Google November 2024 core algorithm updates

Published on Mon, 23rd Dec - 2024

Zach Jackson

Launched November 11th, Google’s latest core update finished rolling out on December 5th, 9 days over schedule.

With it came the usual widespread ranking volatility and questions about its purpose, impact, and implications — questions we answer in this guide.

Read on for the key insights from Google’s November 2024 core algorithm update.

What was the November 2024 core update about?

With some significant updates still visible in the rearview mirror - including the biggest one to date - publishers were understandably bracing for more overhauls as the November update unravelled.

But despite an extended rollout, Google’s latest algorithm adjustment is a pretty by-the-numbers update intended to elevate helpful content on their SERPs.

Google reported:

‘This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.’

As always, Google is keeping technical details under wraps — but did divulge that, unlike the August 2024 core update, the November update would not take publisher feedback into account.

As such, sites hit by the September 2023 Helpful Content Update (HCU) have not witnessed any sort of widespread recovery. So, what exactly has happened as a result of Google’s November core algorithm update? Let’s explore.

Analysis of the November 2024 core algorithm update

Higher SERPs rank = more citations in AI Overviews

Google typically tries to differentiate SERP features from SERP results by avoiding duplicate links. For example, the website presented in a featured snippet is unlikely to also appear as one of the page 1 traditional blue link listings.

This was somewhat the case with AI Overviews in its earlier incarnations, but in Q3 of this year, AIO’s citations seemed to start favouring webpages ranking well in the traditional SERPs for the same search terms.

The November update pushes things further in this direction, with BrightEdge research showing an increasingly prominent overlap between websites cited in AI Overviews while simultaneously appearing in top 10 Google ranks.

For publishers...

This means that boosting visibility in AI Overviews is becoming less of a niche discipline and more of an aspect of traditional SEO. Although, it should be noted that this isn’t the case for other popular AI answer engines, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Building visibility in non-Google AI search is a distinct discipline that requires a specialised approach.

Alignment of AI Overviews and organic search results may hint at full Gemini Search in 2025

How exactly AI Overviews and organic search results are aligning algorithmically will likely remain a mystery. But the deepening of their association is clear, and seems to closely reflect the ranking mechanism posited in the patent documentation of Google’s “Information Gain” invention.

The patent discusses a method of ranking websites that closely ties organic search results with some form of AI-based interface.

It’s purely speculative, but this relationship between AI Overviews and organic search results could be the beginning of Google putting their “information gain” invention into action in preparation for full Gemini Search.

This would place Gemini at the forefront of Google’s search service. And, arguably, ensuring Gemini’s generated answers cite websites that already rank well could effectively limit its negative impact on traffic. This, in turn, would help to protect the blue-link economy — Google’s bread and butter since the company’s inception.

Gemini 2.0 - released for limited testing on December 11th - seems to support this theory of a narrowing gap between generative and traditional search, boasting several new Search integrations, including:

Gemini 2.0 Flash
Genie 2
Gemini x Project Astra

Again, though; while this makes sense, it is ultimately speculative. Consider it food for thought until more information comes to light.

Watch Google’s introduction video for Gemini 2.0.

For publishers...

This would suggest Google’s AI ventures aren’t going to be quite as damaging to websites and content creators as many were concerned. But that’s not to say that a fully search-integrated AI interface that prioritises websites in Google’s top 10 positions won’t impact website performance at all.

For websites that rank well organically, the immediate answers provided by Gemini may well reduce CTR, even when cited often. For lower ranks, citations in Google’s AI-generated search results will likely be few and far between, leaving two options:

Invest in expert SEO to rise through the ranks.
Leverage paid media in AI Overviews to compete with more dominant brands in your niche.

Organic shopping results decoupled from AI Overviews

Rather than showing more of an overlap, BrightEdge’s research reveals decreased symmetry between AI Overviews and organic shopping results for the same queries.

BrightEdge suggests the additional supporting results offered in AI Overviews is the primary cause of the mismatch, but there could be several reasons Google might test this format, including:

Ensuring diversity of options to counterbalance potential biases in AI-generated summaries
Helping smaller e-commerce brands compete with larger businesses that typically dominate the traditional SERP results
Differentiating AI Overviews and blue link listings as paid media spaces to boost advertising options and revenue.
Encouraging users to view both results so AI Overviews doesn’t cannibalise traditional SERPs as an ad space
Removing incentive among users to go direct to other more diverse or niche marketplaces, e.g., Amazon or Etsy
Google understands that generated results won’t always be suitable or meeting commercial-intent search queries

What this means for e-commerce brands

While optimising for organic rank is still a priority, you need to do more if you also want to build your presence in AI Overviews.

