What you need to know

At Rebus Creative, we pride ourselves on customer service and being able to answer clients’ questions. One that has popped up recently has been about the Google algorithm changes in March 2024 and its impact on web searches.

So, in this month’s article, we thought we would give you the lowdown on this core update from Google and why you need to know about it.

We understand that this subject isn’t for everyone, but bear with us and we will show you why it is important.

Firstly, we need to provide some basic information about SEO:

• The three elements of SEO
• Google’s requirements for EEAT

Once you have grasped the basic concept of SEO, you will see why the latest Google core update has had an impact on searches.

The three elements of SEO

When a potential customer types a phrase into the search box on Google and presses ‘Enter’, it will return a list of results for that search.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is how to optimise, prioritise and promote, digital content to improve its visibility in the list of results.

The three elements of SEO, (also known as pillars), are:

Technical SEO

These are the technical aspects of a website including:

• Performance
• Speed – how quickly a website, its pages, and the content loads.
• Sitemap – Google needs to be able to read and process what pages are on the site so it can crawl them for information.
• Mobile-friendly – it is vital that website design is responsive and optimised for mobiles because a high proportion of website visitors use mobile devices for browsing and Google uses mobile-friendly indexing.
• Navigational aspects – it should be easy for website visitors to go forwards and backwards on a website, for example, with a ‘breadcrumb’ trail which details how they reached the current page.
• A crucial technical aspect of websites is how easily search engines can crawl through the content and index the pages. A clear structure is required, that is easy for search engines to crawl and gather information for indexing, (sometimes known as ‘crawlability’.)

On-page SEO

On-page SEO refers to all the content of a website.

• Keywords – these are the typical phrases that users type into a search engine to specify products or services and should be included throughout the copy in particular places and in a particular density.
• Readability – don’t make the text too complicated, with long sentences and sub clauses. It is important that copy is optimised for Google to index and for visitors to read!
• Tags and headers – tags, descriptions, and headers for different pages and sections break up text, make it easier to follow and reflect a clear structure.
• Images/Videos – help written content to be understood, as well as breaking up blocks of text.

Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (EEAT)

Google is looking for original high-quality content in search results.

It therefore uses the four EEAT criteria to assess the credibility and value of content:

• Does the website content reflect first-hand knowledge of the search topic?
• Does the content show the relevant skill required by the topic?
• Is the website well-known in this field and respected as an authority?
• Is the website a reliable source of accurate information?

Off-page SEO

Off-page SEO is all about providing Google with confidence and trust.

• Have you heard the expression ‘backlinks’? These are links from other websites to yours (not the other way around.) If other reputable, higher ranking sites link to yours, it shows Google that your content is trustworthy and valuable to others, establishing authority.
• Another part of off-page SEO is around social media platforms. Companies with a strong social media presence further enhance credibility and boost SEO as a result.
• Entries into online business directories (citations) also help boost SEO but make sure your company’s name, address, and phone number appear in exactly the same format everywhere on the web.

The message is that if you want your website to be found in organic searches and ranked highly by Google, SEO is a necessary evil!

Every page requires copy with on-page SEO.

Moreover, to keep Google interested, you need to publish fresh, original content on a regular basis.

At Rebus Creative, we understand the importance of your website to the growth of your business. Why not contact us today, so you can discuss the design and development of your website with our experts?

Google algorithm changes in March 2024

What exactly is Google’s algorithm?

Basically, it comprises a set of rules that determine how and where websites rank in search results.

Google adjusts this algorithm regularly to adapt to changes in consumer behaviour and new technologies.

Furthermore, Google is constantly working to improve the experience of those using its search engine to generate results.

So now we come to the nitty-gritty of explaining the Google algorithm changes in March 2024  and why it has had an impact on Google search results.

This update broke new ground because it specifically targets AI generated content.

Google is striving to organise information so users can find and access valuable content.

But during the last few years, as AI content writers have become more accessible and the internet has started to overflow with generic content that lacks the accuracy, originality, and value of new content written by human beings.

This explosion of AI generated content has created ‘noise’, making it difficult for Google to find and return searches with relevant, high-quality information of value to users.

Therefore, because Google is concerned with the user experience and finding valuable content, the Google algorithm changes in March 2024 make it easier to sift out low-quality, unoriginal, poor content, and spam.

Elizabeth Trucker, Director of Product for Search at Google said, “We’re making algorithmic enhancements to our core ranking systems to ensure we surface the most helpful information on the web and reduce unoriginal content in search results.”

This means that it is more important than ever to create content that is informative, engaging, honest, and accurate, with the addition of helpful insights based on experience.

If you have checked your Google console and have found that a drop in traffic to your website coincided with the Google algorithm changes in March 2024, it is worth checking the three elements of SEO to ensure that you are:

• Enhancing content quality (Google has developed a set of guidelines for this)
• Addressing technical SEO issues regarding performance, page loading speed, navigation, clear site structure and mobile optimisation
• Consistently posting on social media
• Reinforce authority by working on increasing and improving backlinks from reputable websites.
• Listed on on-line directories correctly.

There is more on the March 2024 Google core update in this article from Yoast.

Hopefully, you now understand more about the Google algorithm changes in March 2024, how it has impacted search results and the benefits of having an SEO strategy in place. If you still feel a bit puzzled or worried about your website’s performance, talk to the experts at Rebus Creative. Our team includes website designers and developers, SEO specialists and content writers, so your new website is in safe hands!