Google’s algorithm updates are pivotal events for anyone involved in digital marketing, SEO, and web development. The March Core Update, one of Google’s broad core updates, brought significant changes to search engine results pages (SERPs). Understanding the implications of these updates is crucial for maintaining and improving website visibility and ranking. Here are the key takeaways from Google’s March Core Update:
1. Focus on Content Quality
As with previous core updates, the March update emphasized the importance of high-quality content. As Google continues to refine its algorithms to better understand and reward content that provides real value to users, websites with well-researched, informative, and relevant content have seen improvements in their rankings, while those with thin, repetitive, or low-value content have experienced declines.
Actionable Tip: Conduct a thorough content audit. Use tools such as SEM Rush and Surfer SEO to find pages with weak content and enhance them adding depth, improving readability, and ensuring the information is up-to-date and relevant.
2. E-A-T Principle
The Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) principle is a cornerstone of Google’s ranking criteria and has been since the first Core Update in 2011. This update has shown a continued emphasis on rewarding websites that demonstrate high levels of expertise and credibility. Sites in niches such as health, finance, and legal, where misinformation can have serious consequences, were particularly impacted.
Actionable Tip: Enhance your site’s E-A-T by ensuring author credentials are prominently displayed, sourcing information from reputable references, and encouraging positive user reviews and testimonials.
3. User Experience (UX) Matters More Than Ever
Google has been progressively integrating UX signals into its ranking algorithm. The March Core Update reinforced this trend by prioritizing sites that offer seamless user experiences. Factors such as mobile-friendliness, fast loading times, and intuitive navigation played a critical role in determining rankings.
Actionable Tip: Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Mobile-Friendly Test to evaluate and improve your website’s performance. Use Search Console to get an overall impression of your website’s Core Web Vitals and look to improve their scores by creating a responsive design and optimising images and scripts to enhance load speeds.
4. Impact on Local Search
Local SEO saw notable changes with the March Core Update. Businesses with optimized Google My Business profiles, consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information, and positive local reviews saw improvements in local search rankings. The update also seemed to better distinguish and rank localized content relevant to users’ queries.
Actionable Tip: Ensure your Google My Business profile is fully optimized and regularly updated. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and make sure your local listings are accurate and consistent across all platforms.
5. Holistic SEO Approach
The update highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to SEO. Sites that performed well typically excelled in multiple areas, including technical SEO, content quality, and user experience. This underscores the need for a balanced and comprehensive SEO strategy.
Actionable Tip: Avoid focusing too narrowly on any single aspect of SEO. Instead, develop a well-rounded strategy that includes technical optimizations, high-quality content creation, link building, and ongoing performance monitoring.
6. Algorithmic Volatility
As with any major update, there was significant volatility in the days following the March Core Update. Websites experienced fluctuations in their rankings, which stabilized after a few weeks. This volatility is typical and reflects the process of the algorithm recalibrating to new signals and ranking factors.
Actionable Tip: Monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console and have rank tracking set up with a third party tool such as SEMRush or AWR where specific keyword gains and losses can be detected. However, be patient and avoid making hasty changes in response to initial ranking drops; instead, focus on long-term improvements aligned with Google’s guidelines.
Conclusion
Google’s March Core Update reaffirms the search engine’s commitment to improving user experience and delivering high-quality, relevant content. By focusing on E-A-T principles, enhancing user experience, and maintaining a holistic SEO strategy, websites can better navigate the changes brought about by this and future updates. Staying informed about these updates and adapting strategies accordingly is essential for sustained online success.
Contact me today if your business has been hit by the March Core Update