Consider allocating more resources to creating supporting informational content that will increase citations in AI Overviews and guide users towards your more commercial pages.

New content preferences emerge for AI Overviews

During the update, AI Overviews’ citation preferences shifted. This is standard, but BrightEdge closely monitored the citation volatility and discovered patterns emerging.

Their research revealed that product-focused content was by far the most volatile — no doubt a sign of the decoupling discussed above. E-commerce sites also showed a -22.1% shift in top citations.

Educational content was comparatively stable, and research-rich sites showed resilience as well.

But the clear winner was content demonstrating industry expertise, which actually gained prominence in AI Overviews.

What this means for publishers

It should be noted that these results were drawn from real-time data as the update was playing out. Now that the update has finished, there could be some performance fluctuations.

However, if AI Overviews stays this course, it gives publishers a good idea of the type of content they should be working on in order to boost visibility in AI Overviews:

Well researched, in-depth (but not necessarily long-form) content that showcases subject and industry expertise
Product-oriented content that offers more valuable and engaging information than is standard

Moving forward, it’s worth monitoring your website’s citations in AI Overviews to extract insights specific to your content and how it performs in the face of shifting algorithms.

Lower ranks are seeing the highest volatility

Volatility was observed throughout Google’s SERPs during the November update but spiked once rollout concluded, with lower ranks enduring the most turbulence:

Google top 10: +10.6 volatility
Positions 11–20: -5.9% volatility
Positions 21–30: +23.3% volatility

Possible reasons why volatility diverges in this manner include:

Lower ranked content often has a wider variability in meeting Google’s criteria, while higher ranked content may already be well optimised in accordance with Google’s core quality principles.
Positions 11–20 (-5.9%) seeing reduced volatility might indicate a "buffer zone" where Google’s update may have created stability by consolidating content that nearly met the threshold for top 10 rankings. Conversely, positions 21–30 may have experienced a spillover effect, where content that fell short of the 11–20 threshold saw increased turbulence.
Content that ranks lower may simply be more competitive at the moment, with publishers experimenting with different ways to improve their offerings. By contrast, publishers of content that already ranks well are unlikely to make rapid or significant changes.

How should publishers respond?

Lower ranks: Capitalise on volatility by improving relevance, fixing quality gaps, and strengthening backlinks. Focus on underserved search intent to climb quickly.
Middle ranks: To break into the top 10, analyse competitors, refine E-E-A-T signals, and optimise for user intent. Targeted improvements can help you move past the static middle ranks.
Top ranks: Don’t rest on your laurels; defend your spot by enhancing content depth, user experience, and E-E-A-T. Stay ahead with fresh updates, relevant multimedia or interactive elements, and trend-driven optimisations.

Potential increased SERPs personlisation

Google has been applying subtle SERPs personalisation as far back as 2018, helping to tailor search results based on a user’s previous query.

But many publishers and digital marketers are now noticing a wider gap between SERP results for a query when signed into Google vs results for the same query when signed out.

Based on the timing of the observations, it seems likely that this is related in some way to the November core update – although no official studies have been carried out to test specifics.

What to do if your website was hit by the November update

Recovery from the November Google update should centre on auditing existing content and adjusting your approach to creating new content.

Focus on creating original, valuable content that meets user intent and demonstrates your industry expertise. Aim to satisfy Google’s E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), and where possible, improve the UX of your webpages.

And though they may not have the SEO weight they used to, don’t underestimate the importance of backlinks and an effective link building strategy, especially if you’re a mid-ranking website trying to break through the deadlock of page 2 and hit the top 10.

Keep a close eye on your performance metrics to track progress and identify opportunities for improvement.

Need support? TDMP can help

The November 2024 core update continues Google’s efforts to surface helpful, high-quality content while integrating AI Overviews more deeply into traditional search.

Google updates are complex and can have a drastic impact. At TDMP, our industry expertise and proven strategies help clients not just adapt to these regular changes — but thrive.