GOOGLE’S NOT TALKING
If your website took a major hit in its ranking in late October…the 24th through the 27th, to be exact…you’re not alone. Google isn’t saying anything about a core update or algorithm change, so we’re having to piece together what we know and have also learned from Search Engine Hive, in the hope that it may help you avoid similar results in the future:
- SITES WERE DOWN 50% OR MORE IN ONE DAY: It was amazing to see on so many sites of ours and our competitors, as well. It seemed to be across the board.
- WHAT HAPPENED? A few patterns that are receiving comment:
- AI-GENERATED CONTENT: Especially if it is “cut and paste” with no human editing. Sites with tons of AI blogs took a real hit.
- REINFORCEMENT OF “HUMAN-FIRST VALUE”: Was it reviewed, edited, given citations, and expert analysis?
- MEET CORE WEB VALUES? Are you still meeting Google’s standards for UX, mobile performance, and optimization?
- BE WARY OF THIN CONTENT: As well as duplicate content and a lack of meeting user intent.
- SITES ARE GENERALLY RETURNING IN RANKING: It takes weeks to see, but many are returning.
- BE MINDFUL USING CHATGPT: It actually has 75% of all LLM traffic, so its generative content may be easier for Google to spot. Who knows?
AI is here to stay, that is for sure. If you’d like to see its beginning in an expensive, well-produced documentary featuring Demis Hassabis of DeepMind, watch “The Thinking Game” on YouTube. We found it fascinating!
Onward & Upward!
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