The results from our study measuring the potential impact of Google’s recent Helpful Content and algorithm updates six months after the March 2024 Helpful Content Update (HCU) are officially in. The last few months have been tumultuous for content creators, site owners, and businesses, and this study aims to provide insights for anyone concerned with their Google traffic and the overall state of affairs in the SEO landscape.
In my 15+ year career, I’ve seen a lot of changes from SERP features to algorithm updates. That being said, this is hands down one of the biggest shifts I’ve experienced in the industry. As you can see, many of the sites in our study—nearly half—have lost more than 90% of their Monthly Organic Traffic (MOT) between December 2023 and August 2024. To be fair, however, these changes can’t be attributed solely to Google algorithm updates, as there are many factors at play in search result rankings.
Six months later, a few sites are slowly starting to recover. However, the effects of this latest HCU, combined with Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content update, can appear to have had a major impact on the organic rankings of the sites examined in our study.
Since December 2023, nearly 22% of the sites we studied that had ranked and performed well in Google for years stopped ranking and stopped getting traffic – losing 100% of their previous site traffic.
Moreover, since this HCU and Spam Content Update and September 2023’s HCU, another 27% of the niche sites in our study lost over 91% of their traffic between December 2023 and August 2024. Also, the majority of the sites in our study that lost at least some traffic lost over 50% of their previous site visits in the long-term analysis (from December 2023 to August 2024). Again, we are not conclusively drawing a direct correlation between the updates and traffic losses.
The Evolution of Surfacing Helpful Content & Its Impact on SEO
The March 2024 HCU appears as though it may have triggered a tectonic shift, completely rearranging and reordering how countless search engine results pages (SERPs) are listed. However, one of the key takeaways from our study is that Google Helpful Content Updates have been targeting ‘unhelpful content’ for some time now. The March 2024 and the August 2024 algorithm updates may have had an appreciable impact on organic traffic to many of the niche sites in our study, possibly classifying them as publishing ‘spam’ or ‘unhelpful content’ in light of these updates.
As a quick refresher, we can trace this campaign against unhelpful content back to the introduction of Google’s SpamBrain in 2021. This evolved into the Helpful Content Update in August 2022, culminating in the retirement of the Helpful Content system with this last HCU in March 2024, as it is now part of Google’s regular core algorithm updates.
It may also be that the ‘niche sites’ in our study have fallen out of favour with the new algorithms and style of content that people are actually engaging with. We now know that clicks have mattered to Google, and many searchers have been preferring video responses to their queries for some time now.
With Google updating its algorithm several times a year, the best SEOs are those who can analyze and understand the most recent updates, pivot their strategy, and try to future-proof their SEO campaigns against the next wave of algorithm updates.
Importance of This Study
As a company that has focused on link-building sites as its bread and butter for years, we wanted to conduct this study to showcase how Google works and the effect its policy changes can have on the SEO industry. Our goal was to measure, in a quantifiable way, how the most recent Helpful Content and algorithm updates may have impacted niche sites.
Now, what we refer to as ‘niche sites,’ are sites that focus on a specific topic or subset of a broader market, with the primary purpose of monetizing its traffic. Let’s start by saying this loudly. Many ‘SEO site’ that have been taking traffic hits with each HCU deserved them. An SEO site is a niche site that is put together for the sole purpose of ranking well in search engines instead of the benefit of users and often includes ‘links farms’ where backlinks are sold, and the real-world user is ignored. This isn’t targeted at anyone specifically, but simply put, change was inevitable.
The world of ‘topical authority’ and expanded coverage of semantic keywords, etc., hit the wall when AI tools made content essentially free and scalable.
Now, Google has to try to police the internet and separate legitimate site owners who partner with a proper link-building company from those who see SEO as a meal ticket.
Let’s be honest; no one creates a site for the benefit of mankind, and everyone is trying to make money (or get attention) with their website. However, what has happened may appear to some as overbroad and affecting potentially legitimate niche sites with original content that was ‘valuable’ for years and now isn’t so.
This is an example of how many niche site owners feel about these changes:
If you’d told me in 2022 that Google would release an update (HCU) that would misclassify the majority of independent sites, take 60% or more of their traffic, be claimed by Google to be recoverable (first by major update, then rolling, then major again lol), but still not have… pic.twitter.com/SHAc0MWloQ
— Matt Gibbs (@ematt) July 5, 2024
Why Niche Sites Matter in SEO
As a business owner, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with you. In a nutshell, niche sites that are dedicated to a specific industry can be a great place for business owners in that field to earn backlinks – whether by posting original content or simply being referenced.
Therefore, niche sites play a pivotal role in enhancing a website’s authority, visibility, and ranking potential. They do this through:
- Authority Transfer: High-quality backlinks from reputable sites can transfer authority to the linked pages, potentially boosting their ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Indexing Speed: Links from established sites can help search engines discover and index new content more quickly, which is particularly beneficial for time-sensitive information.
