Let’s start with where many small business owners feel stuck: you’ve done the work. You’ve built the website, written content, maybe even hired someone to do “SEO.” You’ve added keywords you think people search for. And for a while, it was working—your traffic was going up, leads trickling in. But then something shifts. You check your analytics and it’s like someone flipped a switch. What was bringing people in yesterday is ghost town empty today.
More often than not, this change correlates with a Google algorithm update. These shifts happen silently for many, but for small businesses depending on a steady stream of organic traffic, they can feel seismic. And in 2024, few updates have made more noise—especially at the local business level—than Google’s March 2024 Core Update.
This wasn’t just a tweak. It was part of a broader evolution in how Google evaluates content quality, user experiences, and the trustworthiness of websites. For local businesses in particular—those in Franklin, TN, or any small city in the U.S.—the ripple effects were fast and sometimes brutal. In this post, we’ll break down what this update did, how it affects small businesses, what you can do about it, and what this tells us about the big picture of digital marketing today.
The March 2024 Core Update was part of Google’s ongoing attempt to improve the helpfulness and quality of content in its search results. Google stated that this update would refine how pages are assessed from a quality perspective, taking into account newer and more nuanced systems.
This update emphasized a broader “helpfulness” ecosystem. It's not just about whether a page answers a question. It’s about whether the entire site presents clear, experience-based content that stems from firsthand expertise. It’s a continuation of what Google calls the E-E-A-T framework: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
In practice, that means a well-designed homepage with vague copy about “innovation” and “cutting-edge solutions”—but lacking any actual examples—might lose ground to a messy blog post written from a small business owner who tells a real story about how they solved a specific customer problem. The lived experience matters more now than ever.
Among the biggest losers: websites that relied on thin, templated content, AI-spun blog posts, or aggressive on-page SEO with little real value behind it. This hit site builders like Wix and Squarespace especially hard, where it’s easy to launch a site that looks great on the surface but lacks depth beneath it. I saw a local bakery client drop from page one to page four within weeks. Their site wasn’t spammy. But it wasn’t saying much that couldn’t be said by hundreds of others.
On the flip side, a client of mine—a residential plumber in Nashville—who had been slowly building out honest blog content (things like “Here’s why that gurgling sound in your sink matters” with photos from real jobs) saw a noticeable bump. For him, the update felt like recognition of all the little things done right over time.
If your competition is national chains or high-budget online brands, you’re already fighting an uphill battle for SEO. But local businesses live in a thinner ecosystem. There are fewer players, and smaller shifts can drastically change your visibility. And this time, Google seemed to be refining what it means to be a “trusted local source.”
The local 3-pack—that little set of map-based results that shows up for searches like “web designer near me”—has become even more competitive. According to data from Moz, some industries saw the number of local pack appearances decrease. That means fewer opportunities to show up visually on the first page without paid ads.
A Franklin-based chiropractor I work with used to show up consistently in the pack for “back pain specialist Franklin.” Post-update, he dropped out, replaced by a national chain with a Google Business Profile optimized to the gills. The kicker? That chain had no actual location in downtown Franklin, but they employed aggressive virtual office tactics to game the system. This is what many small businesses are up against.
You can no longer just have a service page that says “We build websites in Webflow.” You need to show the work, share what makes your approach different, and speak about your projects as if you were explaining them to another human—because that’s now what Google is basing trust on. For example, a page showing a before-and-after of a site transformation with captions about the process has a better shot at ranking than a generic list of features.
Not all website builders are treated equally by search engines. And while you can absolutely rank with websites built on Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress, how you use the platform matters more than ever after this update.
Webflow continues to shine when it comes to performance. Built well, a Webflow site can be lightning-fast, mobile-optimized, and semantically structured in a way Google loves. But it takes intention. The problem is, many novice users rely too heavily on templates. Templates are like flipping a foreclosed house without a walkthrough—you don’t really know what’s hiding behind the walls. They often come bloated with unnecessary code and inconsistent heading hierarchies.
