If your rankings or traffic started to move in the last day, the August 2024 core update is the most likely reason. Google released it on 15 August 2024 and said the rollout may take up to a month to complete. It is still in its first days as I write this, so nothing you see right now is final.
In this article, I cover what Google has confirmed, what is different about this update, and what I would check (and leave alone) while it rolls out. My aim is simple: help you avoid acting on half the data.
What Google Has Confirmed About the August 2024 Core Update
Google shared a little more than usual this time. Here is the full list of facts so far.
- Start date: Google posted the update on its Search Status Dashboard on 15 August 2024, in the morning US Pacific time.
- Rollout time: Google said the rollout may take up to a month.
- The stated goal: Google says the update continues its work to show more content that people find genuinely useful, and less content that seems made just to rank well.
- Feedback: Google says the update takes into account feedback it has heard from creators and others over the past few months.
- Small and independent sites: Google says it wants to keep connecting people with high-quality sites, including small or independent sites that create useful, original content, when they are relevant to the search.
- Improvements: Google says the update also aims to better capture improvements that sites have made.
- New documentation: Google has updated its help page on core updates with more detailed guidance for sites that see changes.
That is it. Google has not named any niche, tactic or type of site as a target. Anything beyond this list that you read this week is someone’s guess.
Why This Core Update Matters More Than Most
This is the first announced core update since the March 2024 core update. That one was large and complex. It also folded the helpful content system into Google’s core ranking systems, so there is no longer a separate “helpful content update”.
The March update started on 5 March 2024 and Google confirmed it was complete on 19 April 2024, which is about 45 days. I wrote about what that long rollout taught us in lessons from the March 2024 core update.
Many small publishers lost a lot of traffic between the September 2023 helpful content update and the March 2024 core update. They have been asking Google for months whether improvements would ever be picked up. So the lines about “feedback”, “small or independent sites” and “better capture improvements” are the parts I am watching most closely.
Be careful how you read them, though. Google has not promised that any site will recover. It said the update aims to do these things, and that it will keep working on them in future updates. That tells me this is a step, not a full reset.
What a Core Update Is (and What It Isn’t)
A core update is a broad change to Google’s main ranking systems. It changes how Google judges the quality and relevance of pages across the whole web. It does not single out one site or one page.
Core updates are not penalties. There is no manual action (a penalty applied by a human reviewer at Google), no Search Console message and no single error to fix. A drop often means other pages are now seen as a better match for the search, not that your page broke a rule.
It helps to keep three things apart:
- Core updates change how Google ranks content in general.
- Spam updates target specific tactics, like link schemes or scaled content made only to rank. Google ran one in June, which I covered in the June 2024 spam update article.
- Manual actions are penalties you can see in Search Console under Security & Manual Actions.
Core updates can affect regular web results, featured snippets, Google Discover and other search features. So if your Discover traffic moved this week, the update may be part of the reason too.
What Changed in Google’s Core Updates Guidance
The documentation change is the most practical part of this announcement. Google rewrote its core updates help page, and the new version is clearer about what to do. Here are the parts I think matter most.
Most Sites Don’t Need to Worry
Google now says that most sites don’t need to worry about core updates and may not even notice one happened. I agree. In my experience, most sites see small ups and downs that settle on their own.
Wait Before You Judge
Google suggests you wait until the rollout is complete. Then wait at least a full week after that before you compare data. With a rollout of up to a month, that means real analysis is still several weeks away.
Small Drops vs Big Drops
Google now separates small position changes from large ones. If a page slipped a couple of spots, Google says there is no need for drastic action. If a page fell a long way, for many queries, a deeper look makes sense.
No Quick Fixes
Google warns against quick fixes, like removing parts of a page because you think an “SEO rule” says so. It says to make changes that make sense for your users and that last.
Deleting Content Is a Last Resort
Google says deleting content should be a last resort. But if whole sections of a site exist mainly for search engines, removing them may help the rest of the site. I read that as “fix or remove the weak sections, don’t delete pages at random.”
Recovery Can Take Time
Google says some changes can show up in a few days. But it can take Google’s systems several months to see that a site is now producing helpful content over time. There is no guarantee that any change leads to better rankings.
What I Would Check During the Rollout
The first few days of a core update are noisy. Rankings jump around, and tracking tools show big swings that often settle down. My rule is to watch closely but change little.
Here is what I check while the update rolls out:
- Mark the date. Add a note for 15 August 2024 in your analytics and reports, so you can line up changes with the update later.
- Watch the Search Status Dashboard. It is the official place where Google will confirm the rollout is complete.
