RE: Not Quite: **ROLL END CREDITS** Yep, it's done. Just 6 days to roll out.


Just as I hit send on that email, Google announced the December 2024 Spam Update. This update is rolling out globally and applies to all languages. It targets websites that breach Google’s spam policies, and the rollout is expected to take up to a week to complete.

It seemed important to flag this before you wind down for the holidays.

Thanks, Mike


19th December 2024 / goodsignals.com

SEO Trivia: What is the most searched-for Christmas film? Answer.


Last night, just six days after it began, Google's December 2024 Core Update completed its rollout!

Short but impactful, this update caused quite a stir, with significant surges and notable drops in rankings, and even some reversals of changes made during November's core update. While it’s tough news for sites that dropped after recent gains, it’s great for those that rebounded after earlier declines. Welcome to the ever-changing world of Google! For early insights, check out the Sistrix blog and Search Engine Roundtable.

For us, there’s never been a more exciting time to work in SEO and web search. However, if SEO is just one of the many things you’re juggling and you're worried about potential impacts on your website, we've got you covered. Join our free weekly SEO Office Hours every Friday, where an expert panel answers your questions. We also offer a dedicated Algorithm Update Emergency Service to investigate, assess, and recommend strategic improvements tailored to your site.


Tomorrow live! The final SEO Office Hours of 2024. Join special guests Dawn Anderson and Dixon Jones for SEO Office Hours, alongside Jo Juliana Turnbull and Michael Chidzey, on Friday at 9:30 am (GMT). Find out more about Dawn and Dixon here​.

To join live, head over to our website to get the invites added to your calendar 📅.


Two SEO legends — Jérôme Salomon and Silvia Martin - joined our guest co-host Ruth Turnbull and Michael Chidzey, for SEO Office Hours. You can find out more about them here. We also had a special appearance from entrepreneur Robb Young.

Questions answered:

03:25 Advanced Web Ranking reports showed some really big fluctuations over the past few days. Unfortunately, it looks like it's wiped out the gains we made during the November core update. Do you have any insight on this or is it just normal fluctuations?

05:34  We've been quoted higher than expected for a full technical SEO audit. If we were to tackle it ourselves, what should we focus on?

09:37  We are currently ranking number one for "solar panels for data centers" on a blog post. My manager wants to create a better looking page with similar content. Can I use the link from the blog and make it that page instead?

16:16  How can a UK maker of a hand drawn jigsaw puzzles website improve their organic traffic during the nine months between its peak trading seasons?

26:17  We're in the process of redesigning our website structure, and it's been suggested that incorporating specific terms into the URLs might offer benefits by making analysis easier. However, could this approach have a negative impact on SEO?

31:46  What do you think of tools and plugins that automatically insert internal links? Are there a smart way to improve internal linking or might they raise red flags?

35:19  How can marketers and SEO specialists work more effectively with developers to actually implement SEO changes smoothly?

42:10  Our e-commerce website recently experienced a significant drop in rankings for high performing keywords. Upon investigation in Google Search Console and Ahrefs, we discovered a sudden influx of thousands of spammy backlinks from low quality domains. How can we confirm if this is malicious backlink bombing rather than natural link building gone wrong?

47:27  What are you most excited about in terms of SEO?

The full video is on our YouTube channel. Head over to our website to:

📅 Get SEO Office Hours invites added to your calendar
❓ Submit your questions for future sessions
📼 Binge-watch all episodes
🎤 And hey, why not apply to be a special guest?


Thanks for reading!


Michael Chidzey,

Founder and Consultant at Good Signals

For those of you who don’t know me...

I built my very first website in ‘98 - it was pretty basic compared to today’s standards. But even then, I poured my heart and soul into it and was able to share it with a small group of engaged visitors who interacted with it almost daily. That was probably the best introduction I could have ever had to the web and online marketing.

I became the person friends would turn to when they needed help growing their website traffic or improving its performance. And as with anything, the more you do it, the better you get. I’ve always built or worked on websites and in online marketing.

Since starting Good Signals, I’ve worked on everything from launching websites for startups and scaling e-commerce stores to managing complex sites for large organisations, such as universities and charities. No matter the project, the goals have always been the same: driving more organic traffic and turning that traffic into sales.


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