Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape how we interact with information. Google introduced AI Overviews in its search engine yesterday, marking a new milestone. These new features promise to enhance user experience by providing quick, comprehensive answers to complex queries. However, they also raise important questions about the future of content creation, monetization, and information diversity. Where is all of this heading?
AI Overviews are designed to directly summarize search results from multiple sources on the search page. By leveraging advanced generative AI, these overviews provide users with a concise and comprehensive understanding of complex queries without the need to click through multiple websites. AI Overviews won’t appear for every search, only the complex ones.
Benefits of AI Overviews
According to Google, AI Overviews significantly improve users’ efficiency and satisfaction by delivering quick, accurate, and contextually relevant answers. This can be particularly beneficial for users needing immediate information or conducting broad research.
Google understands everything contextually. The AI’s ability to understand and respond to complex, multistep queries ensures that users receive detailed and logically structured answers, which is invaluable for research and education.
AI Overviews provide students, researchers, and professionals with a structured way to access and digest information, making the learning and research process more streamlined and effective.
Challenges and concerns
One of the most significant concerns is the potential reduction in traffic to original content sites. As users find their answers directly on Google, fewer clicks are directed toward independent publishers. This negatively impacts their revenue and overall visibility.
There are also concerns about proper credit and compensation for content creators. If AI Overviews aggregate information without adequately attributing sources, it could disincentivize content creation and harm publishers in the broadest sense.
The shift towards providing answers directly on the search results page may also pose monetization challenges for Google. Less traffic directed to third-party sites could disrupt the traditional ad-based revenue model, but Google has such a stronghold on the ad market it must surely have found a way forward.
Broader implications for our ecosystem
Centralizing information within Google’s ecosystem could reduce content diversity and the number of voices available online. This monopolization of information flow is a significant concern for the web.
As Google becomes more adept at providing comprehensive answers, user reliance on its services will likely increase. This growing dependence could stifle competition and innovation.
Then, there are the privacy and data concerns plaguing AI in general. The extensive data collection required for personalized AI features raises important privacy issues. Ensuring user consent and data security will be paramount as AI evolves.
Google wants to become your Star Trek Communicator
Google’s advancements in AI are steering it towards becoming a highly personalized digital assistant, akin to the Communicator from Star Trek. It has hinted at this many times over the past. Still, with yesterday’s news, that vision is becoming clearer. This vision involves creating a seamless, always-available assistant to understand and respond to complex human queries and tasks in real time.
Google aims to offer a seamless user experience by integrating multimodal AI capabilities across its ecosystem. This includes personalized interactions that understand user preferences and provide tailored recommendations and insights.
Looking ahead, Google is likely to further integrate AI into various aspects of daily life, from home automation to personal finance and health, making it an indispensable part of users’ routines.
Balancing innovation with responsibility
Google doesn’t owe us traffic or high rankings, but the future of the web does hang in the balance of whatever Google thinks of next. The discussions about who feeds all those AI machines continue. As a site owner, quitting publishing content is not an easy decision. However, seeing the ROI of these publications slowly die might make that decision easier.
We think it is too early to write off search yet. There are plenty of opportunities to be had, and Google might devise a way to balance providing enough value for site owners vs. ad revenue. To address the impact on content creators, Google could find ways to ensure fair compensation for using their content in AI Overviews.
Ethical development of AI
Google’s AI Overviews will occasionally be flat-out wrong — as we’ve seen many times over the past year. Hallucinations are still happening, and they could put Google in a jam. Therefore, it must prioritize ethical considerations in AI development, including transparency, fairness, and user consent. This will help build trust and ensure that AI advancements benefit everyone.
To create a sustainable digital ecosystem for everyone, we need a collaborative approach involving Google, publishers, regulators, and users. Open dialogue and cooperation can help address the challenges and harness AI’s full potential.
Conclusion to Google’s AI Overviews
The introduction of AI Overviews in Google search represents a significant advancement. It has the potential to transform how we access information.
