How to recover your website after Google’s March 2024 Core Update

June 03, 2024

Feeling the blues after a traffic drop? You’re not alone. Google's core updates have always been a game-changer, especially for businesses relying on organic traffic. The March 2024 Core Update is no exception, shaking up search rankings and leaving many scrambling to recover.

The March Update: A focus on quality

The internet often feels like it’s overflowing with low-quality content. Google’s latest update, completed between March 5th and April 19th, 2024, aims to tackle this issue. The update was designed to reduce the presence of subpar content and enhance the overall quality of search results, targeting fluff articles, keyword-stuffed sites, and automated content.

Key changes

1. Increased quality: Google anticipated a 40% reduction in low-quality content but achieved 45%, significantly cleaning up search results
2. Content targets: Articles lacking substantive information, websites optimised solely for search engines without valuable content, and robot-written pieces were the primary targets.
3. User Feedback: Google introduced new feedback mechanisms, allowing users to report specific ranking changes, aiding future adjustments.

Steps to recover your website

If your site’s traffic took a hit, there are strategic steps you can take to recover:

1. Stay calm & strategies

A sudden drop in traffic can be alarming, but it's crucial to avoid hasty decisions:

1. Stay Calm: Google updates can take time to settle. Often, initial changes are temporary.
2. Monitor Changes: Use Google’s official updates page and tools like Google Search Console to track changes and understand the impact.

2. Analyse data to identify issues

Identify which parts of your site were most affected:

1. Track the damage: Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Analytics can help pinpoint which pages experienced the biggest traffic drops.
2. Evaluate content: Assess the quality and relevance of the affected content. Look for areas that may have been targeted by the update.

3. Enhance content relevance

Improve the relevance and quality of your pages:

1. Update content: Regularly refresh your content to keep it current and informative.
2. Deep dive: Create comprehensive content that provides detailed information and answers users’ queries thoroughly.
3. Write for humans: Prioritise helpful and accurate content over keyword-stuffed articles.

Read on: Google will expand generative AI tool to select websites.

4. Boost page authority

Increase your site’s authority both on-page and off-page:

1. Secure website: Ensure your site is HTTPS secured. 2. Author clarity: Attribute content to authors and provide bios to establish credibility.
3. Quality backlinks: Acquire backlinks from reputable sites to boost your content’s trustworthiness.
4. Expert contributions: Collaborate with industry experts to enhance the authority and reliability of your content.

5. Conduct competitor analysis

Learn from your competitors to improve your strategy:

1. Analyse competitors: Use SEO tools to understand what keywords and links competitors are using.
2. Identify gaps: Spot areas where competitors excel and find opportunities to improve your content accordingly.

6. Revisit technical SEO

Ensure your site’s technical foundation is solid:

1. User-friendly design: Optimise your site for speed, mobile compatibility, and ease of navigation.
2. Optimise Key Elements: Focus on page load times, effective use of headings, and strategic internal linking.

7. Offset traffic loss with new content

Publish fresh, high-quality content to regain lost traffic:

1. Create valuable content: Address trending topics and provide in-depth information.
2. Establish expertise: Regularly produce authoritative content to position yourself as an expert in your field.

Visit 4K-Soft: Your go-to for innovative software, mobile app development, and stunning websites. Transform your ideas with us today.

Embrace the update for growth

The March 2024 core update underscores Google’s commitment to delivering high-quality, user-centric search results. While some sites may face challenges, others have opportunities to improve. Prioritise creating content that genuinely helps users, stay informed about future updates, and adapt to Google's evolving algorithms. Remember, adapting to Google means prioritising users first!