Feeling the pinch of Google's last core update? Here's how hotels should respond

Search engine optimization is a critical part of any hotel’s digital marketing strategy. With nearly three out of four travel bookings now happening online, having a strong presence on Google can be one of the biggest factors that contributes to any given property’s success. That’s why Google’s recent March 2024 Core Update deserves close attention from the hospitality industry.

The March 2024 Core Update is a significant shift in Google’s search algorithms and policies. It’s aimed at combating spam and low-quality content across the web. The rollout began at the start of the month, with websites given a two-month window to comply with the new site reputation-policy before potential penalties kick in.

So, what exactly does this update entail? And what steps should hotels take to ensure they stay on Google’s good side?

Let’s break it down:

The primary building blocks

The bulk of the update focuses on making a fundamental shift to how Google indexes and ranks content. Among these changes:

• An enhanced ranking system: Google has refined its ranking systems to promote sites that provide an excellent user experience. It’s set up to prioritize content written with people — not search engines — as the primary audience. User satisfaction is the new benchmark of content success.
• New spam policies: Content that is deemed to be “low-quality” will face more targeted demotion from top search results under the updated policies. Google is drawing a firm line against pages created solely to “game” rankings.
• Abuse of scaled content: A key focus of the update is a cracking-down on the mass production of low-quality, unoriginal work produced through automation tools or other substandard sources. Google wants to limit “content farms” that prioritize quantity over quality.
• Site reputation abuse: The update also aims to stop trusted, reputable sites from hosting “spammy” third-party content solely to capitalize on a given site’s established track record of authority. Google views this as misleading to users.
• Expired domain abuse: The practice of buying up expired domains to boost the search ranking of low-quality sites will be targeted as well. Domain history and trust signals matter.

Ultimately, it all adds up to Google working to combat worrying trends in online content in order to put everyone’s best digital foot forward — thereby attracting the most beneficial audience.

How hotels should respond

For years, Google’s advice around core updates has remained consistent: Focus on creating high-quality, compelling content that truly serves your audience’s needs. This latest rollout simply reinforces that stance, while also providing more concrete examples of what Google considers “low-quality” material.

With that in mind, hotels should respond to the March 2024 update by:

• Writing compelling content: Create web pages, blogs, and other materials that satisfy user intent by offering what people are actually searching for. By being aware of and avoiding resorting to any of the spam tactics Google has called out, you can help ensure your site finds the appropriate audience.
• Avoiding AI-generated content: AI has been making lots of headlines as of late for its seeming ability to be able to create content immediately, and out of thin air. However, it’s not exactly a magic wand. While the use of AI writing tools can be a valuable tool that helps generate material, Google is clearly cracking down on the abuse of AI for the purposes of gimmicking search rankings. It will be best to lean toward human-created content when possible.
• Exhibiting E-E-A-T: Every piece of content should strive to build a four-pillar foundation of quality. Those pillars are: Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (abbreviated as E-E-A-T). If your site contains questionable third-party content, it would be advisable to edit it (or even remove it entirely) before May 5th in order to avoid potential manual action penalties, as these can be tough to bounce back from.
• Focusing on quality over quantity: More content doesn’t automatically mean better rankings. It no longer works to simply overflow your site with keyword-heavy walls of copy. Instead, Google prioritizes the creation of high-quality, accurate content that provides real value and utility for your core audience.
• Following Google’s best practices: Google provides ample documentation on building content and websites that align with their Search Essentials guidelines. You can learn more about those parameters at this link.

Ultimately, Google’s March 2024 Core Update reinforces what the search engine has prioritized for years: a great online experience for users. By cleaning up spam and low-quality pages, Google aims to surface the most trustworthy, helpful, and relevant results for any given query.

For hotels specifically, that means redoubling the commitment to crafting quality content marketing that informs and engages travel shoppers. Generic “filler” posts and thin, irrelevant content repurposed across hundreds of sites simply won’t cut it anymore. User value has to be the top priority now more than ever.

Need a hand making sense of it all? Cendyn can help!

If you need an advantage when it comes to auditing your hotel’s digital presence, updating your content strategy, or understanding hospitality SEO in the wake of this update, we strongly encourage you to reach out to Cendyn today. Our seasoned team of industry-savvy marketing experts can ensure your property stays ahead of the curve. We can also help you make the most of your hotel’s ad budget, customer engagement and marketing strategies — which is all a direct path to enhanced guest satisfaction and increased revenue.