Google’s Core Update Just Changed the Game 🧨

Google just shook things up with its March Core Update—and if you’re still cranking out scaled content or fluff-filled blogs, this one’s for you.

Google’s March Core Update isn’t just a routine refresh. It’s a loud, clear signal: content quality matters more than ever—and the old tactics are getting flagged.

Google’s newest update calls out what doesn't work anymore including filler-heavy blog posts to AI-generated content farms.

This week, let’s break down:

• What Google thinks of filler content
  

• Why EEAT is misunderstood
  

• The truth about scaled content (even “quality” AI)
  

• What you can do about it today

🔍 The Death of Filler

John Mueller recently highlighted Google’s updated Quality Rater Guidelines and dropped this:

“We’ve written about filler content... the kind of fluff that some websites put on their pages to make them longer... for us, this is sometimes problematic and users sometimes find it annoying.”

Filler content now has its section in Google’s guidelines. If you’re writing to hit a word count, Google sees it—and penalizes for it.

What counts as filler?

• Long intros with no real info
  

• “8 Tips for X” that are all recycled
  

• Walls of text with no apparent structure

As an example, Google highlights recipe sites, but the warning extends beyond food blogs. If your page has a “skip to content” button, Google’s likely wondering why the good stuff isn’t at the top.

Takeaway: Trim the fluff. Lead with value. Every sentence should serve a purpose.

🧠 You Can’t “Add” EEAT—Here’s Why

Let’s clear up the biggest misunderstanding in SEO right now.

“Sometimes SEOs come to us… like ‘we’ve added EEAT to our web pages.’ That’s not how it works. Sorry, you can’t sprinkle some experiences on your web pages.”
— John Mueller

EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) isn’t a plug-and-play ranking signal. It’s a framework for raters—not a feature you toggle on.

Common EEAT mistakes:

• Fake author bios with AI photos
  

• “Expert tips” from non-experts
  

• Linking to sources just to look credible

Mueller was clear: EEAT is essential for health, finance, and other YMYL topics—but irrelevant for topics like cookie recipes. And no, adding a fancy author box won’t trick the system.

⚠️ Scaled Content: AI or Human, It Doesn’t Matter

🎙️ As shared by Danny Sullivan during a recent Google Search Office Hours and the March Search Central Live events, Google’s stance on scaled content is crystal clear:

“We don’t really care how you’re doing this scaled content—whether it’s AI, automation, or human beings. It’s not going to be an issue.”

What is more critical to Google?

“The key things are, large amounts of unoriginal content and also no matter how it’s created.”
— Danny Sullivan

His example of AI content done right? Amazon’s summaries of real user reviews—AI applied to original content. That’s value-added. Generating 500 blogs from scraped "People Also Ask" queries? That’s not.

🛑 Ask Yourself These 2 Questions

Before you publish anything:

1. Am I creating value or chasing traffic?
   
   

2. Is this original, or just reworded fluff?

If your goal is clicks—not usefulness—Google’s new update is likely coming for you.

“If the primary intent was, ‘I’m going to get that traffic,’ and not ‘some user expected it,’ … then you probably don’t have anything original.”
— Danny Sullivan

💭 Final Takeaway: Google's Raising the Bar

Google is no longer ranking content that’s “good enough.” If your strategy still includes:

• Scaling content for volume
  

• Fluffing pages to meet word count
  

• Pretending at EEAT with surface-level tricks
  

That is playing a losing game.

Instead:

✅ Create what users want and can learn from
✅ Cut everything that doesn’t serve that need
✅ Earn trust—don’t fake it

If this update hurts your rankings, use it as motivation—not frustration. Google’s telling us what it wants. Now it’s our job to deliver.

🚀 Featured Tool of the Week:

Semrush

Need to clean house after this update?

Semrush is the ultimate SEO platform to help you audit, adjust, and stay ahead.

🔍 What You Can Do with Semrush:

• Run a full-site audit to detect thin or filler content
  

• Use the On-Page SEO Checker to align with Google’s expectations
  

• Find keyword gaps and low-hanging fruit to reclaim lost traffic
  

• Analyze backlink profiles to boost trustworthiness

💡 Pro Tip: Use the “Content Audit” tool to review entire topic clusters—not just pages—and find which ones need a rewrite or a delete.

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To your content marketing success,
Shane Barker