up to a month and will include enhancements to several components of the overall core system.

A big part of this update involves changes to Google’s original and ongoing helpful content updates. Here’s what you should be doing now.

Tip 1 – Lean Into Original Thinking for Your Content

One of the major components of Google’s effort to promote quality content at the top of the rankings is originality. When you’re creating content, make sure it’s focused on original information, research or analysis.

Create content that includes a substantial and comprehensive description of the specific topic. This means longer and more detailed content creation that goes deep on a specific issue or challenge facing your audience.

Include insightful analysis that goes beyond the obvious. This is where you can leverage your own opinions, advice, guidance and expert ideas. If your content doesn’t support your company’s unique position on a topic, I’d consider dropping it from your calendar.

Tip 2 – Think Strategically About Your Content’s Technical Details

You need to do more than just post content. You have to think strategically about how you post. The headline and page title should include a descriptive or helpful summary of the content.

Don’t try to game the system by using shocking or exaggerated headlines and page titles. Ask yourself if this is a page you’d want to share with a friend or colleague.

Would you expect to see this content referenced in a printed magazine or book? If the answer is yes, you’re creating helpful content.

Tip 3 – Create Content That People Trust and Google Wants To Serve

Share any data sources or supporting evidence that back up your content. Make sure the author’s background is easy to access through links or an author footer.

One of the best ways to get people to trust your content is to answer their questions. Your prospects have questions, so identify them and then answer them with content. Not only will the content rank but it will also be a great resource for the sales team to use in the sales process.

When you read your own content, does it feel like it’s written by an industry authority? Is it edited to ensure there are no easily verified factual errors?

If you haven’t picked up on this yet, many of these updates are specifically designed to help weed out AI-generated content and content created to drive quantity over quality. Consider this when you plan your content strategy.

Tip 4 – Develop Content With a High Presentation and Production Value

Again, quality over quality means you’ll need to invest more time in making sure your content NEVER has spelling or formatting issues. Google wants everything served to its customers to be of the highest quality in both content and format.

It has to be clear that you took the time to create high-quality content and didn’t just throw something together for the sake of publishing. This is one reason the Square 2 team employs a full-time editor to make sure that all content we create for us and our clients is professionally produced.

If you’re outsourcing to a content creator who’s cranking out similar copy for several other companies in your industry, or if you’re using AI to create a ton of content as scale, it’s time to rethink that approach.

Finally, Google puts a premium on the mobile content experience, so your content must display well on desktop and mobile devices for it to get ranked.

Tip 5 – Consider Your Visitors and How They’ll Feel Once They Land On Your Site

Yes, I said feel – emotion is a big part of creating a compelling website experience and content that gets ranked. The people visiting your site have to feel comfortable, safe and engaged. 

Google knows this and is asking content creators to consider it. Make sure your site provides substantial value compared to other pages in the list of rankings.

We regularly do competitor reviews and reverse-engineer websites and web pages that are ranking to see how exactly they’re doing it. It makes sense to know what your competitors are doing and what value they’re adding to your industry.

If it looks like your content is only there to try and outsmart the ranking engine, you’re definitely in trouble with the latest algorithm updates.

Organic SEO is never a one-and-done part of the digital marketing puzzle. It’s always going to be a tactic that requires ongoing care and feeding to keep it updated and ensure it’s working each month.