The New Google Helpful Content Update: Everything You Need To Know

Content is king, and all marketers out there know this. However, is posting fresh articles on a regular basis enough to get to the top of SERPs and stay away from Google penalties? As it turns out, impeccable SEO and covering the current industry trends in your blog no longer cuts it. Expert advice and unique personal insights are the way forward.

Google is about to release a new update that is bound to be a game changer in content marketing. Dubbed the “helpful content update,” this algorithm change penalizes websites with low-quality or unhelpful content written primarily for SEO purposes. While it’s still too early to tell exactly how this will play out, we’re here to give you all the information you need to stay ahead of the curve and make sure your website stays in Google’s good graces.

So, is well-optimized content still enough for good rankings? Read on for everything you need to know about Google’s helpful content update and how to play by the new rules!

What Is Google’s Helpful Update All About, And When Does It Roll Out?

The helpful update is about Google’s commitment to providing its users with the most useful and relevant content possible. So, websites, where most articles do not follow a human-first approach, are heavily optimized for search engines, and copy other sources would be affected the most.

In less than 2 weeks’ time, starting from August 22, sites with low-quality or unhelpful content designed to rank well but not add value to the human user will be penalized in Google’s search rankings. This is a significant change, as it represents a major shift in how Google values website authority SEO.

The helpful content update is a site-wide signal that will not target the content on a page-per-page basis like most Google updates such as Penguin and Hummingbird. Instead, it will assess the quality of the majority of content and apply it to the website overall.

Who Will The Helpful Content Update Impact?

Although all Google algorithm updates eventually apply to all types of content online, the helpful content update will initially target English language websites. Also, it will at first aim at content types that have historically been written more for SEO purposes than for providing “human value”. These include tech, shopping, entertainment, online education (tutorials), and reviews.

Google’s Search Liaison Danny Sullivan elaborates more on that:

“Generally tutorial, things meant to teach something, not formal courses. But again, it’s not focused on any particular area. That’s just one example where we see notable improvement, but there are others, and any query about anything might benefit.”

So, the take from this is the new helpful content update will impact all publishers that have been focusing heavily on content pleasing the search engines only. It aims to reward website visitors who have had a satisfying experience instead of those seeking less than ideal results.

To succeed in this manner, creators must follow long-standing advice and guidelines for people-first content over search engine optimization (SEO). The priority is quality, in-depth content, and high user satisfaction levels rather than relying heavily upon keywords or other means used traditionally within online marketing. Of course, keeping a steady balance between SEO best practices and personalized messaging strategies is always important.

The Next Chapter After The Panda And The Core Values Updates?

Google keeps tweaking its algorithm in order to sift through all the search results out there and show up the best, most relevant ones to its users. Hence, all Google updates have the goal to perfect and overdeliver for an excellent user experience and compliment each other.

The Google Panda algorithm update was released back in 2011 and affected 11.8% of search queries. The main reason that triggered this update was to weed out content farms and downgrade articles that were copied or were not genuine as opposed to knowledgeable content that rests on reports and statistics. Also, the Panda algorithm did not have penalizing power – it just pushed lower-quality content further down on SERPs. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Later on, in  2015, Google rolled out the core values update to refine what Panda started. In fact, in the same year, Panda 4.2 rolled out and was implemented in the core search ranking algorithm. The main purpose of this change was to target sites with manipulative and spammy techniques that try to game the system in order to rank higher. This included things like keyword stuffing, paying for links (link schemes), and other black hat SEO practices.

So, the helpful content update is the next logical step in Google’s algorithm journey to perfecting search results. The main difference this time is that it goes beyond just targeting low-quality content and looks at the bigger picture of a website’s audience engagement.

The goal is to show users the most helpful, informative, and user-friendly articles out there that will give them what they are looking for in a satisfying way.

How To Write Human-First Content

When it comes to content, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. What works for one website might not work for another. However, there are a few general rules that all marketers should follow when crafting their copy with the new helpful content update in mind. So here we’ll share some tips on how to write human-first content that ranks well in Google search results. By following these simple guidelines, you can create engaging and informative content that will captivate your audience’s attention and help your website rank higher in search engines.