- Diversification of Link Profile: A varied backlink profile, including links from quality niche sites, signals a natural and healthy link ecosystem to search engines.
- Competitive Edge: In competitive niches, strong backlinks can be the differentiating factor that pushes a site ahead of its competitors in search results.
Given the importance of these sites in the SEO ecosystem, any major algorithm update, such as Google’s March 2024 Spam Content Update, could significantly impact their effectiveness and, by extension, overall SEO strategies.
Methodology
We investigated 7,105 link-building sites to measure the impact of the March 2024 HCU, using Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR) and Monthly Organic Traffic (MOT) metrics as the measures of success.
We took two timelines: March 2024 to August 2024 (when the effects of Google’s 2023 algorithm updates had set in) and December 2023 to August 2024 (which would allow us to measure the impact by looking at the numbers before the March 2024 HCU.) For the March numbers, metrics were checked before the March 5 rollout started. Also, note that we discounted the data from April as the rollout was still in progress.
The goal was to analyze the metrics for our sites before and after this latest HCU to see how many sites got hit and how badly. Our database serves as a representative sample of the niche sites that exist online, and with over 15 years of experience, we’ve spent a significant amount of time scouring the internet for niche site owners. Therefore, it can be argued that our database represents a fair sample of the active sites out there. Moreover, our findings align with trends observed by SEOs in the travel industry and other sectors.
Limitations of the Study
It’s important to note that there is a bias since these sites engage with outside publishers, but that’s a large and diverse group, including small independent site owners (run by one person) and large companies.
While our study provides valuable insights, as a company that also provides SEO audit services, it’s important for us to acknowledge its other limitations:
- Metric Limitations. While MOT and DR are valuable metrics, they don’t capture the full picture of a site’s performance or quality.
- Time Frame. Although we examined both the long-term impact of the Sept 2023 and the short-term effects of the March 2024 HCU, a longer, future study might reveal different trends or recovery patterns.
- Lack of Content Analysis. Our study didn’t include a qualitative analysis of the content on these sites, which could provide deeper insights into why some sites were more affected than others.
So, with these considerations in mind, here are some charts that visualize the data!
Results of the Study
Our study of 7,105 link-building sites revealed significant impacts on monthly organic traffic (MOT) and domain rating (DR) of both the September 2023 HCU algorithm update and Google’s March 2024 Helpful Content Update (HCU) – designated as “Long-term Impact” – and the post-March 2024 HCU – termed the “Immediate Impact”. The results show substantial changes in traffic and domain authority for a large portion of the sites studied.
Changes in Monthly Organic Traffic (MOT)
Long-term Impact (December 2023 to August 2024):
- The average MOT decrease was 82.12%, with a median decrease of 97.37%.
- 27.04% of sites lost 91-100% of their traffic, while 22.27% lost all traffic.
- Only 12.17% of sites gained 0-10% traffic, with 2.94% gaining over 100% more traffic.
- The mean MOT increase for sites that gained traffic was 1316.39%, with a median increase of 65.81%.
Immediate Impact (March 2024 to August 2024):
- The mean MOT decrease was 65.51%, with a median decrease of 71.65%.
- 14.45% of sites lost 91-100% of their traffic, while 3.67% lost all traffic.
- 13.55% of sites gained 0-10% traffic, with 5.98% gaining over 100% more traffic.
- The mean MOT increase for sites that gained traffic was 4603.38%, with a median increase of 61.99%.
Changes in Domain Rating (DR)
Long-term Impact (December 2023 to August 2024):
- For sites that lost traffic, the mean DR decrease was 12.74, with a median decrease of 7.25.
- For sites that gained traffic, the mean DR increase was 23.84, with a median increase of 6.78.
Immediate Impact (March 2024 to August 2024):
- For sites that lost traffic, the mean DR decrease was 13.97, with a median decrease of 7.74.
- For sites that gained traffic, the mean DR increase was 22.60, with a median increase of 6.78.
Distribution of Traffic Changes
Long-term Impact (December 2023 to August 2024):
- The majority of sites experienced significant traffic losses:
- 6.49% lost 81-90% of their traffic
- 4.97% lost 71-80% of their traffic
- 4.79% lost 61-70% of their traffic
- Only a small percentage of sites saw traffic gains:
- 0.91% gained 11-20% in traffic
- 0.75% gained 21-30% in traffic
- 0.39% gained 31-40% in traffic
Immediate Impact (March 2024 to August 2024):
- The distribution of traffic losses was more pronounced:
- 7.19% lost 81-90% of their traffic
- 8.04% lost 71-80% of their traffic
- 7.19% lost 61-70% of their traffic
- More sites experienced traffic gains compared to the long-term analysis:
- 1.48% gained 11-20% in traffic
- 1.37% gained 21-30% in traffic
- 1.06% gained 31-40% in traffic
These results indicate that Google’s March 2024 Helpful Content Update may have had a significant, negative impact on about 20% of the niche sites in our study. The updates can appear to have caused substantial traffic losses for many sites, with many experiencing a complete loss of organic traffic.
