March 2023 Google Broad Core Update: Opportunities and Challenges for Site Owners
As the most widely used search engine globally, Google requires site owners like you to remain updated on its algorithm updates. This helps ensure that your website is always up-to-date and in compliance with the search giant’s guidelines. Failure to do so could hurt your web traffic and search rankings. For this reason, it’s worth noting that the Google broad core update for March 2023 has been completed as of its initial release on March 15th.
More Impactful than Previous Updates
Google algorithm updates have always been a big deal for brands, businesses, and organisations worldwide because they can impact one’s site’s search ranking. And when there’s a dip in your site performance, it can affect your organic traffic, conversions, and sales.
Nevertheless, SEO industry chatter suggested that Google’s latest core update, which took 13 days to complete and is also the first major algorithm change in 2023, has a much bigger impact than its predecessors. There were several reports of significant movement and increased search ranking volatility in the first week of its release, particularly on websites that use black-hat SEO strategies.
Why You Should Care
Similar to other notable Google algorithm changes, the March update affects all sites worldwide rather than target a specific language, region, or website category. In other words, it was a typical “broad core update” that the search giant tends to roll out every few months. Additionally, rather than a penalty, the new core update seeks to promote or reward high-quality web pages.
Staying on top of future Google updates is crucial to your site’s performance. Knowing when the search giant will tweak its search algorithms can help you understand if the changes in your Google ranking are a result of something you did or a by-product of the modified algorithm.
What to Do If You’re Hit
With Google recently updating its search algorithms, now is an excellent time to check your analytics and see if there are further improvements you can make. Also, there’s no need to panic if you notice a significant decline in your search ranking or organic traffic following the March update. A decrease in search ranking doesn’t always mean that something is wrong with your site or you committed a violation of Google’s guidelines.
Still, the new Google broad core update notwithstanding, it is best to always provide your audience with high-quality web content. This will help reduce the risk of your site suffering a significant dip in search rankings should Google tweak its algorithms again.
To help you out, here are several Google-approved strategies for developing high-quality web content:
- Provide web content with original information, extensive research, or insightful analysis.
- Don’t copy or rewrite everything when using other web content as your source material. Instead, add original insight or something of value to your audience.
- Always consider your target audience when creating content. Ensure it is something they would want to read, bookmark, or share.
- See that your content is free from factual errors to ensure reliability and accuracy.
- Refrain from writing exaggerated or sensationalised web content.
- Develop content that allows you to demonstrate your industry expertise and authority.
Besides having a solid content marketing strategy, it would also do you well to follow the best writing practices. Consider the writing and publishing tips below:
- Use headlines that offer a descriptive or helpful summary of your web content.
- Check your content for grammar and spelling errors before publishing them online.
- Make your content more reader-friendly, as most people find reading text on a computer screen challenging. You can do this by breaking up large paragraphs or using numbers and bullet points.
- Ensure that your content reads correctly on mobile devices.
Always Stay Ahead of Google Algorithm Updates
Google is known to make periodic adjustments to its search algorithms to improve its performance. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing when exactly the search giant will release another core update until it makes an official announcement. This is why it always helps to take a proactive approach to keeping your website in tip-top shape and providing your audience with the best content possible.
At Springhill Marketing, we can offer you the expert SEO solutions you need to stay compliant with Google algorithm updates and maximise the opportunities the search giant can bring. Get in touch with our team, and we’ll create a bespoke SEO strategy for your business.
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