Google’s Helpful Content Update is a new algorithm update that was first announced in August 2022 and began rolling out in September 2022. The goal of the update is to reward websites that produce high-quality, helpful content that is written for people, not for search engines as after all that is what your web content should be all about, human engagement. An article written just repeating keyphrase after keyphrase helps nobody.
This push to helpful content makes perfect sense. It rewards those who actually put the effort into their content to ensure it is engaging.
Google has been incredibly focused on this and the Helpful Content Update is the latest step in that direction. The update is designed to identify and downrank websites that produce content that is thin, uninformative, or otherwise unhelpful to users.
But what actually is defined as helpful content?
Google defines helpful content as content that is:
- Relevant and informative: The content should be relevant to the user’s search query and provide them with the information they are looking for.
- High-quality: The content should be well-written, well-edited, and free of errors.
- Original: The content should be original and not copied from other sources.
- Comprehensive: The content should cover the topic in a comprehensive and informative way.
- Valuable: The content should provide value to the user, your article might be teaching the reader something new, solving a problem for them, or amusing and entertaining them.
What types of content are targeted by the Helpful Content Update?
The Helpful Content Update is designed to target websites that produce content that is:
- Primarily written for search engines rather than for people: This includes content that is stuffed with keywords, irrelevant to the user’s search query, or otherwise unhelpful.
- Thin and uninformative: This includes content that is too short, does not provide enough information on the topic, or is poorly written.
- Copied or plagiarized: This includes content that has been copied from other sources without attribution.
- Produced for affiliate marketing purposes: This includes content that is written primarily to promote affiliate products or services.
- Generated by AI: This includes content that has been generated by artificial intelligence (AI) without human oversight. It is okay to use AI as long as the artcile still meets the requirements for helpful content but do not go nuts just generating random AI articles without any human input into them. AI is a fantastic tool and should be used to make our lives easier but not to replace us.
How to survive the Helpful Content Update
The best way to survive the Helpful Content Update is to focus on producing high-quality, helpful content that is written for people. Here are some tips:
- Make sure your content is relevant and informative: Your content should be relevant to the user’s search query and provide them with the information they are looking for.
- Write high-quality content: Your content should be well-written, well-edited, and free of errors.
- Be original: Your content should be original and not copied from other sources.
- Be comprehensive: Your content should cover the topic in a comprehensive and informative way.
- Provide value to the user: Your content should provide value to the user, such as by teaching them something new, solving a problem for them, or entertaining them.
How to audit your content for the Helpful Content Update
If you are concerned that your website may be affected by the Helpful Content Update, you can audit your content to identify any potential problems. Here are some things to look for:
- Keyword stuffing: Are your pages stuffed with keywords? If so, you need to remove the excess keywords and focus on writing content that is natural and informative.
- Thin and uninformative content: Do you have any pages that are thin and uninformative? If so, you need to expand them or delete them altogether.
- Copied or plagiarized content: Do you have any pages that contain copied or plagiarized content? If so, you need to remove the copied content and write original content in its place.
- Content produced for affiliate marketing purposes: Do you have any pages that are written primarily to promote affiliate products or services? If so, you need to revise them to focus on providing value to the user, not on promoting affiliate products.
- AI-generated content: Do you have any pages that were generated by AI? If so, you need to review them to make sure that they are high-quality and informative.
If you find any problems with your content, you need to fix them as soon as possible. This will help to ensure that your website is not negatively affected by the Helpful Content Update.
Additional tips for producing helpful content
Here are some additional tips for producing helpful content:
- Write for your audience: Keep your target audience in mind when writing your content. What are their needs and interests? What kind of content would be most helpful to them?
- Do your research: Make sure that your content is accurate and up-to-date. Cite your sources and provide links to additional information.
- Be objective: Present all sides of an issue fairly and avoid expressing personal opinions.
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