The search engine world is in constant evolution, often driven by algorithm changes imposed by Google. Is your business active in a competitive field where transformation is a daily occurrence, and modifications to SEO trends have a direct impact on profitability? Then, keeping up with the latest Google algorithm updates will be crucial for the further development of your organization. A change in how Google analyzes the SERP position of indexed websites could have significant market implications and modify how your content is visible to target audiences.
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Are you trying to keep up with industry fluctuations and make your services visible across all digital channels, regardless of algorithmic updates? In that case, you should be aware of the latest changes introduced by Google via the August 2024 Core algorithm update. From modifying the impact of CWVs to introducing new content quality assessments, the effect of this latest update was significant and was felt across various industries. The rolling-out process of the August Google algorithm update lasted 19 days, starting on August 15th and ending on September 3rd. It was the most significant update implemented by Google since March, and the volatility recorded in the online environment was exceptionally high, surpassing the predictions of most SEO experts.
To put it simply, the updates periodically implemented by Google on the algorithms used for indexing and interpreting website content aim to improve the relevance of search results and enhance the quality of results available to the general public. When we say “update,” we refer to a change in the back-end algorithmic elements that can influence either the SERP position of pages or how crawlers index them. This latest August 2024 core update is just one in a long series of algorithm modifications with a significant impact on websites’ CTRs and SERP visibility. What past Google updates are worth remembering?
First of all, any list of this kind cannot be complete without mentioning the Panda Update of 2011, which played a role in the purge of “content farms” and the delisting of sites with thin, incomplete, or duplicated content. The 2011 Panda update was followed up by the Penguin core update in 2012, which had a positive role in stopping spam link-building practices. However, perhaps the most important algorithm changes from Google came in 2015, with the shift to mobile-focused indexation and the launch of RankBrain, a machine-learning algorithm.
Other updates worth mentioning are the introduction of the BERT algorithm in 2019, the CWV update of 2021, which introduced new metrics in the ranking factors of indexed websites, and the June 2024 spam update, which had a significant impact on sites engaged in AI-assisted content creation. Since the introduction of PageRank in 1998, Google’s goal has remained the same: to improve the relevance of the sites pushed to the top positions in the SERP, create a level playing field for everyone, and eliminate spam practices that contradict the webmaster’s guidelines. Have they succeeded? More or less. However, changes are coming.
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In short, by changing the underlying elements that influence the relevancy of indexed websites. Do you want our team to improve the SEO performance of your site, improve your click-through rates, ensure you respect the CWV, and help you follow the E-A-A-T guidelines? If so, you’ll need to understand the connection between SERP position increases and algorithm modifications. Google’s periodic updates often target the algorithms used by crawlers to determine the ranking of indexed sites.
Sometimes, the crawlers undergo minor tweaks, while in other instances, especially when talking about core updates, the changes can be substantial. The latest 2024 core update, for example, came with three critical changes that generated high volatility and affected the SEO strategy that needs to be implemented by our team. The first of these changes was a modification in how Google evaluates third-party content hosted on indexed websites. In other words, with the latest update, sites that post affiliate links in created articles or indexable pages will be evaluated in SERP, both on how well they respect the CWVs and by the sites they reference.
Until now, the impact on SERP rankings was indirect. However, with the latest update, if third-party content does not meet Google’s indexing standards, then the position of sites that host links to them will be directly affected. Another change relates to how crawlers index AI content. If the June 2024 update was a real blow to sites that used generative content, the August Core algorithm modifications take a more positive stance on the use of AI-generated content. It’s not encouraged, but it’s also not purged as it was before.
To put it simply, according to the latest algorithm changes brought by the 2024 core update, as long as the indexed content is not explicitly designed to influence SEO rankings, the use of machine learning tools should not have a direct effect on SERP rankings. This might come as a surprise, considering the impact of the June 2024 spam update, but in retrospect, it’s a stance that makes sense. According to a study conducted in 2024, 57% of all online text content was generated fully or partially with the help of artificial intelligence. It kind of seems like the ship has already sailed, and search engine optimization services will now have to navigate the implementation of AI in the digital space.
Sure, the ultimate goal of these latest Google updates is to improve the SERP ranking of websites that follow the content-policy guidelines, respect the E-E-A-T recommendations, and correctly implement core web vitals. However, it’s now apparent that the stance on AI has been softened. Finally, the August update introduced new guidelines for content recovery and recommendations for self-evaluation of content quality. Coincidence or not, the rolling out process of the latest algorithm update was masked by a Google search bug, which was confirmed on August 16th and patched four days later, on August 20th.