One case: A Franklin-based interior designer had a beautiful Webflow site that wasn’t ranking for any of her main terms—“Franklin interior designer,” “Tennessee home decorator.” The issue? Template bloat and missing structured data. After we rebuilt the site from the ground up and applied schema, alt text, and clear service area pages, she saw a 35% increase in organic traffic after three months.
WordPress is like a toolbox that can build a castle—or collapse into a pile of plugins and tech debt. Many local businesses using WordPress suffer from performance penalties. Outdated themes, multiple conflicting SEO plugins, or hosting environments that slow things down sabotage any SEO gains. After the March update, Google has less patience for laggy sites or ones with UX inconsistencies. Sites need to not just inform quickly—but also load quickly.
These platforms serve a purpose. They empower non-technical users. But unless structured very intentionally, they often fall short in technical SEO. Limited schema options, inconsistent header use, and overly stylized elements mean Google may struggle to understand the site’s topical map. After this update, clarity trumps cleverness. A local clothing boutique I consulted in late 2024 had to manually adjust page headings in Squarespace to use proper H1s and restructure their purely aesthetic landing page content to include real context. Rankings improved within weeks.
We’ve been groomed to think blog posts need to sound “professional.” But the sites that did well in this update often featured content that felt more raw, personal, and story-driven. Not sloppy—just human. People recognize authenticity. So does Google.
Let’s say you run a small dog grooming business. You could write a blog titled “Top 5 Tips to Keep Your Dog’s Coat Healthy.” But without specifics, examples, or photos, that’s just another recycled list post. Now imagine one titled “How I Helped a Nervous Golden Retriever Enjoy Bath Time Again.” Real names (with permission), real photos, and the owner’s perspective—suddenly your business feels alive.
One of my clients, a career coach, started sharing weekly LinkedIn-style posts about his sessions—what patterns he saw in clients’ fears, the emotional moments, and the small psychological shifts that led to breakthroughs. All that material repurposed onto his blog resulted in almost double the time-on-page metrics and greater visibility in niche search terms like “resume confidence tips.”
Here’s where many small businesses miss a huge opportunity. You don’t have to rank for broad terms like “web design.” You can dominate a micro-niche with specificity and consistency.
Think “Webflow designer for therapists in Tennessee” or “ethical SEO consultant for eco brands.” Becoming the go-to expert for a small, defined market is often more valuable than scraping for generic keywords. Google’s latest update affirms this approach: better to rank #1 for a few high-intent, specific queries than compete for meaningless traffic numbers.
I work with a solar panel installer in Middle Tennessee. Instead of targeting “solar install Tennessee,” we focused on niche keywords like “solar battery backup for farms Tennessee” and localized blogs about weather resistance and tax incentives. Traffic remained modest, but conversion rates skyrocketed—because the searcher’s intent was deeper and more specific.
So now that we understand how the algorithm views trust, experience, and value, here’s how to take action.
This algorithm update proves what some of us have suspected for years: Google is over gamification. The shortcuts are closing. Checklists alone don’t make rankings. Genuine, useful, transparent brands are winning—especially at the local level. This creates opportunity if you’re not trying to look like something you’re not.
For someone like me—part web designer, part consultant, part marketing therapist—it’s validating. Clients want to be seen, understood, and supported. So does Google’s new algorithm. When you center clarity, empathy, and realness, you're not just improving search signals. You're creating something that builds long-term trust both digitally and in person.
The March 2024 Core Update is a wake-up call for small businesses relying on old SEO tactics or hollow content. It rewards personality, real expertise, and thoughtful, well-structured websites. For some, the drop in rankings felt like punishment. But really, it’s an invitation to do better—to be clearer in your message, deeper in your knowledge, and truer in your online presence.
Whether your site is built on Webflow, WordPress, or even Wix, the key isn’t the tool. It’s how you use that tool to express who you are, what you do, and why people should trust you. Take the opportunity to slow down, understand your audience, and build something honest. Because in a world of algorithm updates, the businesses that last are the ones that stay human.
Copyright © Zach Sean Web Design
