While we have still not seen any sites recover from the September 2023 helpful content update, we have seen sites recover from previous core updates. We were hoping by now to see sites recover from that September 2023 helpful content update with this March 2024 core update (since it incorporated the helpful content system in part), but no, not yet.
I have not seen one site who claimed to be hit by the September 2023 helpful content update claim also to recover with the March 2024 core update. I have seen some show me evidence of recoveries from previous core updates (some were confused and thought they were hit by the HCU but were hit by the core updates).
And Glenn Gabe has been tracking hundreds of sites hit by both the helpful content update and the core updates and has been tracking which groups of sites are seeing any bounce back since.
While we expect the March 2024 core update to be completed some time this week (it can go longer of course), we still have not seen any site recover from that September 2023 helpful content update. Many of these sites have tried to make significant changes to their sites over the past several months, hoping and praying those changes would help the sites bounce back. But nope, not yet. Maybe we will see a bounce back right before the March 2024 core update is done but we are super close to that date and no bounce back yet.
Here is what Glenn Gabe shared on X about the helpful content recoveries or lack there of - he posts every couple of days looking at his data:
Just another quick update. Checked the visibility of 360+ sites impacted by the Sep HCU(X) and none have bounced back at all still. Most are down even more. See screenshots below of impact from March core update and the full drop since September. I am seeing this over and over… pic.twitter.com/SCWcYBjt2w
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) March 31, 2024
But when it comes to the core update and previous core updates, he has seen recoveries of sorts. Here is that post:
Here are some more recoveries from previous core updates. I'll continue to monitor things this weekend as we approach the end of the rollout. Again, stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/M99d6oVHoL
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) March 29, 2024
We will of course keep tracking this update and we are hopeful that some sites will recover in a big way soon but for now, that last helpful content update was brutal for so many sites.
Forum discussion at X.