While a small percentage of sites saw dramatic increases in traffic, these sites may be benefiting from the loss of ranking/traffic from sites that no longer rank in SERPs, as opposed to strategies that the updates may have favoured.
The changes in Domain Rating generally correlated with traffic changes, indicating that the updates may have affected both traffic and perceived domain authority. The possible immediate impact of the March 2024 HCU (March to August 2024) is slightly less severe than the perceived long-term impact (December 2023 to August 2024) of 2023 algorithm updates combined with the March 2024 HCU.
6 Months Later: Slow Signs of Recovery
As of early June 2024, we started noticing that a very small number of sites were beginning to show signs of recovery. Some websites experienced traffic increases and improved keyword rankings after the initial March update. There were also reports of partial recoveries for sites that had made significant improvements to their content and user experience.
However, as the numbers show, many of the sites in our study continue to face difficulties. Numerous websites, including those that may have been previously affected by the September 2023 HCU, experienced further traffic losses.
Some SEO experts are theorizing that heavily impacted sites might need to move content to new domains in case their traffic losses take too long to reverse.
Discussion & Implications
Widespread Traffic Loss
BEFORE MARCH 6, 2024
AFTER MARCH 6, 2024
The most striking finding is the sheer scale of traffic loss across the board. With nearly 50% of the sites in our study losing 91% or more of their traffic in the long term (between December 2023 and August 2024), if attributable to the algorithm updates, it would follow that the updates were not minor tweaks, but reassessments of how Google values certain types of content.
Niche and affiliate sites in our study appear to have been overwhelmingly impacted, while e-commerce sites and user-generated content platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and Quora seem to be benefiting from the update.
This could be due to these updates placing more importance on returning visitors and navigational queries, favouring well-established brands, discussion platforms, and other content types, such as video. The comparisons suggest that these HCUs may be considering factors beyond just content quality, such as how far a site has strayed from its core topics or the presence of keyword-targeted informational content – highlighting the need to partner with reputable SEOs providing professional keyword research services.
Impact on Domain Authority
It also appears as though integrating future HCUs into the core algorithm updates (rather than implementing them separately) may mean that ‘helpful content’ indicators might affect not just a single page, but the entire site on which it’s hosted.
The correlation between traffic changes and Domain Rating (DR) shifts suggests that the updates may have impacted visibility and perceived site quality. This could have long-lasting effects on the overall SEO ecosystem, as DR is often used as a metric for link quality in backlinking strategies. Again, DR is not an official Google metric, but is one commonly used by SEOs to estimate a domain’s “reputation.”
What This Means for Niche Sites and SEO Practitioners
- Quality Over Quantity. The dramatic decline in traffic for many link-building sites underscores the need for a shift from quantity-focused link-building to quality-focused content creation. This also means “staying in your lane” and not straying too far from your site niche.
- Diversification of Strategies. Conversely, the sites that were hit also seemed to have a lot of similar types of content and similar-sounding content titles.
- Continuous Adaptation. The perceived impact of these updates highlights the need for SEO practitioners to stay agile and ready to adapt quickly to algorithm changes. Regular content audits and a willingness to swap out generic content for authoritative, people-first content and pivot strategies will be crucial.
Google’s March 2024 Helpful Content Update may have significantly reshaped the SEO and link-building landscapes, highlighting the importance of removing low-value content across entire websites and eliminating potentially harmful backlinks.
To adapt, niche sites and other websites should develop integrated PR and SEO strategies that influence audience search behaviour and drive brand-specific searches. These updates also remind us of the importance of creating communities on social media channels and bypassing Google algorithm updates altogether.For SEO practitioners, including your friendly, local SEO consultant, this update underscores the need for adaptive, quality-centric strategies that align with Google’s evolving standards of helpful content.
Tables and Figures
MOT = Monthly Organic Traffic from Ahrefs.com
DR = Domain Rating from Ahrefs.com
| Mean |
| The mean represents the average value of a dataset. It is calculated by adding all the values together and then dividing by the number of values. It provides a measure of the central tendency of the data. |
| Median |
| The median is the middle value of a dataset when it is ordered from least to greatest. If there is an even number of observations, the median is the average of the two middle numbers. This measure is useful as it is not skewed by outliers and gives a better sense of the “typical” value in a skewed distribution. |
| Mode |
| The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset. There can be one mode, more than one (bimodal, multimodal), or none at all if no value repeats. The mode is particularly useful in understanding the most common or popular item in a set of data. |
