Core update STILL coming in like a lion

+ more SEO news for April ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( [Log in ▸]( Hey, hello - Loganix here to catch you up on all of this month’s movements in SEO. Google’s forever update Let’s kick off with the most glaringly obvious thing: the March 2024 core update. Feels funny to be talking about its continued rollout in late April, but here we are. “...may take up to a month to complete.” Missed that by about *checks watch* 3 weeks and counting. [Google’s Core Update] Tik-tok, Google. [Gael Breton on X]( Controversy…controversy everywhere! It’s taking forever, and now the March update is wreaking havoc. Google claims the update is set to cut the bloat on the SERPs [by 40 percent](. However, “clean” websites seem to have been caught in the crossfire. Manual actions are also flowing. It's a bloodbath, particularly for those who air their tactics out in the open. [AI Only Site]( [Issue Detection]( Historically, the advice has been to wait this thing out. This time, there have been few to no documented recoveries so far. [Glenn Gabe on X]( Truly, it’s been a one-two punch for many sites. Jab, Helpful Content Update (HCU), right-cross, March core update. TKO. The best printer of 2024 Can’t go past this one. Verge’s guide on the best printer of 2024. It’s performing well. Consistently ranking top five. [Verge’s guide on the best printer of 2024]( After a quick read, you’ll realize this isn’t like any “best of” post you’ve read before. The author, Nilay Patel, takes a tongue-in-cheek jab at Google’s rankings algorithms. Nilay opens with: [Verge’s guide on the best printer of 2024.]( Nilay then hands over the reins to Google Gemini. [Verge’s guide on the best printer of 2024.]( The LLM finishes the article with the typical AI prattling. Nilay’s point rings true. Niche site owners (the ones actually testing stuff) have been slammed by HCU, and they’re rightly claiming hypocrisy. Why? Forbes and other big sites—which have probably never actually touched a Brother printer—are raking in the traffic. Something smells fishy here. Nilay's satirical guide? Worth a once-over for the LOLs alone. Read it [here](. Don’t say we didn’t warn you For those targeting Google News and Discovery channels, here is a quick heads-up. The new “Artificial freshening policy” outlined in [Google’s Manual Action report]( targets, well, artificial freshening. [Google’s Manual Action report]( Meaning a publisher is “providing a new publication date without adding significant information or creating a very slightly updated article from one previously published.” Just something else to keep in the back of your mind as you’re updating (or not updating) content. Ahrefs’ newest feature This one’s pretty cool, Ahrefs’ Page Inspect. The main use case of this tool is to “Compare changes made to a page at two different points in time.” [Ahrefs’ Page Inspect.]( It’s like the Wayback Machine but for on-page SEO. The Page Inspect tool is available on paid advanced plans or higher. Boosting rankings with this local SEO strategy Google just got way smarter about location and Koray Gubur figured out how to use that to his advantage. He studied how Google ranks locally. Turns out, it cares if your content sounds like it was written by a local, for locals. His strategy is all about making your existing content work harder. No overhauls needed. [120% Organic Click Growth with Local Penetration and Proximity Understanding]( The payoff? 120 percent more click-throughs. Nice! Read his full breakdown [here](. Google claims (once again) that links aren’t important And let’s wrap up with this: Google has this habit of underwriting the importance of backlinks. [120% Organic Click Growth with Local Penetration and Proximity Understanding]( It’s nothing new, really. Company spokespersons have stated this on several occasions. Duy Nguyen once claimed that "backlinks as a signal has a lot less significant impact compared to when Google Search first started out many years ago." And Matt Cutts once said, “Over time, backlinks will become a little less important.” [Backlinks not important]( It’s a classic switcheroo from Google and most people aren’t buying it. [Switcharoo]( Sure, if you’re a big site, carry on. Ride that sweet-sweet authority. If you aren’t big, though, then backlinks. All the (high-quality) backlinks. Annndd boom. You’re all caught up. What did you think? Anything we missed? As always, reply and let us know your thoughts. Adam Steele Partner & COO / [loganix.com]( Your premium SEO partner for agencies & in-house teams. 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