Digital Marketing Reads: Volume 26

Here’s the latest instalment of Digital Marketing Reads, a roundup of some of the more interesting articles we’ve read lately in the digital marketing world. Want something newer? Read the next instalment, Volume 27.

Google March 2024 Core Update: Reducing “Unhelpful” Content By 40%

Another day, another Google algorithm update. Here’s what you need to know about the Google March 2024 core update, as Google described it:

• The main goal was to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%
• Spam policies were updated to remove the lowest quality content from search results, including content made at scale with automation
• Google aimed to identify websites hosting low-quality, third-party content where the third party is trying to gain from the hosting site’s good reputation

This core update began rolling out in March 2024.

As always, we advise not panicking about this or any other Google update. If you’re producing helpful, original content and using white hat SEO tactics, you’re far less likely to fall out of favour with Google.

Need help recovering from lost search rankings? Get in touch with our Mildura SEO specialists.

Why Google Seems To Favor Big Brands & Low-Quality Content

The title of this article is a bit discouraging to small businesses like yours and ours. It argues that Google tends to rank bigger brands higher in search results, regardless of the content quality.

Why would Google do this when it keeps preaching about the importance of high-quality content? This article puts it down to familiarity bias: people tend to stick with what they know, and choose the familiar over the unfamiliar.

If this is true, then Google’s algorithm must somehow favour bigger websites and brands that people are familiar with and more likely to click, over a small business website they’ve never heard of before.

Global social media users pass 5 billion milestone

This article contains some interesting social media stats beyond the headline of there being 5+ billion social media “identities” (or profiles) across all platforms.

A few other interesting stats from the article:

• The average person spends about 2.5 hours a day using social media, and 6.7 hours a day online
• Instagram is the “favourite” social media platform (WhatsApp is the second favourite)
• Digital ad spend grew by 10%, social ad spend increased by 9.3%, and influencer investment increased by 17%

Social media keeps growing and changing. If you’re not yet investing in your social media following or in social media advertising, now is a good time to start.

Need help with your social media ads? Get in touch with our Mildura digital marketing specialists.

Rock Solid Marketing helps businesses in Mildura and across Sunraysia with SEO and web design. Contact us to talk about your website or your search plan.