Is my website hit by Google’s August 2024 Core Update?

Key Takeaways

• Google’s Core Update of August 2024, released on 15th August, has left the digital marketing world in shambles!
• No one knows its full implications yet while it is supposed to shake down the SEO dynamics all across the world wide web.
• We are keenly monitoring the scene and have found some relevant pointers to figure out the impact of this update on your website.

Every website in our digital age uses SEO marketing services to become best suited for the algorithms of search engines like Google Chrome, Microsoft Bing, and more!

But what happens when Google shakes the primary pillar of digital marketing, i.e., SEO handling?

All the websites are currently showing some fluctuations in their rankings, and there is little they can do!

If you are a business owner, a digital marketer, or a web developer, this blog will help you adapt to the Google Core Update of August 2024.

As per Google, there is nothing you can do for your ranking right now, while Google’s August 2024 Core Update is still unfolding. It will take roughly a month, i.e., until September 15, 2024.

Since this update will bring back Google’s focus on quality content and not SEO-enriched content, it is time to rework your content marketing strategies and, indirectly, your digital marketing strategies.

You can assess the quality of various aspects of your website by answering the following questions:

To judge the quality of your current content, ask yourselves and the team the following questions:

• Is your content original, containing information from research, analysis, or reporting?
• Did your content cover the topic holistically?
• Did you bring any new insights to light via your content?
• Is your content a copy or a rewrite of content published by someone else?
• Are your headlines and page titles providing a brief overview of the writeup?
• Are your headlines and page titles free of exaggerations?
• Is your content worth sharing and bookmarking?
• Is your content worth printing?

If you answered,

• Yes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th, and
• No for the 4th, then relax.

If you have different answers, then you know where you need to work!

Your content must portray expertise, and here’s how you can judge it!

• Is your content trustworthy?
• Do you share external links and proofs to collaborate on your work?
• Will your users feel trust and reliability from your web content?
• Is your content properly demonstrated, i.e., elaborated by an enthusiast or an expert?
• Are there any factual errors in your content that can be easily found?
• Is your content worth betting your money or life upon?

If you answered,

• Yes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and
• No, for 5th, then you can be assured of your contents’ expertise.

But if your answers are different, it is time to become serious about the content you churn out!

The way you produce your content and present it says a lot to the users. Because it defines the flow of the content and the ease of reading via visual content inculcation.

There are a few questions that help you check the same:

• Are there any style or spelling issues in your content?
• How does your content look—well produced, hastily produced, or lazily produced?
• Do you outsource your content production, which is mass produced?
• Do you have excessive ads on your content?
• Is your content mobile friendly?

If you answered,

• Yes for the 5th,
• No for 1st, 3rd, 4th, and
• Well produced for 2nd, then you are good in the production & presentation department!

If not, please understand that whatever is seen is bought, and that’s why SEO is used to maximize visibility!

Once you have taken care of all the above pointers, it is time to step out and see how your content stands out in the digital world!

To do so, you check

• Is your content better than that of your competition and the top rankers in your industry?
• Is your content catering to the benefit of visitors or just a random Hocus Pocus?

If you answered Yes for both, then you are better than the competition and on your way to the top! If not, work on it!

Since post release of the 15th August Core 2024 update by Google, we get a hint that implementing the helpful content system has caused a drop in the rank and position of many websites since September 2023. 

This core update has put the SEO team in dilemma about the impact on your website. 

To ease you a little we have created a Free Dashbord which anyone can use within 2 minutes and you will be able to check whether the update has affected your website or not. 

Not just this update, you will be able to check the effect of all the upcoming updates, the ones that have already happened earlier and the ones that are coming later.

Along with that, this dashboard is free and you can use it immediately. You don’t have to make the entire dashboard from the start, you can start using it NOW! 

Before using the dashboard ensure that 

• You have access to the Google Search console of the website you are planning to analyze. 
• Login to Looker Studio using the same email ID that has the Google Search Console access of the website you are about to analyze 

Steps to check “Is my website hit by Google’s August 2024 Core Update?”

Steps 1  – Open Looker Studio with the same email ID as your Google Search Console.

Step 2: Click on Create button >> Data Source and complete your account setup

Step 3: Search Google Search Console and open the app. 

Step 4: Authorize to analyse using Google Search console  

Step 5: Select the property/website you want to check >> Impression URL >> Web

And click on connect

Step 6: Name the Data source and click on Explore 

 You will see the below Dashboard

Step 7:   Repeat Steps 5 and 6 and create data source for images this time and connect. This step will create your data sources

Step 8: Wait for at least 5 minutes to get the correct data. 

