Google August 2024 Core Update Has Finished Rolling Out. Here’s What Happened.

Google’s August 2024 core update, a significant shake-up in the search landscape, has finally concluded. Spanning 19 days, this update sent ripples through the SERPs, impacting rankings and visibility for countless websites.

In this blog post, we take a quick look at:

• What happened,
• How it all unfolded,
• What the impact of Google’s August 2024 core update was,
• Recovery tips for those who were affected,
• What the current state of SERPs volatility looks like,
• And what’s next

A response to feedback

This update was more than just a routine algorithm adjustment.

Google listened closely to the feedback generated by the September 2023 helpful content update, which had inadvertently affected many smaller, independent publishers. The August update aimed to rectify these unintended consequences and promote more useful content from these often-overlooked sources.

A ranking bug and recovery

Adding to the complexity of the situation, a significant search ranking bug emerged during the initial days of the August update. This bug, fortunately, was resolved within four days.

Therefore, it’s essential to disregard any ranking fluctuations that occurred during this period when assessing the long-term impact of the update.

The Impact of Google’s August 2024 core update

While the overall picture is still emerging, early data suggests that the August update brought some relief to websites that were negatively impacted by the previous helpful content update.

However, the recovery was far from universal.

Many sites continued to experience declines or stagnation in their rankings and traffic.

Barry Schwartz recently conducted a survey on his X profile in which over 1,500 website owners participated.

According to the results of that survey:

• 1% of participants said that their rankings and traffic declined,
• 4% of participants said that they noticed no change after the update, and
• Only 26.5% of participants said that their rankings and traffic improved after the udpate.

Google’s perspective

John Mueller, Google’s Search Advocate, clarified the goals of the August update:

“This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.”

Google emphasized its commitment to supporting smaller, independent publishers and ensuring that their high-quality content reaches a wider audience. The update aimed to better recognize improvements made by websites and reward those that consistently provide valuable information to users.

Advice for impacted websites

While Google hasn’t offered any groundbreaking new advice for websites negatively affected by the update, it’s essential to remember that a ranking drop doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem with your content.

Google encourages websites to focus on creating helpful, reliable, and people-first content. By prioritizing quality over quantity and ensuring that your content genuinely addresses user needs, you’re more likely to weather future algorithm updates and maintain your position in the SERPs.

Current state of the SERPs

Although the Google’s August 2024 core update has finished rolling out — at least, officially — we are still noticing a lot of volatility on SERPs.

Perhaps Google is still making some last-minute changes to the core algorithm update it just rolled out, or perhaps there is something else is going on that nobody knows about. But if your search rankings are still being volatile, know that you are not alone in this.

Take a look at the SERP volatility for the past 30 days, as per Semrush.

A quick recap

• The August 2024 core update was a significant event in the search landscape.
• Google listened to feedback and aimed to address issues raised by the September 2023 helpful content update.
• The update had a mixed impact on websites, with some seeing improvements and others experiencing continued challenges.
• A ranking bug briefly affected the search results during the early stages of the update.
• Google emphasized the importance of creating high-quality, user-focused content.

Conclusion

As the dust settles on the August update, website owners should continue to monitor their performance and adapt their strategies accordingly. By focusing on providing valuable content and staying informed about Google’s algorithm changes, you can increase your chances of long-term success in the competitive world of search engine optimization.