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The August 2024 core update was unique because it took into consideration a good portion of the feedback Google received with the launch of the September 2023 helpful update, which had a significant impact on the digital medium and seriously affected the SERP position of hundreds of thousands of websites. Did this latest update have a positive effect on these previously-affected domains? Yes, but not significant. In a poll conducted by SEOroundtable, it appears that the majority of site admins did not register significant increases in SERP rankings.
What is significant about this latest core update, however, is the registered volatility, which remained noticeable even a week after the rolling-out process of the update had finished. In SEMrush, the volatility score on September 11, a week after the update was finalized, was at a value of 9.4 out of 10, while in Cognitive SEO, the score on the same date was standing at 79. The August update lasted 19 days and aimed to improve the SERP score of quality content and reduce the visibility of websites that use generative AI for SEO-focused purposes.
On top of the core update released in August, Google also revised its official documentation regarding the actions that should be taken by web admins affected by algorithm-induced unwanted SERP modifications. As for the main changes, this new document contains new sections on the use of the Search Console to evaluate the impact of crawling algorithmic modifications, offers advice regarding content modifications that should be made after updates, clarifies the minimum time required before SERP changes can become visible, and also removes some previously written content about the nature of SEO updates, which were considered no longer relevant.
Just like other previously implemented algorithm modifications, the 2024 core update places extensive emphasis on improving the relevance and quality of indexable content. However, one keynote of this update is that it increased the relevance of CWVs for SERP ranking and penalized sites that link to third-party content that does not comply with the E-E-A-T guidelines. As a reminder, the core web vitals are currently composed of three separate metrics, namely the Largest Contentful Paint, the First Input Delay, and the Cumulative Layout Shift.
LCP measures the time needed for the largest graphic element on your pages to become visible. FID refers to the site’s input lag after the user attempts to perform an action, while CLS is the shift of the site’s graphical elements as the pages load. The August 2024 update increased the indexing relevance of these metrics and prioritized user-centric performance, looking not just at the relevancy of indexable content but also at the ease with which users can access it.
The E-A-A-T guidelines, which stand for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, have also received a push with the latest update, as Google is increasingly taking into consideration the connection between content relevancy and site performance. Both CWVs and E-A-A-T are now key factors for SEO visibility and must be taken into account when assessing a long-term SEO strategy. Through our SEO audit services, we will evaluate your site’s CWV performance, perform CSS and JavaScript optimization, and ensure that your site is enhanced for handheld devices. On top of that, we will implement schema markup in your page’s HTML code and remove third-party links to sites that violate the E-E-A-T principles.
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First of all, our company will analyze the performance of your site by performing a comprehensive audit, in which we will evaluate both the performance of your page’s keywords and the effect of the latest algorithmic modifications on your site’s back-end components. Our SEO specialists will perform a content evaluation, where we will assess the relevancy of the information present on your pages, utilize semantic SEO strategies to cluster your texts around key topics, and leverage structured data to increase the crawlability of your indexable content for search engine crawlers regardless of your site’s region.
We will test the responsiveness of your pages for mobile devices, implement techniques such as image compression to increase your page’s CWV performance, check and edit your article’s internal or external linking structure, and ensure that your content only links to editorial pages that benefit from a superior reputation score. On top of that, we will improve the indexability of your pages by creating or editing your robots.txt file or site XML map, tuning the noindex or nofollow tags applicable to your pages via GSC, and optimizing your pages for dynamic content loading.
As for content creation, by leveraging tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush, our company will identify the keywords most frequently used by your target audience and develop a content creation strategy that adheres to both the E-A-A-T guidelines and the interests of your core audience. Although Google’s stance on AI-assisted content has softened with the latest update, our content writers will avoid using machine-learning tools, create articles or promotional texts from scratch, and utilize long-tail keywords that have an enhanced call to action. Our services are efficient, and we have the technological resources necessary to mitigate any adverse SERP effects induced by the latest Google core updates.
About Author
Remus Honceriu
Remus attended Ovidius University in Constanta, graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations and European Studies.What Remus appreciates most about being a content writer is the ability to manage his schedule and the feeling that he improves his writing skills with each finished project.