Step 9: Click on the Dashboard Link https://lookerstudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/d17c34ba-058b-460c-8e41-2bb46b356789/page/s518D

Step 10: Click on 3 dots and make a copy

You will be able to select the data sources that we created previously. 

Select both the data sources that you have created and click on copy report

Scroll down and the report is here. However, the report will be showing data from Aug 8th to 15th. 

To understand the impact as per Google we should compare Data Before and After the Update. Select the date from 15th to 22nd or any range after 15th August.  

P.S. – The data during the rollout period (August 15th to 22nd) will see lot of fluctuations. Hence it is suggested to check the stable data after 29th August. 

Step 11: Refresh the link, Hover on the Blend Data icon on the right, and click edit. Then 

Go to the old data section and change the date to Aug 7th to 14th save and close. Repeat the same for Blend Data 2 

Click on Apply and scroll down. The data you will get is the comparison and will show the impact on your website. 

How to Check the impact and understand the report

• Focus on the average position of your top-ranking keywords or pages.
• The links in Green show a change of one or two positions. If there’s a drop of just one or two positions, it’s likely not a major concern. 
• However, if many keywords or pages drop by more than two positions, the update may have impacted your site.

The most important thing is that you have to use this dashboard only to diagnose the effects of the Google broad core update. All these instructions and the dashboard are made only from the point of view of the broad core update.

Further to this, Yyou can always conduct audits on the areas that show traffic drops to further get to the bottom of this and use your above insights to rectify the faults in your content.

You can also use Google’s guidelines for Search Quality Rating as that will further help understand what gets rated and how.

Lest you forget what EEAT is and how it impacts your digital presence and visibility!

The way forward is new and uncharted in terms of SEO marketing!

It is time to put your explorer hat on, like our famous Indy and not Dora, to be ready for any opportunity that might present itself!

If your content is affected by this update, it is highly likely to stay affected until Google launches another Core update.

So, learn to move on and become better every day by delivering quality content as the users want it, and Google is making sure that they get it!

Wildnet Technologies, a leader in the digital marketing industry with its expertise and experience in catering top notch digital marketing services, including SEO services, and more, to its 2100+ clients, including 26 Fortune 500 companies, is here to help!

If you would like to read more,

> Google took back its plan to remove Third Party Cookies

> Benefits and Prerequisites of Becoming a Google Partner in India

> Wildnet’s Digital Yum (our thought leadership’s POV on the latest tech and marketing trends)

Contact us now at info@wildnettechnologies.com and get your website backed by the digital marketing leaders!

What is the August Core Update?

The August Core Update in 2024 from Google is focused on becoming a better provider to their users who use it to search for their queries.

Google, with this update, aims to boost quality content and increase the value of its search result pages, or SERPs.

While the content that used to be SEO-focused instead of delivering value to users will be ranked down as it is not benefiting the users or Google SERPs.

This is a great approach, especially when there are rumours that paid or sponsored content will get more priority and space on the first SERP!

Plus, the August Core Update will also strengthen SEO’s importance in the age of AI and AI search engines!

What are the key details about the August Core Update?

Here are the key details of the August Core Update in 2024 from Google:

• It is aimed at showing content that is actually helpful to the general public.
• It will rank up the content that is created to provide value to users and rank down the content that is crafted to rank better!
• As per Google, this update is powered by feedback from various stakeholders and content creators.
• Content from small and independent websites with high quality content will be showcased better!
• The core update will also help in highlighting the positive changes carried out by the websites.
  

What is the difference between a core update and a broad core update?

Ans: It is quite vital to understand this difference, as the world of digital marketing is rocked quite often by Google updates.

Broad core updates are more detailed and have global impacts! They do not focus on specific areas; they cover things as a whole.

Core updates target specific areas, but most of the time they go unnoticed as they don’t have a global impact as such.

How often does the Google Core Update come?

Ans: Well, it solely depends on the digital and marketing scenarios at that point in time, but usually Google launches Core Updates every few months.

Unless there is a fiasco like the Google Content Warehouse leak that forced them to rectify the leak via Spam Update of 2024!

What are the 2024 SEO updates from Google?

Ans: Let’s look at them in a chronological way!

• March 2024 Core Update: 40% unhelpful content reduced!
• Google’s August Core Update: To prioritize quality content over SEO-focused content!

But Google also launches minor updates to its features every month and sometimes even weeks to build up for these bigger updates, so stay tuned!

Read More

• Google rolled out the Google August 2024 Core Update
• Will AI replace SEO with the emergence of AI Search Engines?