The core update in March 2024 was one of the most important changes to Google’s rankings in a long time. It started working on March 5, 2024. Google said that this “broad core” update was different from many others in the past because it changed a lot of the main ranking systems and made new spam rules to cut down on search results that aren’t helpful or original and increase the number of results that are. There were a lot of spam updates at the same time as the rollout, and it took a few weeks to finish. This made things very unstable in many fields, and many site owners were left looking for answers.
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The official reason Google gave for the change
Google said that the update was meant to show less content that “looks like it was made to get clicks” and more content that people really want to use. The company said that the update adds work they’ve already done to core ranking systems to cut down on the amount of low-quality and unoriginal content. It also pairs those changes with new spam rules that go after dishonest behavior. In short, both quality signals and anti-spam signals got stronger.
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How long did it take to roll out?
The March 2024 core update was made available to the public on March 5, 2024. Google said it would happen in the middle of March, but it took a few weeks for the whole thing to happen. Industry trackers and Google’s own messages said it was done by mid-to-late April (Search Engine Land said it was done on April 19, 2024), which means rankings were changing for about 45 days. That longer timeline made things less stable because different parts of Google’s systems had to look at the results again.
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Why this update seemed different
There were three important things about March 2024:
- Making changes to a lot of systems at once. Google said this was “more complicated” than usual because it changed a lot of core systems instead of just one threshold. That made the update cover more ground.
Search Engine Land - A focus on content that is either not original or too big. Google made it clear that it is going after content that looks like it was made in bulk, scraped, or just to get search queries instead of giving unique value.
blog.google - Making sure that spam policies work together. There were changes to the rankings, as well as new spam policies and targeted spam fixes. This meant that some sites became less visible because of policy enforcement, not just because of changes in ranking signals.
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Who won and who lost (in the big picture)
Different SEO tool companies and consulting firms did studies that showed clear patterns:
- Losers: Many sites that used a lot of templated content, thin affiliate pages, expired-domain content farms, and pages that gathered third-party content without adding any real value saw their visibility drop a lot. There were big drops in examples and domain-level visibility in some niches.
SISTRIX +1 - Winners: Sites that had original reporting, content written by experts, good user experiences, and long-form resources that were really useful often got or regained visibility. Community-driven platforms with new, user-generated content also did well in a lot of areas.
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Keep in mind that the winners and losers changed based on the question and the market. A site might do better in one area and worse in another, depending on how good the pages are.
After the March update, traffic drops are often caused by
If your site fell in the rankings, audits and official advice found that the following were the most common reasons:
- Content that looks like it was made for search engines (it answers a lot of questions but doesn’t add much new information).
blog.google - Content that has been reposted or scraped that doesn’t add anything new or mix ideas.
SISTRIX - Ads that get in the way, a bad mobile experience, or too much boilerplate that makes things less useful.
Google for Developers - Proof of scaled or automated low-value content, like expired-domain splashes, spun content, or pages that were made in large numbers.
Digital Marketing by Boomcycle - Spam-policy problems where Google used either manual or algorithmic methods to stop spam.
Google for Developers
How to check your site (step-by-step)
- Use Search Console and analytics: Find out which pages and queries lost clicks and impressions. Find patterns by type of content, template, or date range.
- Review of quality at the page level: For pages that are affected, ask: Does this page have new information or analysis? Would a person be happy after reading it? If the answer is “no,” mark it for rewrite.
Google for Developers - Look for content that has been scraped or is no longer valid: Check to see if the pages use content from other sites that has been republished or is not very valuable. Take those pages down, make them canonical, or make them a lot better.
SISTRIX - Check UX signals: Page speed, mobile-friendliness, annoying ads, and too many popups can make something seem less good. Fix the most important problems first.
- Check Google Search Console for messages about manual actions or security/spam issues. The update also included Google’s new rules about spam.
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How to get better—an actionable list
- Make changes to or combine pages that aren’t doing well. Don’t just change the headline; add new research, quotes from experts, steps you can take, or unique data.
Yoast - Remove or don’t index content that is thin. If you can’t make a page better, take it out of the index. It’s better to have a smaller number of high-quality pages than a lot of low-value ones.
SISTRIX - Fix problems that affect the whole site: Author bios, sourcing, and clear editorial processes can all help improve EEAT (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) signals.
Yoast - Fix UX issues by cutting down on intrusive interstitials, speeding up load times, and making sure the site works on mobile devices.
- Monitor and iterate: Recovery can take weeks or even months. Keep an eye on the metrics, do another audit, and keep making the content better instead of chasing small changes. Reports from the community say that recoveries can be slow and sometimes hard to predict.
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What this update means for people who make content in the future
- Quality is more important than quantity. The update confirmed Google’s long-term goal: content must be original, useful, and user-first. It’s now riskier to make a lot of pages that match searches.
blog.google - AI content isn’t against the rules, but it has to be useful. Google hasn’t made AI illegal, but content that is made or helped by AI needs to meet the same standards as content that is written by people: it needs to have unique insights, be factually correct, and be clear about how it can be used.
Yoast - There are stricter rules against spam. Changes to rankings and spam policies make it more likely that manipulative techniques like expired domains, doorway pages, and scraped content will be demoted or removed.
Google for Developers
Last thoughts
The March 2024 core update was a clear sign that Google is getting more aggressive about lowering the rankings of low-value, unoriginal content and making sure that ranking changes are in line with spam policy enforcement. It’s easy to say but not always easy to do: site owners and content teams need to honestly audit their sites, put money into pages that give users real value (like original analysis, expert perspective, and good UX), and stop using bulk, template-driven methods that are only meant to get search traffic.
If you’re trying to get back on your feet after losing money, focus on the pages that get the most traffic first, keep track of the changes you make, and be patient because recovery usually takes time. Most importantly, make changes that will help real people read your site, not just search engines. That is the best way to protect yourself from future core updates.
Sources and more reading (chosen)
Google’s announcement and instructions from March 2024; Search Engine Land’s coverage and rollout update; in-depth visibility analyses from Sistrix and independent SEO blogs and recoveries.
