March Core Update Ended on April 19

On April 26, Google announced that the March core update officially ended on April 19. The update, which took 45 days to complete, has significantly improved the quality of search results by reducing low-quality content. 

Google announced the end of the update with a post on X:

A Google spokesperson spoke to Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable about the update:

“A Google spokesperson told me these points:

• The March core update ranking improvements, which tackled spam and low-quality content on Search, are now finished rolling out. As a reminder, on March 5th, we launched a number of meaningful enhancements to our core systems, as well as several updates to our spam policies, to reduce content created for search engines on Search.

• The updates led to larger quality improvements than we originally thought—you’ll now see 45% less low-quality, unoriginal content in search results, versus the 40% improvement we expected across this work.
• As the web and spam tactics continue to evolve, we’ll continue to work to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in Search. As always, we appreciate and encourage feedback from users and site owners alike.”

With the conclusion of the March core update, Google has introduced a crucial addition to the Debugging Search Traffic documentation. The new section, Algorithmic Update, is designed to assist SEOs in understanding and addressing traffic drops that may occur due to algorithmic updates. This resource is particularly valuable for SEOs navigating the post-update landscape. 

According to the document, if you notice a slight fluctuation in traffic, you shouldn’t take any action as it’s entirely normal. However, if you experience a significant drop in traffic, the document provides some suggestions to address the issue. These include fixing technical problems, security issues, spam, and user behavior changes.

According to the X thread, numerous SEOs are disappointed with the recent update’s results. They hoped it would mark a recovery from the Helpful Content update. Unfortunately, the update did not recover these sites, so they will have to wait longer for their rankings to improve.

While the March core update may have left some SEOs disappointed, it’s important to remember that Google’s primary goal is to provide the most relevant and helpful results to its users. Therefore, it’s crucial for site owners and SEOs to continue creating high-quality, original content that aligns with Google’s guidelines. This approach will significantly enhance their chances of ranking well in search results.