- Check Search Console daily, but lightly. Look at the Performance report for big moves on your most important pages. Don’t draw conclusions yet.
- Rule out other causes. Check for tracking errors, server problems, new
noindextags, broken redirects and seasonal patterns. A drop that started before 15 August is probably not this update. - Keep a simple log. Write down any site changes you make during the rollout. If rankings move, you will know what else changed.
When I see a sudden drop during a rollout, the first thing I check is whether something technical broke. A failed deploy or a robots.txt mistake can look exactly like an update hit.
What Not to Do While the Update Rolls Out
Most of the damage I see after core updates is self-inflicted. People panic and make big changes before they know what happened.
I’d avoid these until the rollout is complete and you have clean data:
- Rewriting dozens of pages at once.
- Deleting large groups of content.
- Changing titles or templates across the whole site.
- Disavowing links in bulk, because a core update is not about a link penalty.
- Buying links or “authority” to make up for lost rankings.
Normal work is fine. Keep publishing, keep fixing real bugs, and keep improving pages you had already planned to improve. Just don’t react to a few days of data.
How to Check If the August 2024 Core Update Affected Your Site
Once Google confirms the rollout is complete, give it about a week. Then use this process.
- Pick clean comparison periods. In the Search Console Performance report, compare a week after the rollout ended with a week before 15 August. Use the same days of the week to avoid weekday swings.
- Look at the Pages tab first. Sort by clicks lost. This shows you whether the change is site-wide or limited to a few pages or sections.
- Then check the Queries tab. See which searches lost clicks and position. Small drops of a spot or two are normal movement.
- Split by search type. Check Web, Image, Video and News results separately, and look at Discover if you get traffic from it.
- Group the pages that dropped. Look for patterns: one content type, one template, one topic or one author.
- Compare with what now ranks. Search the queries you lost and read the pages above you. Ask honestly why a searcher might prefer them.
If the drop is small, I’d leave those pages alone. If it is large and lasting across many pages, it is time for a proper content review.
How to Respond If You Lost Traffic
A big drop after a core update usually means Google now sees your content as less helpful than other options. The fix is rarely technical. It is about the content and the overall site.
Assess the Whole Site, Not Just One Page
Google’s new guidance says to look at your site as a whole. So I’d start with the sections that lost the most and ask a few plain questions:
- Does this page give a complete, original answer, or does it repeat what every other page says?
- Would someone who landed here from a search leave satisfied?
- Is it clear who wrote it and why they know the topic?
- Was this page made for readers, or mainly to target a keyword?
- Is the page buried under ads, pop-ups or filler text before the answer?
Google’s helpful content guidance has a longer list of self-assessment questions. I go through it with a real page open next to it, not from memory. It also helps to ask someone outside your team to give you an honest opinion.
Make Real Improvements
Good changes are the ones a reader would notice. For example, rewriting a thin guide so it actually answers the question, adding your own photos or test results, merging three near-duplicate posts into one strong page, or cleaning up confusing navigation.
Weak changes are the ones only an SEO tool would notice. Swapping a few words, adding a new date or stuffing in more keywords won’t help with a core update. If you were hit earlier by helpful content signals, my helpful content recovery plan goes into this in more detail.
Be Patient With Results
Even good work may not show up right away. Google says some changes can take effect in days, but others take months. In my experience, many sites see the biggest change at a later core update rather than in between.
If You Gained Traffic
Gains need attention too. Look at which pages grew and why. Those pages show you what Google currently sees as helpful on your site.
I’d use them as a model for the rest of the site. Just don’t assume the gain is permanent. Rankings are never fixed, and the next update can shift things again.
What We Still Don’t Know
It is only day two, so there is a lot we can’t say yet:
- How many sites will see big changes.
- Whether small and independent sites that lost traffic in late 2023 and early 2024 will recover, and by how much.
- Whether the rollout will take the full month or finish sooner.
- How this update interacts with other recent changes, such as AI Overviews showing in US results since May.
I’ll treat any early “winners and losers” lists with caution. They are based on a few days of data from a rollout that may run for weeks.
My Take on the August 2024 Core Update
The August 2024 core update is a broad ranking change that started on 15 August 2024 and may take up to a month to finish. Google says it aims to reward genuinely useful content, including from small and independent sites, and to better pick up improvements sites have made.
For now, my advice is to watch your data, rule out technical problems and avoid big changes. Once the rollout is complete and you have a clean week of data, compare it fairly and decide if real work is needed. If you want a refresher on how Google’s quality systems changed earlier this year, start with my guide to the March 2024 core update and new spam policies.