While the benefits for users are clear, the challenges for independent publishers and our ecosystem cannot be ignored. Ultimately, Google hopes to create a future where AI enhances our lives while supporting a diverse and thriving web.
Now that AI-driven search is here, Google wants you to “Let Google do the googling for you,” but we hope it has carefully considered the broader impacts on our ecosystem. Ultimately, we hope everyone benefits from these advancements — not just Google.
Google’s algorithm updates can shift the visibility of your sites. In March 2024, Google launched one of its biggest core algorithm updates yet, giving many people food for thought. This update differs from previous ones, as it targets low-quality, often AI-generated, content that’s cluttering search results. All of this affects the quality of information users find online, meaning Google had to step in and clean up. Here, we’ll give you more insights into the March 2024 Google core update.
Table of contents
Google updates are nothing new
Algorithm updates are not new. Updates are part of Google’s ongoing efforts to improve users’ experience. Google tries to find new ways of promoting high-quality, relevant, and trustworthy content. However, the March 2024 Google core update stands out. This is because it directly addresses the wave of AI content hitting the search engine.
Generative AI is now widely accessible. As a result, the web has seen an influx of content lacking the depth and accuracy of content written by real people. While Google is clear that using AI to generate content is not prohibited, it does value and reward true quantity.
Understanding Google algorithm updates
Google’s algorithm is a list of rules for ranking sites in search results. As with most things, these rules aren’t static. The rules change often to adapt to new technologies and user behaviors. Today, one of those changes is the tidal wave of new content. This prompts Google to update its algorithm. As a result, it should help users find the most relevant, high-quality content.
Google launched the core update on March 5, and it still has not fully rolled out at the time of writing
Why do algorithm updates happen?
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. For this, Google must continuously adjust its algorithms to understand and categorize content. Updates can target specific issues, like reducing spam. Others aim to prioritize expert content in medical searches. For instance, the 2018 “Medic” update focused on health and medical sites. Its goal was to uncover more authoritative content in areas where it matters most.
Content quality and user experience
Over the years, Google has increasingly prioritized content quality and user experience. Google algorithm updates such as “Panda” (2011) and “Penguin” (2012) were early examples, penalizing poor-quality content and manipulative link practices. Today, we see updates focusing on page experience (Core Web Vitals) and the helpfulness of content (Helpful Content Update). All of this shows Google is moving towards user-centric metrics.
It can be very insightful to learn about Google’s algorithm updates. The insights help you align your content strategy. It’s about understanding the need for content quality and user satisfaction. To survive, you must create highly relevant content that serves the user’s intent. Only then will your site remain a valuable resource for your audience.
Why the March 2024 Google Core Update?
We all notice the surge in content powered by generative AI. This technological leap has made it easy to produce content at scale. However, not all content meets the quality standards that Google seeks. The March 2024 core update is Google’s move to address this challenge. It hopes that users will once again find valuable and trustworthy content.
“We believe these updates will reduce the amount of low-quality content on Search and send more traffic to helpful and high-quality sites. Based on our evaluations, we expect that the combination of this update and our previous efforts will collectively reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%.”
The challenge of low-quality content
The core issue with AI-generated content isn’t the use of AI but the quality of that content. Pre-March 2024, search results started showing content that offered little value to users seeking information or solutions. This is a bad user experience and makes it harder for high-quality, human-crafted content to get the visibility it deserves.
“Scaled content abuse is when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users. This abusive practice is typically focused on creating large amounts of unoriginal content that provides little to no value to users, no matter how it’s created.”
Content quality and relevance
With the March 2024 core update, Google wants to highlight high-quality content. Of course, the update doesn’t penalize the use of AI in content creation. However, it aims to ensure that content meets the same standards as real authors. This means AI-generated content should be informative, accurate, and engaging. Also, it should offer unique perspectives or insights that benefit the user.
“There’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people. For those that might not be ranking as well, we strongly encourage reading our creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help page.”