1. Write for Your Audience, Not for the Search Engines

This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s worth repeating. The most important thing to remember when writing content is that you should always write for your audience first and foremost. That means creating interesting, informative, and relevant content to their needs and interests. Only after you’ve done that should worry about keyword optimization and other SEO best practices.

2. Keep It Natural

When it comes to keywords, less is often more. In the past, marketers would stuff their articles with as many relevant keywords as possible to game the system. However, this tactic is now outdated and can actually do more harm than good. These days, Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to detect when keywords are being used unnaturally, and this can result in a lower ranking. Instead of filling your content with keywords, focus on using them naturally throughout the text.

3. Make It Easy to Read

No one likes to read large blocks of text, so making your content easy to scan and digest is important. Breaking your text up into smaller paragraphs, using subheadings, and adding bullet points are all great ways to make your content more readable.

4. Create Your Own Graphics, Use Images and Videos

Including images and videos in your content can help break up the text and make it more visually appealing. Also, creating your own unique designs is advisable – they are linkable assets and are easy to comprehend. People are more likely to engage with content that includes videos and images, so this is a great way to increase your chances of getting clicks and shares.

5. Update Articles with Fresh Information

One of the best ways to ensure that your content ranks well is to keep it up-to-date. This means regularly publishing new and fresh content. Google loves seeing websites constantly putting out new and relevant information, so this is a great way to boost your site.

6. Promote Your Content

Just because you’ve created some great content doesn’t mean people will automatically find it. In order to get eyes on your content, you need to promote it through social media, email marketing, and other channels. The more places you share, the more likely people are to see and engage with it.

7. Track Your Results

Finally, tracking your results and seeing how your content is performing is important. Google Analytics is a great free tool that can help you do this. By keeping an eye on your traffic and engagement metrics, you can adjust your strategy and ensure that your content works as hard as possible to attract new visitors and rank higher in the search engines.

By following these simple tips, you can create content that is both helpful and engaging for your audience. And, by paying attention to SEO best practices, you can ensure that your content ranks well in Google search results. So get out there and start writing human-first content that will help your website succeed!

How Does Google’s Helpful Content Update Actually Work?

Google’s Helpful Content Update is designed to improve the quality of content on the web by penalizing sites that host low-quality or thin content. The update will roll out in phases, with the first phase targeting sites in the US and UK. Google has not announced when the second phase will begin, but it is expected to target other English-speaking countries.

The update is intended to help users find content that is more relevant and useful to them. It will also help Google to index and surface high-quality content more efficiently. The update does not target a specific type of content but rather looks at the overall quality of a site’s content. Sites that are penalized by the update may see a drop in their search engine rankings.

1. Machine Learning

Google is constantly refining their machine learning algorithm to provide better results. They use a variety of signals. For example, Google considers how many times users have clicked on an article or submitted it for promotion through social media channels, which suggests high levels of interest in the topic at hand. If someone has accompanied these actions by providing extensive feedback about what they feel would improve certain aspects within this content field, this gives Google useful information for future updates.

2. Quality Raters

Google employs quality raters that assess the quality of search results. These raters’ guidelines are constantly being updated to reflect the latest best practices in web content. Some of the factors that quality raters take into account when assessing content include:

– Is the content well written and free of errors?

– Is the content relevant to the user’s query?

– Does the content provide value to the user?

– Is the content easy to read and understand?

– Is the content organized logically?

– Is the content original and unique?

– Is the site that hosts the content reliable and trustworthy?

Google has confirmed that using quality raters improves the relevance of its search results. This validation is done for most, if not all, ranking and user experience improvements Google makes to search.

The intent of using quality raters is to provide feedback that will help Google’s search engineers assess whether the algorithms are producing improvements to overall search quality.

3. Timeline

Google’s helpful content update will continue to crystalize over time. However, once it rolls down, keep in mind that it could take months to recover if it impacts a website. Remember, it is sitewide, not page by page.

Final Thoughts

So what’s the verdict? The new Google helpful content update is about providing searchers with the best possible results and helping you publishers reach their audience with the information they need in an easy-to-read format. It’s not just about pleasing the search engines anymore, it’s about writing for people first. If you want to stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your website ranks high on Google, start putting these principles into practice today.

 

 

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