August 2024 Google Core Update: Key Findings

The August 2024 Google Core Update rollout has been completed. This update focuses on users getting high-quality, informative content that resonates with their search intent over low-value content that was written to just rank well on search engines.

This update aims to improve the quality of search results by connecting users with high-quality websites—whether independent, small, or established—that produce original and valuable content.

Highlights:

• 1. The latest Google August 2024 Core Update was launched on 15th Aug 2024.
• 2. Launching this update aims to improve user search results and provide users with useful, original content and high-quality sites to increase their visibility and ranking.
• 3. This update was completed on 3 Sep 2024 and took 19 days and 4 hours to roll out fully.

On August 15, 2024, Google addressed creators and website owners with a post about its latest Core Update on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

As per John Mueller, Search Advocate at Google, he says:

“This latest update takes into account the feedback we’ve heard from some creators and others over the past few months. As always, we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including ‘small’ or ‘independent’ sites that are creating useful, original content on relevant searches. This is an area we’ll continue to address in future updates.”

• August 2024 Core Updates focus on showing content that is genuinely helpful to users, not just created to rank well in search results.
• This update takes into account recent feedback received from many content creators, independent, small websites, and other stakeholders.
• Google remains committed to highlighting high-quality content from diverse sources, including smaller, independent websites.
• Google said more updates will be launched in the future to help users connect with high-quality sites that produce original and useful content.
• This August Core Update also impacts the AI overview. John Mueller confirmed that Google’s AI-generated overviews in search results are influenced by core algorithm updates, linking these experimental AI features to the main ranking systems.

Google Core Update August 2024 has been completed on 3rd September 2024.

Now, websites of all sizes may see changes in their rankings, causing their positions in search results to fluctuate.

Content written mainly to rank on Google with little useful information will decrease its visibility and ranking.

A recent poll asked website owners how their sites were affected by the Google August 2024 Core Update. Out of 3,614 votes:

Google August 2024 Core Update. Out of 3,614 votes:

• 44% (1,583 votes) reported a drop in rankings.
• 27% (993 votes) saw an increase in rankings.
• 29% (1,083 votes) noticed no change.

Note: These results are based on 3,614 votes and may not be fully accurate.

With the August 2024 Core Update, Google has released its guidance on core algorithm changes to provide more practical advice for website owners and content creators.

Compared with the previous update from July 2024 to the latest Core Update on 15 August 2024, much crucial information has been added to Google’s core update guidelines.

The key changes in the latest Core Update:

• The latest guideline includes a new section about the Google Search Console. Website owners can use the Search Console to analyze their website traffic drops and position changes.
• Google said focuses on making essential changes to improve content rather than quick changes.
• Google also suggested a time when website owners can see ranking changes after making improvements.
• In this update, Google suggested removing unuseful and unnecessary content because it may prevent your good content from ranking.

Core updates are designed to provide users with valuable, reliable, and helpful information.

Over time, user interests and demands have changed, making it necessary for websites to update their information accordingly to maintain their position in SERPs.

Google always prioritizes users' needs and preferences. That’s why it launches new algorithms periodically to improve user experience.

Google also rewards websites that focus on user satisfaction and use natural ranking methods, leading to positive changes in search results.

In its blog, Google also mentioned how you can check whether the August 2024 Core update has affected your website traffic.

• As the core updates are completely rolled out now, you can analyze your website rankings in the Search Console to see the changes
• Compare your current website rankings with your pre-update ranking report.
• If you see changes, then find out where you get a drop or up in your website ranking, such as in Web search, Video mode, Google Image, etc.
• If the position drops slightly, you don’t need to make any changes, but if it drops significantly, you need to do a deep assessment.

Google said that if your website's position on SERPs significantly drops, you should do a self-assessment to check your overall website and make changes.

When updating your website, it is important to consider a few essential things.

• Don’t remove some elements from your page quickly due to SEO concerns. Instead, try to change your content and make it more valuable for users and sustainable in the long term.
• If your page ranking is impacted, then consider rewriting or restructuring to make it more user-intuitive and engaging for audiences.
• If your content is written for search engines, not users, and can’t be improved, deleting it is the best option. Removing unhelpful content can help your good content rank better.

If you have made changes to your website for improvements, it may take time to see changes in Search results.

Some updates may show results in a few days, but it can take several months for the Google system to recognize that your site consistently produces helpful, reliable content.

If you haven't seen any effect after a few months, then you may need to wait for the next core update.

A new disclaimer has been added, likely to clarify expectations for website owners who may need to make more improvements according to Google's standards.

In recent months, Google launched many updates and algorithms. We have mentioned some of the latest updates below.

• Helpful Content Update - September 2023: In this update, Google said to focus on creating helpful and originally human-written content that will appear to users.
• Spam Update - October 2023: This update focuses on cleaning up several types of spam that were reported by the community members in Turkish, Indonesian, Hindi, Vietnamese, Chinese, and other languages.
• Review Updates - November 2023: According to these updates, the websites must publish high-quality reviews to help people learn about their services and business.
• Core Update - March 2024: It was the first update Google launched in 2024, and it highlighted the importance of providing helpful and reliable content to users to boost website visibility.
• Spam Update - March and June 2024: Google again launched a spam update to prevent spam content visibility on search result pages. It was released on March and June.

The latest Google’s Core Update August 2024 focuses on improving users' search results by connecting them with high-quality sites that deliver useful content.

Here is what you can take from this update and implement on your website.

• As per Google’s August 2024 Core Update, your website will gain more visibility if you follow Google’s guidelines and produce people-first content.
• If you did not optimize your website after the last update, your website ranking will likely not improve.
• When auditing websites, it becomes crucial to remove unhelpful content or optimize it through on-page SEO that enhances user experience.
• Google has also announced that it will launch further updates in this area. This means website owners must focus on producing informative, reliable, and user-first content.

Read our blog to know Which On-Page Element Carries The Most Weight For SEO.

If you still need to optimize your website, then it's time to make the necessary changes. This blog mentions all the important things from Google’s August 2024 Core Updates.

Keep in touch with us for more valuable information about Google Core Updates.

To optimize your website for good user experience learn What’s the First Step in the Search Engine Optimisation Process for your Website?