The SEO community has been swept up in speculation about the long-term implications of Google’s Helpful Content Update in March 2024.
This update is set to reward high-quality, original content and weed out low-quality spam content from search results.
Preliminary data reveals that over 800 websites have already been deindexed in this rollout’s early stage. This guide seeks to demystify the Helpful Content Update.
Keep reading to see the steps to keep up with the demand for higher-quality, informative, and original content.
A Closer Look at Google’s Helpful Content Update
The ‘Helpful Content Update’ is designed to help high-quality, user-centric content rank higher.
Why is this so significant? For three primary reasons.
- This update improves the way core ranking systems work, identifying bad user experiences or pages made just for search engines.
- Google thinks this update and earlier ones can cut the amount of lousy, unoriginal content in search results by nearly half.
- It targets pages that were put together by AI tools or those focusing too much on certain keywords, which might affect how well they do.
In the past, every professional SEO company, brand, and web content writer focused on publishing content that ranks higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This SEO-centric approach meant content was keyword-stuffed at the expense of providing value to the consumer.
Google’s update signals a shift away from this mindset. It is focused on eliminating Artificial Intelligence-generated content.
Going forward, the algorithm will favor informative, easy-to-read, well-structured, and beneficial content. Content with original information, reporting, analysis as well substantive and comprehensive description of a particular topic will be rewarded.
This also means the end of clickbait, a practice that has tarnished the reputation of Google search. Helpful content is usually drowned out by the flood of spam and AI-written content, as users are baited into clicking on exaggerated or shocking titles designed to play the search engine.
Google wants valuable and useful content – the sort of content people want to bookmark, recommend, and share with friends.
How to Recover from Google’s Helpful Content Update March 2024?
Creating informative content sounds simple, but executing it properly is a different story. The idea is to present information in a way that makes the reader want to trust you as an authority on the topic.
Website owners who want to be successful on the Helpful Content Update should skillfully draw on other sources rather than simply copying or rewriting.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Be more intentional
Know your audience. You should optimize your content to target your audience in some way. Using the appropriate keywords is one thing, but providing relevant information for the intended audience is another matter entirely.
Everything you publish should factor in your audience’s satisfaction. Your main focus should be eliminating the desire to do another search and find better information.
Take a look at your website’s Google Analytics data. If the data shows your audience derives real value from your content, then you are on the right track.
Having a target audience will allow you to broaden your consumer base without worrying about losing relevance.
If you can’t make sense of the data, you should hire SEO expert who can help guide you appropriately.
2. Go beyond the obvious.
Your content should demonstrate first-hand expertise in the topic. It should reveal your depth of knowledge that will enable the consumer to achieve their goal.
Know this: you can’t please everyone. Maintain the primary focus of your website and avoid search engine-centric content, which is made to attract traffic.
If you need to discuss a topic extensively covered by others, only do so if you are adding value to the topic.
Remember, high E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) improves consumer trust in your brand.
3. Refresh old content
Google likes fresh, relevant, and engaging content. If you are in an industry that moves quickly, like tech, chances are your old content will become unhelpful quickly.
You don’t want to wait long to update your previous publications.
Final Words
It’s clear that the key to thriving in the SEO industry, especially with the latest updates focused on rewarding helpful content, is to double down on producing genuinely useful content for your audience.
Keep putting valuable information at the forefront of your digital strategy, and you’ll navigate these changes successfully and see substantial growth. Remember, in the world of SEO, content isn’t just king—it’s the entire kingdom.
