5 Steps To Recover From March 2024 Google Core Update

Google is rolling out a significant core update. It shakes up search engine organic rankings and impacts countless websites’ visibility and traffic. For example, the March 2024 core update is one of them that has deindexed thousands of websites in its early stages.

For website administrators and digital marketers, navigating the aftermath of such challenges can be daunting. On the flip side, understanding the steps to recover from the March 2024 core update is crucial for maintaining your ranking on SERPs.

This core update targets low-quality content and AI-generated spam.

Let’s explore actionable strategies to help you bounce back from the update’s impact and reclaim their positions in search engine results pages (SERPs):

What Is Google’s March 2024 Core Update?

Google’s March 2024 core update emphasizes reducing low-quality and unoriginal content. It aims to show more useful and relevant content in search results.

According to Google, “March 2024 update targets reducing unhelpful content by 40%.”

The major update might sweep the web in the same way as the Panda and Penguin updates did. Undoubtedly, its impact is enormous and widespread on SEO agencies in the USA, and every seasoned marketer agrees that the update is a big deal.

Here are the things that you need to know to avoid getting penalized and maintain your good standing in search results:

• Remove Unhelpful Content:

Remove unhelpful, irrelevant, and unoriginal content from your website. If your site’s content violates Google’s official guidelines, then it will get deindexed.

Source: Search Engine Land

• Websites that survived previous updates aren’t immune:

Older websites aren’t spared by this new update. Those sites that were untouched by the previous updates are facing repercussions, too.

Some SEO folks are cheering and saying it’s about those low-quality websites that got the boot after years of gaming.

Source: Search Engine Land

The image shows you an example of a link agency that got kicked off.

Steps to Recover from  Google’s March 2024 Core Update

• Erase all unhelpful content

Providing informational and well-researched content is the basis for ranking in SERPs. It must target your users. The latest blog from Google reiterates this:

Here’s what unhelpful content is:

• Thin content that is superficial and needs to meet the search intent.
• Weak content that’s only designed to rank and draw in clicks without answering queries.
• Scraped or manufactured content.
• User-generated spam.
• AI-generated content at scale.

You need to look at the GSC Search performance report inside your GSC to find pages that didn’t bring in meaningful traffic or rank for keywords over the last few months and delete them.

Always consolidate well-written pages that target similar keywords. Redirect old pages to your main page about those keywords.

• Creating Fresh and Engaging Content

Creating content that no one is interested in will help your business. Conversely, engaging content allows you to optimize your business growth. It will bring up new visitors who will value your content.

Viewers will start sharing and engaging with your content and even convert to different things. There is no need to go anyway. Here are some tips and tricks to create more engaging content:

• Address something that your audience cares about.
• Think about the user needs you’re going to fulfil.
• Make sure that your headline indicates what you’re going to write about.
• Understanding which type of format fits right.

• Get A New Domain

Nowadays, buying expired domains has been a widely practiced strategy for many years. , there are websites dedicated to selling you expired domains to override the Google sandbox period:

Follow these steps to get a new domain:

• Select a Domain Registrar:

It would help if you went with a domain registrar that sells domain names. You have various options like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, and Bluehost.

Just look at the factors like pricing, customer support, and additional services. 

• Go with the Available Domains:

After selecting the registrar, use their domain search tool to check the availability of your desired domain name. Put the domain name you want into the search bar and see if it’s available.

• Choose Your Domain Extension:

Domain extensions, or top-level domains (TLDs), come in various options, such as .com, .net, .org, .co, .io, and many more. Select the domain extension that best suits your website’s purpose and branding.

While .com is the most popular and widely recognized extension, others may be more suitable depending on your industry or target audience.

• Check Availability and Pricing:

Once you’ve chosen your domain name and extension, review the availability and pricing details provided by the registrar.

Take note of any promotional offers or discounts that may apply and any additional services, such as privacy protection or domain forwarding, that you may wish to include.

• Complete the Registration Process:

After confirming the availability and pricing of your chosen domain, proceed to the registration process.

If necessary, create an account with the domain registrar and provide the necessary information to complete the registration.

This typically includes your contact details, payment information, and any additional preferences or options you wish to include.

• Review and Confirm:

Before finalizing your domain registration, review all the details carefully to ensure accuracy.

Double-check the spelling of your domain name, the selected domain extension, and any additional services or options you’ve chosen.

Once you’re satisfied with everything, proceed to confirm your registration and make the payment.

• Backlink Audit

A backlink audit is essential to ensure the quality and health of your website’s link profile. Here are some steps to conduct a thorough backlink audit:

• Compile a list of backlinks:

Gather a comprehensive list of all the backlinks pointing to your website. You can retrieve this information using tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Moz, SEMrush, or Majestic. Export the list of backlinks into a spreadsheet for easier analysis.

Related: Digital PR Vs. Manual Link Building: Adapting to the Modern Search Landscape

• Evaluate link quality:

Assess the quality of each backlink by considering factors such as domain authority, relevance, and trustworthiness.

High-quality backlinks come from authoritative and relevant websites within your industry or niche, while low-quality backlinks may come from spammy or irrelevant websites.

• Identify toxic or spammy links:

Use backlink analysis tools to identify toxic or spammy links that could harm your website’s SEO services in the USA. Look for links from low-quality or penalized websites and links with suspicious anchor text or unnatural patterns.

• Check for broken or redirected links:

Please verify the status of each backlink to ensure they are still active and pointing to the correct destination. Look for broken links (404 errors) or redirected links (301/302 redirects) that may negatively impact the user experience and SEO.

• Disavow unnatural links

Unnatural links are those from low-authority, irrelevant websites, most often from link farms or PBNs. It’s also possible that your website acquired them through a partnership or paid agreement. Or yeah! It may be possible that a competitor spammed your website.

This does not link spam updates, but you can follow the below-mentioned steps to disassociate spammy links:

• Go to your top linking sites tab in GSC’s “Links” report section.
• Export the link.
• At last, disavow any link that appears to be spammy.

How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Core Update?

Google has always given mixed messages about how possible it is to recover from a core algorithm update, and at least the next one is rolled out.

Source: Google Central Blog

If one of these updates impacts your content, it might not return to its previous position until the next broad core update, provided you have made the necessary improvements.

Conclusion

Google Core updates are crucial in shaping search engine rankings and impacting websites’ visibility in search results.

Website owners should stay informed about these updates, prioritize high-quality content and user experience, and adapt their SEO strategies to maintain or improve their search rankings.