The March 2024 Google core update is very interesting for content creators. We should use it as a call to action to raise our content standards. As a result, we’d publish unique content that truly enriches users’ online experiences. This update gives you the chance to review your content strategies. Try to embrace AI’s potential but prioritize the quality and authenticity only people provide. It’s all about balance! Together, we’ll ensure the web is informative, trustworthy, and user-friendly.
Hit by the March 2024 Google core update?
Identifying the impact of a Google core algorithm update is the first step toward recovery. The March 2024 Google core update might lead to changes in your site performance. However, you should distinguish this from online traffic’s usual ebb and flow. This requires carefully analyzing your site’s metrics.
Monitoring traffic and rankings
First things first: don’t panic. A sudden drop in traffic or a decline in rankings can be alarming. These things happen, so you must try to remain calm. As you know, these shifts can signal that an update has affected your site. Use analytics tools to monitor your site’s traffic patterns. Look for abrupt changes that coincide with the timing of Google’s announced updates.
Something definitely happened here
Analyzing different traffic sources
It’s crucial to differentiate between organic search, referral, and direct traffic. A decline in organic search traffic suggests your site’s visibility in SERPs might be waning. This could be due to the latest algorithm update. Conversely, changes in referral or direct traffic might indicate other factors at play that are unrelated to an update.
Use Google Search Console
Use Search Console to understand your site’s performance in Google’s SERPs. After an update, check for any notifications or warnings that could indicate specific issues Google has identified with your site.
In GSC, look for sudden and unexpected losses. Losses in impressions and click-throughs would be the main things to check. If there are losses in impressions, try to identify the specific pages and queries that were hit. Was everything hit? Just certain queries? Certain pages? Confirm that the dates of the drops match the dates of the updates. This data can help pinpoint which aspects of your site were most affected.
Investigating the impact of a core update
Once you’ve identified potential clues, the next step involves digging deeper. This phase is about pinpointing the impacted elements and understanding why.
Dive deep into the data to figure out what happened when
Aligning traffic changes with update timelines
Start by aligning the observed traffic and ranking changes with the update’s rollout dates. Google’s Search Central Blog and X account are reliable sources for announcements and timelines. Plotting your traffic data against these dates helps confirm if the changes correlate with the updates.
Also, ensure that nothing else might have happened on your website that could have caused the traffic loss. Eliminate the other possibilities to make sure you’re solving the right riddle. It’s important to attribute shifts in performance to the update rather than other variables like seasonal trends or external site changes.
Dive into Google Search Console data
Google Search Console offers a wealth of data for your work. Pay special attention to the Performance report. This report provides insights into impressions, CTR, and rankings for your pages and queries. A drop in impressions might mean your pages appear less frequently in search results, possibly due to the update. Google has a helpful guide on debugging drops in search traffic that helps you get started.
Identifying content and technical shortfalls
After pinpointing the issues, assess whether these are related to content quality and relevance, technical SEO, or both. For content, consider factors like originality, depth, and user engagement. Does the content provide unique value beyond what’s already out there?
Review your site holistically. Check the site structure, internal linking, mobile performance, page speed, and the Core Web Vitals for technical aspects. Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse are helpful tools for this analysis.
Recovering from the Google’s March 2024 core update
After identifying how the update affected your site, the focus shifts to recovery. Recovering involves addressing content quality and technical SEO aspects, depending on where the issues lie. Here’s how to approach recovery, ensuring your site aligns more closely with Google’s standards.
Enhancing content quality
If the traffic loss results from rankings drop for queries you used to rank well for, that is probably an issue with your content. Start by looking at the content ranking for those terms now. Look for clues as to why that content might be preferable over yours, and adjust your content accordingly. Try to make your content more relevant to the user.
Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis? Assess whether your content offers new insights, unique viewpoints, or comprehensive research that adds value beyond what’s already available online.
Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive topic description? Evaluate if your content thoroughly covers the topic, comprehensively addressing the audience’s questions, concerns, and related interests.
