Search engine Google regularly analyzes the performance of its algorithms and updates requirements that affect the SEO strategies of all types of businesses. In 2024, the company released a major update that forced everyone without exception to reconsider their SEO optimization. According to Google, the primary purpose of the updates is to improve the quality of search engine optimization. Since every company wants to be on the first search page of Google, content makers and optimizers must adapt their systems to keep a high position in the search results list.
This can be compared to students who only want to get the highest grades each semester. For this, they have to seek help in the form of writing services, such as MasterPapers.com, to improve the quality of their essays and get help with the selection of topics for research and editing of finished works. SEO optimizers, in turn, study the updated rules and try to adapt old content to the new requirements or have to create it from scratch.
History of Google Algorithm Changes
As we have already said, Google regularly updates its algorithms. With each new update, there are new requirements. Over the past decades, the company has released a number of key changes under the names Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and BERT. While each of these names has an innocuous connection to animals or favorite characters from TV shows, in reality, they have brought a lot of headaches to SEO optimizers worldwide as each update has significantly impacted content promotion strategies and forced companies to adapt as quickly as possible.
Google Algorithm Changes in 2024
In March 2024, Google released a major update to its core algorithm, forcing content makers worldwide to dive into changelogs and learn the new content requirements. For companies that initially created unique content, this change did not bring any problems, but sites that used AI to create large amounts of information suffered the most. Google claims that the algorithm will reduce the amount of low-quality and generated content in search queries by 40%. Also included are new spam policies to combat machine-generated content and the use of outdated domains to boost rankings.
The Impact of the Changes on Content Marketing
Originality and quality content are top priorities for Google’s search engine. The company explicitly stated this after the release of its latest update. They claim that sites offering users unique information structured and engaging content will get a huge advantage and will be privatized in search queries. This is how the company is trying to encourage companies to create better informative posts and reduce the amount of “empty” and superficial content generated by AI.
Optimization of Mobile Versions of Websites
Google continues to prioritize mobile versions of websites when ranking, making this an essential task for any SEO strategy. Mobile versions of the best-optimized sites with the lowest response latency get ranked higher and win the search race.
Local SEO in 2024
Due to recent changes, Google’s algorithms have started tracking local SEO optimization in more detail. The system is better at monitoring the use of local keywords in content and reviews. This means business owners need to update their information in Google My Business and ensure that all contact data and content related to local activity are current.
Using AI and Machine Learning in Google’s Algorithms
In this issue, a rather funny situation comes out when artificial intelligence fights artificial intelligence. Google algorithms use machine learning to identify generated content. Artificial intelligence checks sites for machine-written text and automatically demotes such sites in the rankings.
Technical SEO Optimization
Only those sites that meet all technical optimization and security requirements from Google can get a high ranking in 2024. Developers must achieve the result of a site response of no more than 200 ms. Otherwise, the system will automatically downgrade the site. To check this indicator, tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse can help to identify and eliminate problems that slow down the loading of pages.
The same goes for the security of web resources. The use of HTTPS is actually mandatory to ensure a high ranking.
Link Strategy Under the New Algorithms of 2024
The so-called link profile of a site continues to play an important role in site ranking. Under the new algorithms, resource owners should check the relevance of the links received and ensure there are no spammy links on the site, as this can lower the site’s ranking or even lead to exclusion from the index.
Practical Recommendations and Tips
To meet the requirements of the latest algorithms and, in the future, more easily adapt to the new updates of Google policies, site owners and SEO specialists are advised to:
- Create original and high-quality content, limiting AI use to create large amounts of information to fill the site.
- Check the site’s mobile version, ensure it is optimized and functional, and provide fast interaction.
- Regular technical audits in the face of new algorithms are a must. Pay enough attention to the audits and fix problems as soon as possible.
- Make sure your site does not have spammy links and focuses on obtaining relevant external links to authoritative resources.
- Optimize your SEO strategy for social media and actively develop this avenue to increase audience reach and engagement.
- Utilize data and analytics to improve the content on the site and the functionality of the web resource for user experience.
Conclusion
Google’s latest algorithms demonstrate one obvious trend. Despite the development of artificial intelligence, the company wants its search queries to be dominated by hand-made and helpful content, which excludes generated texts. There is also an active fight against manipulative website promotion practices. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this is that you need to create honest and quality content that will interest users. In this case, the algorithms will not have to worry about, and their requirements will only help to improve interaction with the audience.