Google’s March 2024 Core Update: Expired Domain Abuse

Imagine you are suffering from a disease and you search on Google for “home remedies for diabetes.” You find a list of articles ranking at the top of Google, but you discover that it is actually a sports website writing about curing diabetes. How would you feel at that time? Similarly, many people don’t even check the niche and they go on following the advice and steps, thus affecting their health. So, Google was planning to stop that way of making your content rank on the first page if you don’t have the expertise and if you are not writing for the users and audience of that niche. Therefore, Google launched the March core update on March 5, 2024, with a focus on changes in their algorithm and thus providing user-centric information. 

You know, every Google Core update launches a bomb on some website owners and, most importantly, it happens very fast and only gives you a little time to recover. We have seen various updates from Google in the form of the Penguin update, Helpful Content update, and core updates, etc., in the past months or so, but this update is the most fearful and impactful update that you need to know because this update is going to last for a long time as it is completely focusing on user-centric articles. It has simply denied the formula of putting keyword percentage in an article, just to rank better, and publishing 1000 articles in a single day with AI by a person having no expertise in writing on that particular niche. So, in this article, I will only talk about the “Google March 2024 core update Spam Policies: Expired domain abuse.”

What is Expired Domain Abuse?

Let’s understand Expired Domain Abuse with an example. Expired Domain Abuse means that you are using an expired website domain’s reputation, authority, and credibility to rank your content by manipulating Google’s algorithm factors. For example, suppose a food website domain, which has a huge user base, good authority, and excellent engagement time, sells the domain to another party, and the one who purchased it starts writing about vehicles and cars, just using the previous domain’s reputation and authority to rank better on the search engine. They have no expertise in that niche and are providing low-value content to the users just for the sake of ranking better by using the domain’s overall reputation, authority, credibility, and so on. For those who are following these tactics, Google will start downgrading their content and begin deindexing their pages.

Steps to Address the Issue of Expired Domain Abuse Effectively

  • Contact the Hosting Provider: Reach out to the hosting provider or the platform from which you purchased the domain. Inquire about the domain’s original niche and aim to create content that aligns with this niche. However, it’s crucial to remember that merely targeting better rankings without offering genuine value in your content will not yield long-term success. Focus on producing content that is user-centric, catering to the needs and interests of the audience that the domain previously served. Over time, this approach will lead to improved results.
  • Start Fresh with Relevant Content: Consider removing content that does not align with the domain’s original niche and starting anew. This step involves a strategic shift towards creating content that resonates with the domain’s established audience while ensuring it adds value and is relevant to their interests.
  • Update Structured Data: Remove any outdated structured data associated with the previous domain’s content. Implement new structured data in the website’s header section to clearly communicate to Google’s bots the current focus and subject matter of the website. This adjustment helps in accurately representing your site’s content and purpose, aiding in the correct indexing and ranking of your pages.

Enhancing Your Content’s Performance in Search Engines

If you’re aiming to elevate your content’s visibility and performance in search engine rankings, consider partnering with Content Ladder. Specializing in SEO-optimized articles across various domains, including finance and sports, Content Ladder brings a human touch to content creation. Our expertise lies in crafting articles that not only rank well but also genuinely engage and inform readers. Visit Content Ladder for assistance in producing content that stands out in search results.