Is the content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well? Consider whether the author has the necessary expertise, experience, or passion for the subject matter, evident in the content’s depth and accuracy.
Does the content have a clear purpose or goal that it successfully fulfills? Identify the primary objective of your content (to inform, entertain, persuade, etc.) and assess if it effectively achieves this goal.
Would someone reading your content leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal? Reflect on whether the reader would come away with actionable knowledge, solutions, or a deeper understanding of the subject.
Does the content present information that makes you trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the author’s expertise, and a lack of factual errors? Verify the reliability and credibility of your content through accurate sourcing, showcasing the author’s qualifications, and ensuring factual correctness.
Is the content free from spelling or stylistic issues? Ensure your content is professionally presented, with attention to grammar, spelling, and style, making it accessible and enjoyable to read.
Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to YMYL? For content that impacts significant decisions (health, finance, etc.), consider if it meets the highest standards of accuracy and trustworthiness.
Is the content designed to meet the needs of a human audience rather than search engines? Create content that serves your audience’s interests and queries instead of search engines.
Does your site have a primary purpose or focus, and does your content support that purpose? Ensure your content aligns with and supports your website’s overarching theme or mission, providing a cohesive user experience.
Addressing technical issues
How you recover depends on the problem; the issues are usually related to your content. If you have a technical problem severe enough to cause a sudden loss in traffic, it probably was not caused by the core update. However, if you find a technical issue, you should fix it. Consider this: If your check engine light is on, washing your car and hanging a new air freshener isn’t helping the long-term outlook for the car’s driveability.
Some areas to focus on:
Fix the performance of your mobile site: Having a well-performing mobile site is non-negotiable. Use Google’s Lighthouse to identify and rectify any usability issues. Keep ads at bay.
Page speed and Core Web Vitals: Fast-loading pages create a positive user experience. Use PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix issues impacting load times, such as large image files or slow server response times.
Site structure and navigation: A well-organized site helps users and search engines find content efficiently. Review your site’s structure for logical hierarchy and navigation ease.
Best practices for future updates
Usually, Google algorithm updates don’t hit sites that follow the rules and play nice. Still, the last core update reminds us to work hard to improve our sites where possible. Looking ahead, there are several best practices you can adopt to stay ahead of the impact of future updates.
Stay informed about SEO news and updates
Keep track of SEO news and updates. Sometimes, Google offers insights into what site owners can do to prepare for updates. Follow reputable SEO blogs like ours — and the SEO update by Yoast — , forums, and other channels, like the Google Search Central Blog and the @searchliaison X account.
Continuously review and improve content
The quality of your content is never done. Regularly review your site’s content. It should always remain relevant, accurate, and valuable to your audience. Keep working on it by updating statistics, refreshing outdated references, and adding new insights to keep content engaging. Consider user feedback as an opportunity to enhance your content’s scope and depth.
Diversify your traffic sources
Try to prevent relying solely on organic search traffic. Explore other opportunities by diversifying your traffic sources with social media and email marketing. This makes your traffic more stable and allows you to reach new audiences.
All about the Google core update of March 2024
Adaptability, quality, and user focus are what you need to succeed. It’s hard work to recover if an algorithm update has hit you. The whole process offers valuable lessons to improve your site. In addition, you might find new growth opportunities.
Google’s algorithms will continue to evolve. The March 2024 core update aims to combat low-quality content. It underscores a shift towards a future that hopefully values genuine, insightful, and user-centric content.
Step into 2024, where SEO is on the brink of transformation. This post offers a deep dive into the minds of four SEO experts at Yoast. Each expert sheds light on the impact of the changes they see happening. Explore their collective wisdom as they dissect the future of search, the evolving challenges of engagement, and the strategic shifts vital for success in a year where things are moving quickly.
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Setting the stage
As 2024 nears, reflecting on the transformative year 2023 for the SEO industry is important. It was a year marked by significant algorithmic shifts and technological advancements. Plus, evolving user behavior redefined the strategies of digital marketers worldwide.
