Google finished the August 2024 core update that started with the rollout from August 15 to September 3, 2024.
This serious algorithmic variation has brought strong fluctuations in search rankings on several websites across the globe. Initial gains were noted in the 19-day update, while most suffered further rankings decline.
The mixed results of the core update this August 2024 were pretty interesting. Since the beginning of the rollout, some sites have seen huge increases in ranking. Yet these increases were often completely smoothed away in the second half of the update. The recent poll conducted among 1,583 participants showed:
44% saw a loss in rankings and traffic.
27% saw improvements.
29% reported nothing much changed.
It becomes crystal clear from this polling data that the effect of this update has been very volatile, but to say the least, though some sites have temporary gains post-update, the activity on most fronts has been challenging ever since.
The tail-end of the update should see site owners and SEO experts going over their performance data to make informed adjustments. Google itself has continued to assure webmasters that high-quality, user-oriented content remains important in the realization of improved search rankings. Professionals also advise against targeting algorithmic factors but instead, urge one to target the creation of quality content that will meet user needs.
Owners should continue to work with performance data analysis for further strategy development in light of Google's constantly evolving standards. The focus should be on creating genuine content that meets user needs, that way, one will achieve better visibility for the site and resilience in the face of frequent algorithm changes that shape the search landscape.
Its early days were racked by strange ranking behavior brought about by a technical glitch. While this glitch was fixed within four days, quite a few industry observers have noted the initial ranking volatility. Analysis shows recoveries out of the September 2023 update were scant. For the most part, there weren't large improvements on the majority of sites, many of them had continuous declines or steady rankings.
John Mueller, Search Advocate at Google, stated, “The August 2024 core update aims to enhance search results by promoting genuinely useful content and reducing the influence of sites optimized solely for search engines.”
It takes further action based on the September 2023 helpful content update feedback. The additional guidance is targeted to address issues brought up by smaller and independent publishers. The update's primary purpose is to better capture improvements made by websites and, at the same time, ensure a fair ranking system.