New Google Core Update just before Christmas… welcome back the Grinch

Google has rolled out its fourth core update of the year, during mid-December, just before Christmas. In what seems like a move that could be compared to the Grinch or Jack Skellington in terms of timing, the tech giant has decided to keep SEO professionals on their toes during the final phase of the busy holiday sales season. As it is expected to take about two weeks to fully implement, those websites and eCommerce platforms impacted by this update won’t know the full extent of the changes until the closing days of the year.

Google has made updates in December before (such as in 2020, which wrapped up during the second week of the month), but it has never rolled one out so close to Christmas.

The Fourth Core Update of 2024

As mentioned, we’ve already weathered three core updates this year:

• The March update was more comprehensive than usual, refining Google’s algorithm to enhance search result quality and reduce spam. Google reported a 45% decrease in unoriginal or low-quality content appearing in search results, and improved detection of unhelpful pages that offer a poor user experience and are crafted to satisfy search engines rather than deliver real value to users.
• In the case of the August update, it aimed to address issues that arose from previous updates, particularly the March update and the helpful content update in September 2023, which elicited complaints from small publishers who noticed their sites becoming less visible.
• The November update arrived at an inconvenient time for online retailers, coinciding with the busy season marked by Black Friday sales and the lead-up to Christmas shopping. Ultimately, the consensus within the industry was that search result fluctuations were less severe than during other updates. Perhaps for this reason, Google decided to bolster that update with the new December one.

As explained by Google, “if you’re wondering why there’s a core update this month following last month’s, we continually enhance various core systems.”

Understanding a Core Update

According to Google, “core updates are changes we make to improve search overall and keep up with the evolving nature of the web. While nothing in a core update is site-specific, these updates can lead to noticeable changes in how sites perform.”

In fact, Google tweaks its search result ranking methods almost daily. While most changes are subtle, they fine-tune the algorithm to better reward content that is most relevant to each user’s search. However, sometimes a core update, or major update, occurs, having a more significant impact on SEO.

How to Handle a Core Update

Google provides this analogy to illustrate how such an update works: “imagine you created a list of the 100 best movies of all time in 2021, and now in 2024, you want to update it. Naturally, the list will change. You’ll want to include new movies that have emerged and gained popularity since 2021. You might also decide to reorder movies you already had on the list. The list will change, and some movies might drop in rank, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad, it just means other movies deserve a higher position.”

Despite Google’s assertion that there’s generally nothing you can do after a core algorithm update and that these changes primarily aim to improve how the system evaluates content as a whole, there are still areas you can assess to enhance your content and, of course, improve your ranking on Google, regardless of this update or future ones.

To determine whether your page and content are properly configured, Google suggests answering the questions available here. Doing so will help ensure your content is beneficial and aligns with your audience’s search intentions.

Content and Quality Questions

• Is the content original, providing unique insights, data, research, or analysis?
• Does the content thoroughly and comprehensively cover the topic at hand?
• Does the content offer engaging and significant information, or does it examine the topic from a useful angle?
• If the content references other sources, does it add unique value and originality, or does it simply copy or rehash the information from those sources?
• Is the title of the content or page clear and descriptive?
• Does the title of the content or page avoid exaggeration or sensationalism?
• Is this the type of page you would bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend to someone?
• Would you expect to find this content in a magazine, encyclopedia, or book, even as a reference?
• Does the content provide more valuable information compared to other pages in the search results?
• Are there spelling or grammatical errors in the content?
• Does it seem like time and effort were invested in creating the content, or does it appear to be thrown together or rushed?
• Is the content mass-produced by a large team of writers or spread across a wide network of sites, leading to each specific page or site receiving little attention or care?

Authority Questions

• Is the information presented in the content reliable? For example, does it clearly cite sources, seem to be produced by an expert, or provide details about the author or publishing site, such as links to an author bio page?
• If someone sought more information about the site publishing the content, would they find it trustworthy or recognize it as an authority on the subject?
• Is the content written by an expert or enthusiast whose expertise is evident?
• Has the content been checked to ensure there are no easily verifiable errors?
• Is it clear to visitors who created the content?
• Do the pages include an author’s name, and is it displayed in the appropriate location?
• Do the author details provide additional information about the author(s), giving insights into their expertise and the subjects they write about?

And of course, Google acknowledges the role of AI in the creation of content:

• Is it clear to visitors that automation, including AI generation, was used (through notifications or other means)?
• Do you provide information about how automation or AI generation was utilized in creating the content?
• Do you explain why automation or AI was beneficial in producing the content?

Beyond asking yourself these questions, take into account honest evaluations from others about your website and content. Furthermore, analyze the pages you’ve published that have the most impact, consider what kind of searches these high-impact pages relate to, and understand how other pages you’ve published are evaluated in light of this.

Remember that these are general recommendations and there are no specific actions required for recovery if you experience a negative impact following Google’s latest core algorithm update.

Image: Flux Schnell