In 2023, the SEO community witnessed the full impact of Google’s helpful content update. This placed a premium on user-centric content, diminishing the effectiveness of keyword-stuffed articles. In return, it rewards content catered to user needs and intent. This update re-emphasized the critical importance of understanding the searchers’ journey and creating content that offered genuine value.
The rise of artificial intelligence also reached a tipping point in 2023. AI-powered search features and content tools are becoming more mainstream. Integrating AI into search algorithms brought about smarter, more contextual search results.
As we move into 2024, these trends and challenges form the backdrop against which we navigate the future of SEO. The industry is set for another year of rapid evolution. Adaptability, strategic planning, and a keen eye on user experience will be the hallmarks of successful SEO.
2023: The year AI didn’t take over
To kick things off, our principal SEO expert, Carolyn Shelby, about the impact of AI on SEO in 2024:
As 2022 drew to a close, there was a sense that AI was about to take over everything, not just SEO. It was going to steal our jobs and replace us (humans) in nearly every possible way. In SEO, there was a massive interest in detection processes to determine what content people created and what AI created. There were questions about how the search engines were going to treat content deemed to be non-human. Thankfully, 2023 is almost over, and we are all (mostly) still employed, and none of us have new robot overlords.
Instead of completely taking over, AI is embedded within and added to most of our technology — especially in SEO. It’s a helper rather than a replacement; we’re all learning to leverage this new assistance. Even Google changed its language on treating AI-generated content to remove the stigmatization of using AI to help write. AI isn’t ruling over us; it is making us more efficient and helping us do our work faster. It might make you even better — if you’re good with your prompts.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead to 2024, it’s clear that the integration of AI enhancements into everyday life will continue and probably accelerate. The most beneficial skills prized in the workplace will be language and logic skills that improve your prompts.
The search engines are furiously competing to enmesh the AI equivalent of Clippy into their overall experiences. That, in particular, concerns the SEO community because it raises questions about potential traffic loss. Especially when the SERP starts reading and summarizing your search results to answer questions without needing to click through. As a result, it prevents users from doing research. The lack of a need to do research raises concerns about bias in the algorithms and big tech possessing undue and unchecked influence over the masses.
So many ethical concerns, so few guardrails.
SEO will survive
Ultimately, SEO will survive this, as will websites. SEOs are still necessary, and we now have the luxury of offloading our tedious tasks to AI helpers. Our sites might lose some traffic to the AI in the SERPs, but quality content that provides valuable information will always be needed and should win out. We need to moderate some of our expectations regarding how we interpret our analytics, and our conversion metrics might start looking different. But to be fair, traffic now doesn’t look or convert the same as it did five or ten years ago. Things change, but SEO will adapt and evolve.
What do you E-E-A-T?
Now, our other resident SEO expert, Alex Moss. He has the following to share on the growing impact of E-E-A-T in 2024:
Authority within SEO isn’t a novel concept. For years, SEO experts have concentrated on page and site-level metrics. However, the rise of entities, recognized through schema markup and the Knowledge Graph, is now pivotal in enhancing a site’s or individual’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). In 2024, it’s crucial to implement the correct schema markup for a page or site. Plus, you should craft content that genuinely serves the end user.
Over the past year, Google has underscored the importance of E-E-A-T with several updates, including an additional “E” for experience. This reflects a shift towards valuing personal experience in creating helpful, user-centric content. Alongside this, Google has updated its schema documentation — most notably with the anticipated enhancements to the Organization schema. In addition, it also introduced new types, such as profiles for individuals, discussion forums, educational offerings, and vacation rental listings.
Google’s focus on E-E-A-T will intensify in 2024, with further expansions and refinements to schema types and entity recognition. This evolution promises to intertwine individuals’ Knowledge Graphs more closely with the entities they are associated with, thus amplifying the importance of E-E-A-T in SEO.
