Over the years, Google has released many core updates, the latest of which is the November Core Update, which finished rolling out on December 5. Like previous updates, this update comes with the purpose of improving Google search results, which can impact site rankings both immediately and over time.
Danny Conlon, VP of Product and Marketing will walk you through the November Core Update, along with its impact across different types of businesses and what you can do to adapt.
Expert Insight on Google Core Algorithm Updates
Google aims to provide users with high-quality, relevant, and helpful search results. To achieve this, they regularly release core algorithm updates designed to refine how search rankings are determined. These updates improve the overall search experience by ensuring that the most accurate, trustworthy, and valuable content is prioritized for users.
Google states that core updates are typically broad and not aimed at targeting specific sites or issues. However, the search community often identifies patterns and trends that emerge following these updates. These observations can provide insights into which types of content or website practices may be more favorably impacted.
My Expert Advice: Marketers should always be prepared for core algorithm updates by adhering to Google’s well-established guidelines such as the Helpful Content Update, E-E-A-T principles, and user experience standards. If you focus on following these guidelines as well as standard SEO best practice, you’re setting your site up for long-term success. Websites that tend to lose out after updates are often those that cut a corner or comprise quality somewhere.
Key Features of the November 2024 Update
When was Google last updated, and what are some changes you can expect with Google algorithm changes in 2024 and beyond?
The most recent Google Core Update in November just finished rolling out on December 5 after a three-week completion period.
As usual, Google didn’t specify whether the update targeted anything in particular, but here are some trends the search community has noticed:
Further Prioritization of EEAT
Google’s November Core Update enables the algorithm to more effectively identify content in adherence with its E-E-A-T guidelines, prioritizing content that showcases expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
In short, Google continues to focus on providing users with content produced for them rather than Google itself.
Dynamic Rankings
The Google Core Update in November may have also recalibrated search results, causing many changes. As such, sites ranking higher for certain terms previously may rank lower, and vice versa.
According to Search Engine Journal’s Barry Schwartz, as of December 4, the November Core Update was causing quite a fluctuation in search rankings:
Improved Context Analysis
Another feature of the latest update is Google’s continually developing understanding of search query context, analyzing results to bring back results based on user intent, location, and other factors.
Emphasis on Fast, User Friendly Pages
Page speed and user experience have been key priorities in Google’s updates over the past few years, and this core update seemed to place even greater emphasis on these factors.
Impact of the Google November Core Update on Content and Websites
Reported stats indicate that this Google update hurt smaller websites as well as larger platforms.
During the rollout, multiple websites saw a surge in traffic in their favor, likely because of the value of their content:
Meanwhile, others saw mixed results on multiple sites:
Generally, to prepare for these updates, it’s important to focus on quality over quantity in your content, as is always the case today.
Google favors valuable content that truly helps users, which is why you should develop and curate content that displays accuracy, expertise, and authority.
Industries Affected by the November Core Update
Some of the industries that experienced the most impact from Google algorithm changes in 2024 included those where the stakes were higher in terms of helpfulness and value.
For example, many ecommerce retailers saw more volatility due to Google’s emphasis on quality products from reliable brands. Specifically, stats showed a -22.1% change in top citations in this industry.
Meanwhile, education and healthcare websites also saw a notable change as Google works to ensure people get valuable information in these spaces. Stats showed a -7.3% change in education citations, while healthcare maintained a bit more stability with a -1.5% adjustment. B2B tech also saw a -0.4% change.
These changes show that if you want to keep your content on top in product- or research-focused industries, appealing to Google’s desire for consistent quality could do you well.
Monitoring Your Website After the Google Core Update in 2024
To keep track of changes resulting from the Google November Core Update, take the following steps:
1. Take a Look at Your Metrics
You can use certain tools like Google Search Console to monitor metrics such as organic traffic and click-through rates, which can indicate how well your pages are performing in search results.
Try to identify pages that see an improvement and drop in performance, which could help you find a pattern related to certain factors influencing rankings.
For instance, you might notice that pages suffering from ranking hits might be lacking in certain SEO or quality components that your top-performing pages already have.
