Google's November 2024 Core Update has rolled out, bringing significant changes to search rankings and leaving many marketers eager to understand its implications. We'll break this down into what was included in the latest update and any key actions we recommend you take.
On 11th November 2024, Google released its latest core algorithm update, aiming to enhance the quality and relevance of search results. These broad core updates are part of Google's ongoing effort to refine its search algorithms, impacting brands and websites across various industries and regions.
Key Aspects of the Google November Core Update:
As always, Google remains pretty tight-lipped about specific changes, but some focal points include:
- Content Quality and Relevance: There's a heightened emphasis on original and high-quality content that aligns closely with user intent.
- User Experience (UX): Factors such as page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and overall site usability are under increased scrutiny.
- E-E-A-T Principles: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness continue to be critical in determining page rankings.
Actions for Marketers:
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Audit Your Content:
Review your website's content to ensure it provides genuine value, is well-researched, and addresses the needs of your target audience. Outdated or irrelevant material may lose rankings.
Prioritise originality and invest in unique perspectives, original research and expert insights. Size also matters! Ensure your articles are comprehensive and answer users' questions thoroughly, whilst addressing any related topics where possible.
Remember to focus on search intent and understand the intent behind keywords (e.g. informational, transactional, navigational) and tailor your content accordingly. GA4 and Search Console can help you to identify underperforming pages, so you can determine whether to update them or consolidate content to make more of an impact.
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Enhance User Experience:
Focus on improving your site speed, ensure mobile compatibility, and streamline navigation to offer a seamless experience for visitors.
As slow-loading pages are penalised in rankings, use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrics to identify issues and optimise. This may include compressing images and files, browser cachings and implementing Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).
Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to check for and address issues like touch targets or viewpoint configurations to ensure your site adapts well to different screen sizes.
Simplify your navigation to make it easy for users to find what they're looking for - avoid cluttered menus and provide clear call-to-actions (CTAs).
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Build Authoritative Backlinks:
Focus on acquiring backlinks from truly reputable sources to bolster your site's authority and trustworthiness.
Instead of traditional link-building activities, utilise creative and/or informative Digital PR campaigns to build high quality backlinks with relevant coverage from key publications to boost your credibility. This is a more natural way of earning links back to your site, by creating content that journalists want to link to, such as thought leadership pieces, data-driven reports or unique visual assets.
It's important to monitor your backlink profile and to use tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush to audit your backlinks, disavowing any spammy links that could potentially harm your site.
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Monitor Performance Metrics:
Keep a close eye on your KPIs and metrics such as organic traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates to identify any shifts post-update. Use GA4 to see how your pages are performing, as a drop in traffic could signal content or technical issues flagged by the update.
Tools like SEMrush or Moz can help track changes in keyword positions - prioritise fixing drops in high-converting keywords. It's also important to investigate bounce rates, as a high bounce rate could suggest poor user experience (UX) or misaligned content.
It can also be helpful to study your competitors. Identify sites that gained rankings following the November Core Update and analyse what they're doing differently, such as their content strategy, user experience, or backlink profile.
SEO is such a dynamic field and is constantly changing, so it's important to stay informed and to keep up to date with all updates. At HonchÅ, we're big fans of platforms such as Google's Search Central Blog and Search Engine Land for the latest updates.
If you're looking for support post-update, get in touch and we'll give you a helping hand.