Earlier this week, Google announced that it had begun to roll out its ‘helpful content update’ which is set to affect marketers who use SEO to gain traffic.
Under the new update, sites will be rewarded for creating ‘useful’ and ‘satisfying’ content that fulfils audiences’ needs and demands, while those creating content purely to rank well with SEO will be penalised.
In a blog post published last week, the company’s search ranking senior staff analyst, Chris Nelson, gave advice on how creators should approach the update.
“Content created primarily for search engine traffic is strongly correlated with content that searchers find unsatisfying,” he said.
Nelson suggested that sites should avoid producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results. He also condemned extensive automation, summarising “what others have to say”, and writing about things “simply because they seem trending”.
He added: “Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there’s a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn’t confirmed?”
The update, which is rolling out this week, will introduce a ‘new site-wide signal’ that will automatically identify content that seems to have little value.
Nelson continued: “A natural question some will have is how long will it take for a site to do better, if it removes unhelpful content? Sites identified by this update may find the signal applied to them over a period of months.”
International SEO consultant Aleyda Solis took to Twitter to gauge marketers’ feelings on the announcement.
Are you concerned from Google’s announced Helpful Content Update outcome in your sites?
— Aleyda Solis 🇺🇦 (@aleyda) August 18, 2022
According to the replies Solis’ post received, the industry is largely apprehensive about the update. Marketing Beat asks various SEO and marketing specialists for their take on how the new update will affect the industry.
READ MORE: Google’s sweeping SEO update will affect marketers and content creators
Will Critchlow, CEO of SearchPilot
“Google’s ‘helpful content update’ is just the latest in a sequence of moves that the search giant has made to embed machine learning and artificial intelligence deeper into their ranking algorithms.
“My experience is that the further Google goes in that direction, the less you can rely on SEO rules of thumb or even best practices.
“The more that ranking algorithms mimic human preferences, the more that you need to combine doing what Google advise with testing. Create with the user in mind, while also testing SEO, to discover what works best. The process will be similar to testing for conversion rate optimisation (CRO).”
Mark Hull, marketing director for Best Marketing Consultants
“I always find it funny that some people are shocked when Google release an update – and it’s usually those that have tried to break the system that eventually get caught out.
“This update is nothing new – Google have always been really clear in their ambition to provide high quality content that is relevant and useful to what has been searched for. The people panicking at this update are those that have forgotten they should be writing for humans and not robots, and Google has found a way to improve their algorithm to further filter these results out.
“If your focus is on creating the best content you can, that’s relevant and informative, and you’ve got the technical basics right – then you’ve got nothing to really worry about.”
Ibrahim Kareem, SEO specialist at AO
“In terms of tips for marketers, the most important thing is to remember to not create content just to rank for keywords or for link-building purposes. Content should be created for the sole reason of offering relevant information to customers.
“Google pride themselves on the relevance of their search results so it should come as no surprise that they’ve now introduced an update that specifically rewards content that they deem ‘helpful’.
“I’d avoid any drastic changes until the ‘algo’ update is fully rolled – rankings are bound to fluctuate in the first few weeks. Once the update has been fully implemented carry out an analysis to identify the areas affected and create a plan to address any areas of concern.”
Emily Capes, SEO team leader at The SEO Works
“Google’s new ‘helpful content update’ solidifies what we have known for a while now. Google rewards sites that create ‘people-first content’.
“High levels of unhelpful content on your site can impact rankings site-wide.
“The best way to protect yourself, or even benefit from the update is to create content that meets user intentions.
“Think about your target audience before creating a piece of content and ensure that you can add value to a topic. I’d also make sure that all content created is done so for a specific purpose, not just to attract traffic to the site.”
Daniel Coleman, strategy director at Starcom
“Maybe I am too cynical but I can’t help feeling frustrated that Google are once again telling us what works and what doesn’t. They are doing this without any commitment to transparency. It seems that all the power sits with them without any independent scrutiny.
“I would like to see a commitment to things like fact-checking and assurances about not tolerating harmful content – maybe making the internet a safer as well as a more transparent place as the overall goal.
“Google wields god-like power and still shows no sign of wielding it responsibly – so please forgive me for being slightly underwhelmed.”
Paras Raichura, CEO of SEO agency PNdigital
“Google’s new helpful content update has been designed to encourage people to provide more quality content that educates their audience. This is to prevent people from publishing content that aims to just please their algorithm for ranking purposes. Companies should review their content strategies and place an emphasis on high quality content that focuses on providing solutions and education to their customers. This in turn will result in lower bounce rates, higher customer satisfaction and better rankings.”
Phillip Burns, SEO manager of SHIFT Active Media
“It’s too soon to say just how damaging the update will be, as everyone expected the ‘Core Web Vital’ update to decimate some sites but there were no extreme drops.
“Personally, I would almost compare the ‘helpful content update’ to the ‘Panda’ update, in that it will change the content and SEO strategies of some companies. There are definitely sites that write purely uninspired content that act as a wall of text to cover trending or niche topics.”
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