The shift in online search behavior
In 2024, content specialist Camille Cunningham sees more changes happening in the way people search for answers to their questions:
When we think of how people find us online, we often picture someone typing in a keyphrase in Google’s good old search bar, hitting enter, and getting a neat list of search results. But as online search behavior evolves, we see a noticeable shift to other devices and platforms.
The importance of mobile
It may not be news to you, but the popularity of mobile is continuously growing. According to Hubspot, a percentage of 54% of consumers primarily use their phones for online searches. In that same research, they found that 80% of Gen Z, 62% of millennials, and 66% of Gen X use their phones most often when searching online. The younger generations (and the ones still to come) expect a great mobile experience whenever they experience you online.
The importance of social media
Related to this, you need to think bigger than just appearing in Google. Another development that will continue well into 2024 is using social media as a search engine.
People are spending loads of time on social media and using it to (actively) find information. Especially for younger generations, this is where you can reach them and get them interested in your business. These people will not be reached through traditional SEO; you’ll need to figure out where they hang out online and be there. Build your brand there and earn their trust through content that resonates with them.
Keep investing in user research and stay flexible in your marketing to ensure you cater to your audience’s changing needs. Constantly evolve with your target audience because user behavior will continue to change.
Google’s Search Generative Experience rolling out
Yoast’s strategic content specialist Edwin Toonen talks about the impact the SGE will have:
In 2024, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) will change the game. Google will probably roll it out worldwide sometime next year. With SGE, users will get more options to shape their searches and the results they get. In general, they can do more on the SERPs. They will likely search differently, asking more complex questions rather than entering short keywords. We must prepare for this by creating content that answers these more detailed questions.
There’s been a lot of talk about zero-click results, and getting traffic to websites will definitely change. SGE will provide answers directly on the search page, which could mean fewer people clicking through to websites. This requires a new approach from all of us, as we must find fresh ways to engage users and measure success. Also, we need to assess how much site traffic the SGE can cost us and adjust our strategies accordingly.
Content accuracy is now more important than ever. To be used by SGE, content must be factually correct and highly relevant. Therefore, we must focus on quality to ensure SGE picks up our content. In addition, we must find new ways to align our content with what SGE seeks. While writing that unique content, use AI sparingly to ensure our original work stands out.
Underneath all that, structured data is the bedrock for everything. By embedding this standardized format, we can directly communicate the context of our website’s content to Google. This clarity allows SGE to parse accurately and present information in response to user queries.
To keep in mind
Amid these changes, Google’s ad business remains a focal point. It has a history of integrating new features with an eye on monetization. Any advancements, including SGE, will likely support and enhance their advertising model. As we work through these changes, we must remember that Google will prioritize features that tie back to revenue generation. This will influence how organic and paid content coexist on SERPs.
In short, SGE is a wake-up call. But, as with everything, there are opportunities. It’s an exciting time for SEO!
Conclusion to SEO in 2024
As we look ahead, it’s clear that four key drivers are reshaping SEO in 2024. First, artificial intelligence is not just on the horizon — it’s here, fundamentally altering how we approach search engine strategies. AI’s influence spans from content creation to search query processing, setting a new bar for what it means to optimize for search.
Simultaneously, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) makes its presence felt. Its immediate impact on user search habits and site traffic compels us to re-evaluate our tactics to stay ahead.
The emphasis on E-E-A-T and entity SEO is rising to new heights of importance. The confluence of user experience, demonstrated E-E-A-T, and a clear understanding of entities and their relationships will form effective SEO.
Lastly, a new wave of user and search behavior changes is upon us. These shifts demand our attention and adaptability as they redefine the avenues users seek and consume information.
In summary, SEO in 2024 is dynamic and challenging but also brings opportunities. Staying attuned to these four focal points — AI’s transformative role, the ripple effects of Google’s SGE, the cruciality of E-E-A-T and entity SEO, and the evolving patterns of user behavior — will be pivotal for anyone looking to navigate the future of SEO successfully.
