Google’s Helpful Content Update – What You Need to Know

Google made the announcement regarding the release of the Helpful Content Update in a blog post that was hosted on the company’s main website. Once it started to be disseminated on August 25, 2022, the update would take a total of two weeks to fully go out to everyone. With this change, Google is making a greater effort to ensure that users are presented with the most relevant and useful information in search results.

What is Google’s Helpful Content Update Intended to Address?

By implementing this update, Google intends to remove content from search results that is of little value. In addition, it is predicted that the upgrade will be just as substantial as the Panda and Penguin updates, which respectively targeted webspam and content of low quality.

Google’s Official Announcement

On August 18, Google announced this new version and provided a preview of what users may expect from it.
The Google Search Ranking Updates page had some changes made to it on August 25 so that it could provide information regarding the release of this update. The Helpful Content Update will be completely rolled out by Google after a period of two weeks.

This update adds a new site-wide ranking factor that will be taken into consideration along with a large number of other variables when determining how to rank pages in search results. These factors will be taken into account when determining how to rank pages in search results. Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) system will continually evaluate and identify pages that are not useful and provide very little value to the people who are searching for information on the internet.

This classifier, in contrast to wide core updates and product review updates, functions continuously and does not have to be updated on a frequent basis. If your website is affected by this modification, then the ranking signal that is either lowering its value or raising its value will not alter until several months have passed.

Are All Sites Affected by It?

According to reports, the change will have an effect on websites that Google judges to have either a limited amount or poor quality of content overall. In most cases, this issue arises when a website is created with no true user value in mind other than to attract traffic from Google. If your website has a lot of thin or low-quality content, there is a good chance that it will be negatively affected by this upgrade.

On the other hand, not every website will be affected by this. You have no reason to be concerned if the content on your website is of a high quality and is informative; in fact, you may benefit from the upgrade by noticing a rise in the number of visitors to your site. In any scenario, it is really necessary to keep an eye on the upgrade and analyze how it will affect your website.

What Is Meant by People First Content?

“People-first content” refers to articles that are written with the end user, the searcher, in mind rather than with the end user, the search engine, in mind. This involves the production of material that is both original and useful, while also making use of the best techniques for search engine optimization (SEO), so that it can be readily found by search engines.

Google provides guidelines for writing content that prioritizes the requirements of the audience in order to protect its users from the potential fallout of this change. If you want this update to be successful, providing content that puts people first, despite the fact that doing so can be tough at times, is something you should consider doing.

How Should I React If There Is a Drop in My Traffic?

If you observe a decline in traffic after an update to the algorithm, it is imperative that you take a step back and assess the material that you have published. You may do a quick check to see if the information you’ve provided is still relevant and intriguing for your audience by asking yourself a few questions.

• Is there evidence that the content still meets the needs of the people in my audience?
• Has the information been updated to reflect any recent shifts in either my specific field or the industry as a whole?
• Is the manner in which the content is presented still appropriate for my readers?
• Is the writing engaging and easy to follow, or does it feel stale and difficult to get through?

If you are able to answer “Yes” to all of these questions, it is likely that your content has not deviated from its original course. However, if you have any reservations about any of them, it might be time to make some changes to how they are implemented.

The Final Word on Google’s Helpful Content Update

Maintaining a blog or website successfully requires that new content be added on a consistent basis. By bringing your content up to date on a regular basis, you can ensure that it continues to be relevant and entertaining for the people who are reading it.

In the event that traffic decreases after an algorithm update, there is no need for worry. Instead, you should look at your content to determine whether or not there are any ways in which it could be improved. ContentX10’s services provide high-quality, people-first content that is designed to rank in Google no matter what changes to their algorithm are made. Start with a free SEO site audit to see how we can help you rank for the keywords and search terms that matter most to your business and brand.

Note: Just a friendly reminder that the Helpful Content update was completed on September 9, 2022.