{"id":8379,"date":"2024-06-05T12:48:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T11:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oko.uk\/?p=8379"},"modified":"2024-06-05T12:48:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T11:48:48","slug":"how-googles-2024-core-update-changes-things-for-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cool.co\/supply-side-platform-home\/how-googles-2024-core-update-changes-things-for-publishers\/","title":{"rendered":"How Google\u2019s 2024 \u201cCore Update\u201d Changes Things For Publishers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google makes periodic tweaks and changes to improve their user experience \u2014 but that can have a huge ripple effect for everything online. In this blog post, we explain what the 2024 \u201cCore Update\u201d did, and how it changes things.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re writing content online \u2014 content like this blog, for example \u2014 it\u2019s important to keep your audience in mind and write content that your audience wants to read. Content that\u2019s engaging, informative, not too long, and generally answers the question the reader came in with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Often, however, there\u2019s a second thing to keep in mind: writing your content with Google in mind. If you don\u2019t optimize your content for search engines to find, your audience will never find it. So it\u2019s important to learn how the system works.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, however, some outlets get a little too good at writing content for search engines, and the audience experience suffers. Whenever it starts to seem like people are gaming the system, Google pushes \u201cCore Updates\u201d to adjust how search engine results are served.<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest such update, the March 2024 Core Update, was a big one. In this blog post, we explain what this update was all about, what it\u2019s trying to accomplish, and how it affects those of us trying to do business online. Read on:<\/span><\/p>\n

Case Study:<\/i><\/b> find out how OKO was able to boost Loop Media\u2019s revenue by 500% \u2014 <\/span><\/i>on the first day.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

When AI Makes Things Harder<\/strong><\/h2>\n

AI content generation can be a real time-saver. But while it is making a lot of honest people\u2019s jobs easier, it\u2019s also making it easier to produce content that isn\u2019t worthwhile, to say the least. Quick, AI-generated content has begun cluttering up search results in recent months, making it harder for users to find useful, relevant content in response to their queries.<\/span><\/p>\n

One recent scourge has been the proliferation of AI-generated obituaries, designed to capitalize on the wake of searches for the departed\u2019s obit in the wake of their passing. The problem is, many of these AI-generated obituaries have been riddled with errors<\/a>, and in some cases are written about people who haven\u2019t even died<\/a>, generating ill-gotten clicks from shocked friends and fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

It had gotten to the point where many advocated adding “before:2023<\/a>” to searches, to roll the clock back to before the flood of AI-generated noise. Others were forcing Google to search Reddit<\/a> exclusively, to get around the results Google presented to user-generated content they found more useful and relevant.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this leads to one conclusion: Google searches weren\u2019t natively producing quality content anymore, and users were getting increasingly fed up with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Purpose Of Core Update 2024<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Google has a history of updating their algorithm in order to produce better experiences for their users. Previous updates introduced \u201cCore Web Vitals<\/a>\u201d measurement, which prioritized pages with fast load times and stable designs. Other updates have tried to penalize sites that engaged in \u201ckeyword stuffing\u201d or manipulative linking.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, Google\u2019s emphasis has been on getting people to produce higher-quality content with the audience in mind, instead of trying to manipulate the algorithm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Google\u2019s 2024 Core Update takes aim at low-quality, AI-generated content. Their stated goal was to reduce \u201cspammy\u201d content by up to 40%<\/a> with their latest changes, though when the update finished rolling out in April they said it was closer to 45%. That\u2019s a lot of content, and if you\u2019re a publisher, it\u2019s important to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Does The 2024 Core Update Do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Importantly, the 2024 Core Update does not<\/strong> ban AI-generated content. Google doesn\u2019t have a problem with AI \u2014 in fact, after their update was completed they rolled out some AI features on Google themselves, to mixed results<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, Google is focusing on reducing \u201clow-quality\u201d content, whether it was written by a generative tool or by a lazy human. They\u2019re cracking down on this from multiple directions:<\/span><\/p>\n