Google August 2024 Core Update Released

August 15th marked the start of the Google August Core Update. The much-anticipated update gives some hope to publishers affected by the 2023 Helpful Content Update. Here’s what we know so far. 

What’s Google Saying?

In a Google Search Central post, John Mueller had this to say about the content of the update:

“This latest update takes into account the feedback we’ve heard from some creators and others over the past few months. As always, we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content, when relevant to users’ searches. This is an area we’ll continue to address in future updates. This update also aims to better capture improvements that sites may have made, so we can continue to show the best of the web.”

What Do We Know?

• The update will take up to a month to finish rolling out. The status of the update can be viewed from the Google Search Status Dashboard here. 
• As well as continuing to find “useful and original content”, it’s also designed to show “less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search”.
• Google also updated its ‘Help Page’ for Core Updates. 
• AI Overviews are now showing to more users and feature more links to publisher websites

Google Bug Also Found?

Google confirmed they found a bug unrelated to the latest algorithm update that may have affected search. The effects of this are largely still unknown but it could be causing some issues for websites. 

It’s reported that Google has found a solution and will deploy a fix shortly. Keep an eye on the Search Status Dashboard to view updates. 

What Happens Next?

As always with algorithm updates, we recommend you wait two weeks after the update has been completed before you start making changes. 

You can use the compare feature of Google Search Console to monitor any changes to traffic and ranking. 

What are the Early Signs? Are Sites Recovering?

Honestly, not much yet. Although Google said they’d be giving quality sites another chance, there’s not a whole lot of movement. Some sites have reported increasing traffic for the first time since the Helpful Update, but it remains to be seen whether these increases will further increase to pre-update levels. 

What if My Site Has Declined?

If you’ve waited the necessary time and there’s no sign of recovery, then it’s time to assess what’s going on. 

With Google’s push for ‘quality’ content, it can be helpful to view your content from the perspective of these questions. This is what Google is looking for now. Focus initially on pages that have taken the biggest hit. 

It can be frustrating to lose traffic and not know what’s going on. Do your best to view your site objectively. Although, as we’ve seen with the Helpful Content update, sometimes sites get hit in the crossfire. There are some positive signs that Google is working on improving things. 

If you’d like help with your SEO, or have any questions, send our team a message.