Attention! Google has made some significant moves in the search landscape recently. Buckle up while we jump into some of these key developments:
Google has officially kicked off its November 2024 core update, a significant algorithm adjustment that could impact search rankings across the board. This update is expected to last for approximately two weeks.
Similar to previous core updates, this one aims to improve search results by rewarding high-quality, relevant content while penalising low-quality or spammy sites.
While there’s no guaranteed way to recover from the negative impact of a core update, focusing on creating valuable, user-centric content remains the best long-term strategy.
Remember, the key to success is creating high-quality, user-centric content.
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Google’s AI Overviews (AIO) are a new feature in search results that use AI to provide concise and informative summaries of web content. These AI-generated summaries can appear at the top of search results, potentially impacting organic traffic and click-through rates.
Google is continuing to align AI-generated search results with organic search results. This means that websites that rank highly organically are more likely to appear in AI-powered search results. This trend suggests that Google’s focus on high-quality, relevant content remains a key factor for SEO success.
The recent update has led to a divergence between organic and AI-powered shopping search results. While organic results focus on traditional product listings, AI-powered results often include additional product recommendations and comparisons. This suggests Google is prioritising a more personalised and informative shopping experience.
The volatility patterns give an early tentative indication of what kinds of queries Google is giving priority in this update. Again, these are real-time results that are subject to change as new parts of the update are rolled out.
Google has updated its site reputation abuse policy to combat “parasite SEO,”where websites misuse established domains to manipulate search rankings with third-party content.
The policy clarifies that using third-party content to exploit a site’s ranking signals is a violation, regardless of oversight. Examples of violations include educational sites hosting unrelated payday loan reviews and news sites publishing third-party coupons.
Legitimate practices, such as editorial content with host site involvement and properly disclosed advertorials, are not penalised. Major publishers in the US like CNN and USA Today have faced manual penalties, particularly before Black Friday, for hosting such content.
If your site falls victim to this, the recovery process from penalties requires removing or noindexing offending content, but ranking improvements after this will take time.
Google has fully rolled out its Search Console (GSC) Recommendations feature, which provides users with tailored suggestions to improve website performance. These recommendations will appear prominently on the dashboard for websites that have them available, focusing on key aspects such as addressing issues, exploring opportunities for traffic growth, and simplifying configurations. While useful, the availability of these recommendations depends on the specific site and its unique needs.