Google’s Core Update Brings Businesses Back to Earth
This week (24th March 2024) has seen a flurry of SEO professionals celebrating Google's latest Core Update, expected to significantly reduce the presence of low-quality AI content and spam on websites that have used AI tools to increase content volume. This approach is often referred to as programmatic SEO, and unfortunately, the use of AI in tandem with this strategy is likely to effectively end it.
What are my feelings about this cull of content? For me, I’m saddened, because since 2022, I’ve been warning that applying AI content to your site or massively overloading your site with generated content is in direct opposition to Google’s rules and regulations, best practices and so on. Yet, businesses have eagerly adopted AI, reducing, or altogether forgoing the hiring of copywriters to churn out substandard content online and offline. However, my issue primarily lies with the agencies and professionals who should have known better.
The introduction of AI-generated content marked a significant milestone in agencies ongoing quest to stay ahead of the curve, offering both challenges and opportunities. The pressure to remain relevant and competitive in such a fast-paced environment cannot be understated. The adoption of AI-generated content was, for many, a strategic response to these pressures—a way to explore new frontiers in content creation and SEO optimisation.
As a long-term SEO professional, I monitored the situation surrounding generative AI content and advised clients against using AI prematurely. This is a new technology, and its risks were unclear. No Head of SEO, Head of Organic Performance, or Junior Search Director could predict the repercussions of utilising AI on websites – so why advise a client or internal teams the opposite?
Therefore, my sadness is directed at those professionals and the poor advice they dispensed. Because ultimately, it will affect their reputation, potentially irreversibly, and at a time when the UK is facing a recession and agencies are already announcing redundancies, a greater cost may be incurred.
What You & Business Needs to Know
Within days of its announcement, we are already seeing some websites not being penalised but completely de-indexed from Google.
Some websites have been removed from Google’s search console and deindexed. Effectively taking them out of existence.
It appears that site owners are getting manual action-type penalties. In Search Console, they're getting "Pure Spam" notifications that inform them of the penalty against them.
One such penalty notice for ‘AI content’
Some initial thoughts suggest that de-indexing AI sites (rather than a manual ban) must be down to publishing frequency rather than content. If a site is posting 5k articles a week and abusing the search console API for indexing then it’s an easy one to flag.
Used AI Content? Here's What to Do
Relax! Google's update is targeting low-quality AI content. If you only used AI for a few articles, you're probably fine. But here's how to be sure:
Step One - Review Your AI Articles. Read them carefully. Are they informative and helpful for your audience? Add your own insights and edits to make them great.
Step Two - Focus on Quality Content. From now on, prioritise original, informative content written by humans. Think about your customers' questions and write content that answers them.
Step Three - Stay Informed. Keep an eye on SEO best practices and regularly check your Google Search Console for penalties or loss of rankings.
Remember - Google rewards valuable content. Write for your audience, and you'll be golden!
Resources for you and your team –
After 18 months of testing, the best AI Detector is currently - https://contentatscale.ai/ai-content-detector/
I've used Writer.com and Originality.ai and both wildly differ in results, where this sits in the middle and provides a more accurate picture.
Search Engine Land - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-march-2024-core-update/510243/ This article from Search Engine Land dives deeper into the technical aspects of the update. It discusses how the update will impact search results and what website owners can do to prepare.
Google’s official page - What web creators should know about our March 2024 core update and new spam policies - https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies?hl=en
