Google's Helpful Content Algorithm Update
September 28, 2022The web's leading entity in digital marketing concepts, Google, regularly makes changes and updates to help improve the quality and effectiveness of its algorithms and programs. One of the most recent such updates, and one that will impact numerous sites across many industries, is known as the helpful content update.
For any assistance you may need with this and related search engine optimization (SEO) needs, the team at SEO Werkz is here to help. Our experts are always cognizant of upcoming Google updates and changes, so we can help you ensure that your site is as visible as possible in relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). What exactly is the helpful content update, and how can you ensure that your brand's website and pages are well-formatted for success within the context of it? Let's take a look at everything you need to know.
Helpful Content Update Basics and Timing
Launched near the end of August, 2022, and continuing to roll out into early September, Google's helpful content update created a new, site-wide "signal" that will be used for ranking pages: Whether content is "helpful" to the searcher in question. We'll go over how "helpful" is defined in a moment, but for now let's focus on the mechanisms involved.
When a given site is deemed to have high levels of unhelpful content by Google, all the content on that site will have a lower chance or ranking well -- not just the unhelpful content itself. Now, as long as the site owners take steps to improve said content and make it more helpful, they can improve their rankings back to their original levels, a process that may take a few months in most cases.
The update impacts all English searches around the globe, and Google has said it will likely build it out to include other languages in the future.
So how do you ensure your content is helpful and meets these guidelines? Our next couple sections will look into this.
By People, For People
A major emphasis within this update is content that's been created "by people, for people." This means that content should not be stuffed with keywords or other such devices meant to game the system, but rather it should be crafted and written in a way that's meant to appeal to actual human beings.
There are several areas to consider within this. Existing or intended audiences are a key factor, as is an ability to demonstrate specific knowledge within a given subject area. Creating content that's useful and informative, while avoiding clickbait tactics, is another critical aspect.
Don't Make Content for Bots
Another issue this update is meant to address is the growing number of marketers who have created content purely for Google's crawling algorithms, and not for actual human beings. The update prioritizes content that is not written purely for search engines, such as content produced using automation, content that only summarizes other sources without adding any real value of its own, and so on.
To that end, it's important to focus on creating quality content that will actually be useful to people who see it. This means writing original content that's actually based on the needs of your real-life target audiences, rather than just attempting to "game" the system.
For more on how to adhere to Google's new helpful content update, or to learn about any of our SEO or other online marketing services, contact us at SEO Werkz today!