Google’s Helpful Content Update Could Be A Game Changer

Google is not against on-page SEO or creating SEO-friendly content. However, the problem is that publishers focus solely on the search engine and do not keep their end users satisfied.

In this section, Google has shared a list of warning signs if you say yes to these questions:

• Is the content primarily to attract people from search engines, rather than made for humans?
• Are you producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results? (My comment: Content cannibalization is something you might want to pay attention to)
• Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
• Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
• Are you writing about things simply because they seem to trend and not because you’d write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
• Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources?
• Are you writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don’t).
• Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but mainly because you thought you’d get search traffic?
• Does your content promise to answer a question that has no answer, such as suggesting there’s a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn’t confirmed?

How to keep track of Google’s helpful content update rollout:

Google published this signal on 18th August 2022 and suggested the rollout should happen in a week’s time, which is 25th August 2022. You can monitor Google’s search ranking updates page to get notified when this and other future updates will be rolled out.

This rollout should take about 2 weeks, and I suggest bracing for a volatile August end and September beginning.

However, there are a few things that you could do meanwhile to ensure your website is not impacted by this update.

• Remove your outdated and unhelpful content. If you are deleting some outdated content, the video below will help you spring-clean the SEO residue.

How to know you satisfy Google’s helpful content updates?

Google has published a set of questions, and if you answer “yes” to them, then you are on the right track. Here are those questions:

1. Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if it came directly to you?
2. Does your content demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service, or visiting a place)?
3. Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
4. After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
5. Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
6. Are you keeping in mind our guidance for core updates and for product reviews?

Let’s decode some of the questions listed above.

• Question number 2: It seems to reward people who create content based on experiences. Using actual product pictures, travel photographs, and personal anecdotes should give a better signal to Google.
• Question number 3: This IMO is for niche websites, as multi-niche websites do not have a primary focus. There might be an exception when you are targeting a group with your multi-niche websites, such as “students,” “ex-pats” and so on.
• Question number 6: As publishers realize that writing reviews are a gold mine for affiliate conversions, they are churning out a lot of content. This question focuses on the recently published Google guidelines on product reviews. If you have not gone through it, this is a good time to revisit it.