Google August 2024 Core Update: Here's What Happened to My Site
written by
Victoria Kurichenko
posted on
September 5, 2024
If you’re using SEO to improve your website, you probably keep track of Google’s algorithm changes.
I’ve seen people complaining about keyword positions dropping and organic traffic decreasing since the June 2024 spam update.
Whether or not you’ve fixed the problems from the June update, Google has made another big change to its algorithm in August 2024.
Since I work on client websites and also have my own website, I pay close attention to what happens when Google releases new updates and what other website owners talk about.
A comment from Jesus, the Twitter user, specifically caught my attention:
50+ customers have already received my updated ebook on "How to hit the Google front page."📈
— Victoria Kurichenko (@k36_victoria) September 6, 2022
Comment below to learn more and get a special promo offer. 👇https://t.co/59dHtGIBay pic.twitter.com/cZ7F0URRnn
I’m not the only one thinking that multiple algorithm updates might be harmful to small and new content creators.
These smaller creators might struggle to compete with bigger websites like Reddit, Quora, and Forbes, which have become more popular after Google’s updates.
Is the content on Quora really better than what you can find on smaller, independent websites?
I highly doubt it!
However, Google has been prioritizing user-generated content for months, making it harder for small websites to reach the desired top 10 spots.
With the August core algorithm update, Google promised to fix this issue and improve its ranking algorithm:
“This latest update takes into account the feedback we’ve heard from some creators and others over the past few months.
As always, we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content, when relevant to users’ searches. This is an area we’ll continue to address in future updates.
This update also aims to better capture improvements that sites may have made so we can continue to show the best of the web.”
Google made this promising announcement on August 15th and finished the rollout on September 3rd.
Website owners’ feedback has been controversial, though.
One of the SEO consultants on LinkedIn mentioned the positive impact of the Google August core update on his websites.
However, many more site owners have a different opinion on this matter.
The reasons for the significant difference in these websites’ performance are unclear. This might be due to the extensive use of AI content generation tools and unnatural link building.
If you’ve also noticed fluctuations in rankings recently, it might be due to some behind-the-scenes updates from Google.
Since I’ve been in the SEO field for years, I’ve seen various impacts of algorithm changes on my website.
Here’s what happened to mine this time.
What happened to my site after the August 2024 core update
Because I don’t actively manage my website, most noticeable positive (or negative) shifts usually result from external factors.
This time, I observed a significant improvement a few days after Google announced its core update.
Even though the core update rollout is finished, my site continues to see a modest boost in organic impressions and clicks.
It’s also worth mentioning what happened to some individual pages on my website.
For instance, consider my blog post about AI SEO tools.
While this blog post initially performed moderately, it experienced a dramatic increase in views and clicks following the core algorithm update.
Today, it’s a success story:
- It ranks for over 600 keywords, according to Ahrefs
- It gets 2,000+ organic visitors monthly
- It holds the #3 spot for the highly competitive ‘AI SEO’ keyword
- It outperforms industry leaders like Semrush and Backlinko in US search results
Even though I put a lot of effort into writing and optimizing this blog post, I never anticipated it would outperform industry giants with domain authority close to 90.
This clearly indicates to me that Google is experimenting with organic search results and is willing to make significant changes.
If you’re interested in the strategies I used to create high-ranking blog posts, I’ve detailed them in my SEO ebook.
Unexpectedly, not all of my blog posts saw an improvement in performance.
For example, I’ve created a few posts using AI tools as part of my SEO experiments.
One of these, a Videvo review published in 2023, hasn’t been updated since.
It used to perform steadily in organic search, but since August 15th, there’s been a noticeable drop in impressions and rankings.
Despite high volatility in organic rankings, I’d say the overall impact of the Google August 2024 core algorithm update on my website is positive.
This positive outcome is not accidental.
I believe building a successful website is a long-term endeavor that requires consistent growth and can only be achieved if you follow Google’s guidelines.
Many website owners might disagree.
I’ve also worked with clients who had a different approach to growing their websites because they wanted to move faster.
However, faster doesn’t necessarily mean better.
That’s why I avoid any questionable SEO tactics.
The bottom line
If you create content with your readers in mind, you help Google achieve its goal “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Therefore, you should not be worried about any search algorithm updates.
I encourage everyone to think long-term and never use shady practices, such as copying someone else’s content, buying backlinks, etc.
It’s simply not worth it.
Remember, it’s much easier to play the game by its rules than to recover from a Google penalty.
You’ll likely experience slower growth than your rivals, who brag about the power of AI and link building. However, you can rest assured your website won’t be impacted.
Hello there!
My name is Victoria.
I am an SEO expert, Medium top writer, solopreneur, and the founder of Self Made Millennials. I help companies create optimized content and attract potential customers through organic search results. In addition, I share how content creators can monetize their writing skills.
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