Google’s August 2024 core update has now finished rolling out, a Google representative informed us. The update began on August 15, 2024, and concluded 19 days later on September 3, 2024. This update brought about substantial shifts and alterations in Google Search results.

As mentioned earlier, this update is distinct from regular core updates. The August 2024 core update incorporated feedback Google gathered following the September 2023 helpful content update, which appeared to negatively affect numerous small and independent publishers.

What we observed. We indeed noticed some movement for certain (not all) sites impacted by that update. A recent poll I conducted indicated that most participants were adversely affected by the last core update:

• 44% stated My Rankings/Traffic Are Down (total votes 1,583)
• 27% reported My Rankings/Traffic Are Up (total votes 993)
• 29% mentioned No Change (total votes 1,038)

Overall, it seems that while we witnessed some recoveries from the September helpful content update in 2023, these were limited to just a few sites. Most sites did not experience significant or meaningful recoveries, based on what we can determine. Additionally, more sites either faced further declines or remained unchanged.

Ranking bug. During the initial four or so days of the August core update, there was a major search ranking bug that was resolved four days later. Therefore, you should disregard any movements observed during those first few days. Moving forward, compare your rankings and traffic from Google this week with the weeks preceding the release of the August core update.

What Google said about the August core update. John Mueller, Search Advocate at Google, commented when the update was initially released.

• “Today, we launched our August 2024 core update to Google Search. This update aims to enhance the quality of our search results by displaying more genuinely useful content and less content that seems to be crafted merely to perform well on Search.”

Google mentioned this update seeks to promote useful content from small and independent publishers, following feedback received since the March 2024 core update. Mueller added:

• “This latest update considers the feedback we’ve received from some creators and others over the past few months. As always, we strive to connect people with a variety of high-quality sites, including ‘small’ or ‘independent’ sites producing useful, original content on relevant searches. This is an area we’ll keep addressing in future updates.”

This August 2024 core update “seeks to better capture improvements sites may have made, allowing us to continue showcasing the best of the web,” Mueller noted.

Guidance updated. Google updated its help page regarding core updates, including more detailed guidance for those who might notice changes after an update.

Previous core updates. The previous core update—the March 2024 core update—was the largest core update, according to Google. It commenced on March 5 and concluded 45 days later on April 19.

Here’s a timeline and our coverage of recent core updates:

• The March 2024 core update was on March 5th and ended on April 19.
• The November 2023 core update was on November 2nd and ended on November 28.
• The October 2023 core update was on October 5th and ended on October 19.
• The August 2023 core update was on August 22nd and ended on September 7.
• The March 2023 core update was on March 15th and ended on March 28th.
• The September 2022 broad core update was less impactful than previous core updates and finished on Sept. 26.
• The May 2022 broad core update was a significant and fast update.
• The November 2021 core update.
• The July 2021 core update.
• The June 2021 core update, which was slow to roll out but a large one.

What to do if you are hit. Google has provided advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update. Google hasn’t given much new advice here.

• There aren’t specific actions to take to recover. A negative rankings impact may not indicate anything is wrong with your pages.
• Google has offered a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update.
• Google said you can see a bit of recovery between core updates, but the biggest change would occur after another core update.

In short, write helpful content for people and not to rank in search engines.

• “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,” Google said previously.

Why we care. By now, you should likely recognize the trend of this update and how it may have influenced your website. If you noticed improvements, then great—otherwise, perhaps you have more work to do so Google deems your site helpful enough to rank better in the Google search results.

Google releases core updates every few to several months, so you should consistently strive to improve your site and the content on it. Future updates may benefit your site’s ranking and Google traffic—so always focus on improvements—not just for Google Search but also for your website users.

Google informed us there won’t be a feedback form for this update.

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