Just one week after Google’s November algorithm wrapped up, the search giant launched another core algorithm update.
It’ll take up to 2 weeks to roll out, but then again, that’s what Google said in November before taking 23 days, 13 hours to complete the update. While many presumed that would be the final update of the year, Google’s tradition of disrupting SEOs’ holiday season continues.
Let’s explore.
What is the December Core Update About?
Like most updates in early stages, we don’t have much information about this update yet. Rather than sharing any specific advice or new recommendations, Google pointed to a year-old blog post in its announcement on X.
The Dec. 2024 core update is rolling out, and we expect it will complete in two weeks.
If you’re wondering why there’s a core update this month after one last month, we have different core systems we’re always improving. This past blog post explains more: https://t.co/N5p3KsJyiI
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 12, 2024
The blog post lists some frequently asked questions about algorithm updates, including why Google issues them, how they decide whether and when to announce them, and about the timing between updates.
In short, this update is business as usual, and website owners and marketers would likely do well to revisit some of the questions Google recommends considering when evaluating site content, such as:
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
- Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors?
- Is the content free from spelling or stylistic issues?
- Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
In case you’re unfamiliar, these questions date back to 2011 with the Panda update, but are still relevant today.
Another approach to take is to evaluate your website content against E-E-A-T criteria; in other words, does it:
- Demonstrate Expertise?
- Share Experience?
- Show Authoritativeness?
- Inspire Trust?
If you want some hints on infusing your site with E-E-A-T, check out our review of these concepts here: Considering ‘Experience’ in a Post-E-A-T World (Updated Study for E-E-A-T).
Why Does Google Launch Updates in December?
Google says it tries to avoid updates during the holiday season … but time has shown otherwise.
I’m not saying they’re trying to cause a commotion right during the end-of-year scramble, but they’ve either begun or completed a core algorithm update every December for at least the past 5 years.
According to Google, it’s simply not always possible to avoid issuing an update during this time of year.
“If we have updates that can improve Search, that have been developed over the course of several months, we release them when they’re ready,” the search engine explains in their FAQ blog post.
Could Google engineers just be really productive in the fall, leading to December updates? Perhaps they, like everyone else in the world, strive to wrap up ongoing projects before the end of the year, and thus inadvertently wind up pushing new updates during this time of year.
Whatever the cause, I’m going to assume that December 2025 will likewise see a core algorithm update, regardless of what happens over the next 11 months.
What Should SEOs Do to Wrap Up 2024 on a Positive SEO Note?
Whether this update hits your site or not, the end of the year is the perfect time to evaluate your SEO performance and begin thinking about how to improve in the new year.
There are two ways you can think about SEO evaluation in the context of a Google update. The first is content quality; does the content on your site meet Google’s checklist of high-quality, people-first content? The second is in terms of its performance; is it driving the value metrics you’re chasing, such as traffic, ranking or backlinks?
Here’s a brief rundown of each of these viewpoints:
Evaluating Content Quality
Here, you’re considering whether your content fits within Google’s definition of “helpful content.” This involves going back to the questions and links provided above.
Ultimately, Google’s aim is to connect real people with the information they’re looking for; the content that will answer their questions or provide appropriate guidance. If your content is thin, spammy, unhelpful or re-packaged information from other sources that doesn’t include anything original, your content likely isn’t the best on the web for that topic, so you’ll have a tough time ranking.
Evaluating Content Performance
There are many goals you can achieve with a piece of content or a broader content strategy, which means every marketer and website owner may measure “success” differently. However, in general, most SEOs go after these key performance indicators:
- Organic traffic
- Domain Authority
- Keyword ranking
- Variant keywords
- Backlinks and referring domains
Here are some tips on evaluating your SEO efforts in the context of earned wins:
Checking Organic Traffic
You can find your organic traffic in a few different ways, but the most common are Google Analytics 4 or Google Search Console.
In GA4, you’ll find organic traffic under Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition. Adjust your date range and add comparison ranges to see how you’ve grown over a period of time.
While GA4 tracks website traffic in general, Google Search Console tracks the appearance of your domain in Google search engine results pages. While this is only focused on Google (rather than other search engines such as Bing or Ecosia), given that Google is the predominant search engine for most people, it should give you a pretty good idea about organic traffic to your site.
When you log into GSC, you’ll see day-by-day click performance right away on the Overview page, but you can get more detailed information in the Search results section. There, you can enter date ranges for comparison, and filter for conditions such as:
- Queries — to see how much you appear for your brand name, or a target term.
- Country — to see amount of traffic from a particular country.
- Pages — to isolate your most important SEO pages.
Checking Domain Authority
Domain Authority is a proprietary metric invented by Moz, and as such, you can only check what it is in a Moz tool. Within the Moz platform itself, you’ll find this in Domain Overview, but you can also install the Mozbar, a browser extension that’ll give you the DA and other stats page-by-page as you navigate your site.
Why check DA? It’s a reflection of your site’s strength, calculated based on a number of factors including backlink portfolio. The higher your DA, the more likely you are to rank in search, by Moz’s best estimate.
Don’t have Moz? Similar tools have comparable metrics, such as Domain Rating from Ahrefs, or Authority Score from Semrush. Keep in mind that these measures aren’t interchangeable, as each platform uses its own proprietary calculation.
Checking Keyword Ranking
Ideally, if you’re targeting keywords, you’re tracking their performance in a dedicated keyword tracker. You’ll find these in platforms such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz. Each time you add an SEO-targeted page to your site, you add the target keyword in such a tracking project. Keep an eye on these keywords to monitor if you’re making gains.
If you’re not tracking them in a dedicated platform, at the very least you can maintain a spreadsheet of your target keywords, then check their performance periodically via Google Search Console.
Checking Variant Keywords
Variant keywords are terms that you rank for by accident. They’re related to your intentionally targeted keywords, but are slightly different. For example, our blog post on “funny email sign-offs” also ranks for “funny ways to sign off an email” and “funny sign offs,” giving us even more opportunities to capture organic traffic.
You can check variant keywords in a platform such as Ahrefs, or by reviewing the queries that drive traffic via Search Console.
Checking Backlinks and Referring Domains
Backlinks and referring domains are a sign of a healthy website. Helpful content naturally attracts strong backlinks. As a result, a bigger backlink portfolio is a positive signal to Google, helping you rank better.
You can check backlinks in many of the same platforms you can check your rankings, including Ahrefs Backlinks Checker. These tools will give you information about the backlinks pointing to your website, including the referring domain. You’ll have fewer referring domains than backlinks (since a referring domain could point to your site multiple times, giving you multiple backlinks) but ideally, all the domains and pages linking to your page are healthy sites also.
Staying Calm During Another December Update
Algorithm updates at this time of year can be annoying and unnerving to site owners, but remember: If you’re creating helpful content for your audience, you should be able to weather the changes. Monitor your pages, but remember that fluctuations in the midst of an update may be just that — temporary fluctuations. After Google has announced the completion of this update, check back in to see what changes your site has sustained, then evaluate those pages to develop an action plan to address them.
