5 March 2024

Quick facts The March 2024 Spam Update began on 5 March 2024 and finished around 19 March 2024. It was a spam update, which improves how Google detects and neutralises spam that breaches its spam policies. What was the March 2024 Spam Update? Launched alongside new spam policies covering scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse and expired domain abuse. Spam updates mainly affect sites using tactics that break Google’s spam policies, such as scaled low-value content, cloaking or link schemes. Dates are taken from Google’s Search Status Dashboard and may be off by a day because end dates are calculated from the stated rollout length. Who was affected? Visibility changes can show up in rankings, clicks and impressions. Check the rollout window in Google Search Console and compare it with the previous period. Seasonality and tracking changes can also cause movement, so look at several weeks of data. What to do after the March 2024 Spam Update Review Google’s spam policies and audit your site and backlink profile against them. Remove or fix thin, auto-generated or scraped content. Disavow or remove manipulative links you control or cannot otherwise clean up. Check for hacked pages, injected links and spammy user-generated content. If you were affected, fix the cause; recovery usually comes with later spam system updates. Related updates Previous: November 2023 Reviews Update Next: March 2024 Core Update Full Google algorithm updates timeline (2021 to 2026) Get an SEO audit after a ranking change Frequently asked questions When did the March 2024 Spam Update roll out? According to Google’s Search Status Dashboard it rolled out from 5 March 2024 to about 19 March 2024. Was the March 2024 Spam Update a penalty? Spam updates can reduce the visibility of pages that breach Google’s spam policies, but they are automated and not the same as a manual action. How do I check if my site was affected? Compare clicks and impressions in Google Search Console before, during and after the rollout, and look at which pages and queries changed. Lost rankings after an update? We review what changed, find the cause and build a recovery plan. Book an SEO audit

Quick facts The March 2024 Core Update began on 5 March 2024 and finished around 19 April 2024. It was a core update, a broad improvement to Google’s overall ranking systems. What was the March 2024 Core Update? Folded the helpful content system into core ranking and aimed to reduce low-quality, unoriginal results. Core updates are not penalties. They re-assess how well pages meet searchers’ needs, so some sites rise and others fall. Dates are taken from Google’s Search Status Dashboard and may be off by a day because end dates are calculated from the stated rollout length. Who was affected? Visibility changes can show up in rankings, clicks and impressions. Check the rollout window in Google Search Console and compare it with the previous period. Seasonality and tracking changes can also cause movement, so look at several weeks of data. What to do after the March 2024 Core Update Check Search Console to confirm whether your drop or gain lines up with the rollout dates. Compare your pages against the top results: are they more complete, original and clearly written by someone with experience? Improve the pages that lost most: add first-hand detail, current data, clear authorship and better structure. Wait until the rollout has finished before judging results, then compare against a similar period before it. Avoid knee-jerk changes; focus on durable quality, not tricks. Related updates Previous: March 2024 Spam Update Next: June 2024 Spam Update Full Google algorithm updates timeline (2021 to 2026) Get an SEO audit after a ranking change Frequently asked questions When did the March 2024 Core Update roll out? According to Google’s Search Status Dashboard it rolled out from 5 March 2024 to about 19 April 2024. Was the March 2024 Core Update a penalty? No. It was a ranking system update, not a manual penalty, so there is no reconsideration request to file. How do I check if my site was affected? Compare clicks and impressions in Google Search Console before, during and after the rollout, and look at which pages and queries changed. Lost rankings after an update? We review what changed, find the cause and build a recovery plan. Book an SEO audit