2. Check for Overall Performance
Using Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report and PageSpeed Insights, among other tools, you can further gauge your website’s performance.
You may discover that your site doesn’t quite meet E-E-A-T standards or that your website doesn’t load fast enough or work for mobile users.
Any of these user experience issues could greatly impact your rankings not just for the recent Google Core Update in 2024 but also for the years ahead.
How to Adapt to the November 2024 Update
Here are some additional best practices to help you optimize for the Google Core Update in November and future algorithm changes:
Improve Content EEAT, Depth and Relevance
Make sure the content you develop is rich, detailed, and relevant to connect with users and search engines alike. Turn your website into an industry authority by doing the following:
- Satisfy Intent: Ensuring every piece of content answers specific user queries comprehensively.
- Build Backlinks: Land high-quality backlinks to signal to Google that your site is worth ranking over competitors.
- Address Questions: Using data-driven insights to understand what your audience is searching for and address their needs directly.
- Adhere to YMYL: Regularly update your old content to make sure it’s both accurate and relevant, especially in fast-paced industries (healthcare, finance, or technology).
- Increase Credibility: Include links to reputable external references and citations.
Enhance the Overall User Experience
User experience is critical to ranking well; it should be seamless and convenient, regardless of the device being used to access your site.
Follow these steps to improve your website’s user experience:
- Improve Speed: Reduce load times by optimizing images, enabling caching, and minimizing excessive scripts.
- Mobile Readiness: Whether people are using a tablet, smartphone, or desktop, the user experience on your website should be seamless and convenient.
- Seamless Navigation: Use intuitive menus, breadcrumbs and internal links to create a logical flow.
- Content Readability: Use paragraphs, bullet points and headers to break up text and make it scannable. Make sure fonts and colors are easy to read.
Optimize for Core Web Vitals
You must also appeal to Google’s Core Web Vitals, which are metrics that gauge everything from loading experience to your web pages’ visual stability.
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the amount of time it takes for the largest visible content on the page to load.
- First Input Display (FID): Records the time it takes for the browser to respond to the first user interaction on the page.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability by tracking unexpected layout changes as your webpage loads.
Getting in the green with all of these can let you know your site offers an optimal user experience.
Common Misconceptions About Core Updates
There are certain misconceptions about Google’s Core Updates that we should clear up here. The following are some popular myths and the truths behind them:
Only Content Quality Matters
Although the Google algorithm changes in 2024 and the foreseeable future will continue to focus on quality, it’s not the only thing that matters.
There are still plenty of relevant technical SEO and content optimization techniques that work, as long as you’re not overtly trying to manipulate rankings.
Continue to optimize for keywords, backlinks, and other elements that can contribute to a holistic strategy.
You Should Focus Solely on Keyword Optimization
On the other end of the spectrum, some people might think that you should only focus on optimizing for relevant keywords, including those that use natural language to appeal to more human queries.
However, you’ll find keywords to be one small (but integral) part of a complete SEO strategy. To supplement keywords, you need to use other elements like high-quality content, optimized images, structured data, and more.
Each Update Focuses on One Ranking Factor
Whenever Google releases a Core Update, there are likely several items included within the release. As Google constantly tries to perfect the search experience, each update could factor in numerous components that impact rankings, including contextual language, backlink analysis, and more.
Ultimately, you shouldn’t focus on a single element to adapt to an update. Instead, assess your strategy as a whole to determine what’s working and what needs some more optimization.
Optimize to Appeal to Google Core Updates With Ignite Visibility
Whether for the November Core Update or others, it’s important to know how to approach your marketing strategy to stay ahead and adapt. To help you keep up with this ever-evolving landscape, consider working with the pros at Ignite Visibility.
We can take several steps to secure your site in the face of algorithm updates, including:
- Developing high-quality content that appeals to users
- Establishing your brand as an industry authority on a range of topics
- Incorporating relevant keywords and other SEO elements to help dominate rankings
- Optimizing for performance in alignment with Core Web Vitals, E-E-A-T, and other guidelines
- Continually monitoring your website’s performance to measure and improve it
- And much more
To get started on a strategy that really works for you, contact the team at Ignite Visibility today and speak with one of our experts.
