With August comes another Google core update for Search. Understanding these updates is crucial in maintaining your website’s visibility on the SERPs (search engine results pages), as each update can affect your ranking quite noticeably. The roll-out could take up to a month to complete, so this blog should help you to understand the effects on your SEO in the meantime whilst also giving you the chance to adapt your content strategy accordingly.
What is the key aim of the August update?
Put simply, August’s Google core update is a continual effort to improve the quality of Google’s search results. This update has considered and acted upon the feedback received from creators since the last update took place, and as a result it will prioritise connecting users with small, independent sites that produce valuable content as well as continuing to identify and showcase content that is highly useful for users and that follows Google’s quality testing framework of E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness).
“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.” – John Mueller, Google Search Advocate and Search Relations Team Lead.
Will this update have an impact on the smaller, independent businesses?
August’s update focuses heavily on promoting content that’s come from independent publishers, as the last update unfortunately had a negative impact on these types of sites. As a result of receiving feedback from smaller content creators, Google has implemented this update with the goal of diversifying the sources that appear in the SERPs and surfacing high-quality content from creators and sites of all sizes.
“This August 2024 core update aims to better capture improvements that sites may have made, so we can continue to surface the best of the web.” – John Mueller, Google Search Advocate and Search Relations Team Lead.
Should the way content is created remain the same?
Definitely! Continuing to produce user-first, helpful and reliable content is the key to staying visible throughout Google’s 2024 core updates and improving your SEO strategy. As this update could take up to a month to roll out, we recommend observing any emerging trends and effects before making any drastic changes to your content.
Is there support for website owners and managers following this update?
Yes, Google has refreshed its help page for all-things core updates, giving users who have noticed changes in site performance more support and understanding, as well as detailed guidance on how to adapt their content accordingly.
