Google’s Helpful Content update is here- so what’s the big deal?

Google has released a major update to their Helpful Content algorithm that is supposed to surface more helpful content across all of their platforms. So, what’s the big deal? Well, for starters, this update could mean better results for your search engine ranking when you’re looking for information or advice. Secondly, it could provide you with more useful and timely content. 

What is Google’s Helpful Content update?

Source: Google

The Google Helpful Content Upgrade is an update to the search engine’s ranking algorithm designed to favor content that offers a positive user experience. Penalizing content created solely to increase a website’s position in SERPs is another primary feature of this update. 

Google is trying to pull the focus of creators to publish value-packed content that satisfies the needs of users. The world’s biggest search engine, Google, is the crucial search engine for endless domains. Hence, staying in the lane with the search engine is necessary.   

This update was announced and rolled out (on 22 August 2022) suddenly. To comply with this update, you can start by removing and updating unhelpful published content, keeping the algorithm at the center instead of users. Google expects that once the recovery is complete, content creators will not instantly return to creating useless stuff.

What are the changes?

This is a new signal that Google will use to determine how to rank a website’s content. However, it cannot be compared to Google Core Update or spam action. It’s a site-wide, weighted algorithm. A website’s search engine rankings could be negatively affected if the machine learning algorithm deems a large portion of its material unhelpful (or unsatisfactory). Domains sharing value-packed content and keeping the consumer at the center alongside search engines will be favored by Google.

What does this mean for SEO?

Till now, any content has been ranked based on certain general and technical factors. Those factors pulled the attention of publishers for said creators. As a result, users started creating content for search engines at the center, which led to a problem. Low quality or outdated content started ranking on SERPs due to compliance with old policies. People will again get their focus back, and SEO will be deemed a secondary target for publishers.

How to start using Google’s Helpful Content?

Due to Google’s sudden announcement of the upgrade, websites have much less time to set up their web pages and content for ‘Helpful Content’ readiness. You can lessen the update’s negative effects on your site’s search engine rankings by taking certain measures. On the ground level, Google’s SEO guidelines can be broken into three points. 

• Stay in your lane: Focus writing on subjects in which you have the expertise, which are of interest to your target audience, and which relate to your business.
• Answer the searcher’s question: Be sure to include your expert and original take on things, as well as responses to any queries that could come up.
• Don’t hack the algorithm: Content length should match the reader’s needs.

Google has provided us with some things to ask while developing content to ensure it delivers a positive user experience. The best you can do is start revamping your domain(s) and get rid of outdated website pages.

How to remove outdated content

In a nutshell, outdated content is any content that is not relevant anymore. This is the first step to start complying with Google’s Helpful Content Update. Start by sorting all web pages based on relevancy. Further, if possible, revamp any outdated content. Or, you can redirect the webpage to other pages with the latest content. In the end, you can remove the entire website page. 

If you are still confused, start checking the content with the below-given checklist. If your website page comprises any one or more than one point from the list, consider refining or removal. 

• Refers to outdated products & services.
• Provide false information.
• Does not attract traffic anymore.
• Has no backlinks
• Have thin content.
• Very high bounce rate
• Old irrelevant announcements.
• Contains out-of-date data
• Are no longer relevant, etc.
• New features of the old update

What are the Benefits?

• Larger sites that use all the categories will be penalized in the rankings in favor of the smaller ones.
• The most significant benefit comes from the increased visibility and authority of publishing unique content.
• It is planned to filter out results that contain irrational content. Results for your content will be favorable

What are the Limitations?

• Your site may be permanently prohibited from ranking following this upgrade if it contains material created with tools like spin bots or artificial intelligence. will appear
• This update can be problematic for domains with a high number of website pages.
• A penalty will be applied to your website. If this upgrade has hit your site, it could take a while before it rises in the search engine rankings again.
• This Google update also specifies that you must speak from personal experience when discussing products or writing reviews for your website.
• Not everything on your website needs to be geared toward monetization through advertising.
• There are high chances your site’s ranking will drop due to this upgrade.

What to do if You Missed the Update

This is a common situation. Google announced and rolled the update very suddenly, making it more challenging for users to comply with its new update. Don’t stress if your domain rank is dropped. First;y. start by analyzing existing website pages. Revamp, redirect or remove any outdated content at the earliest possible. Not only that, but make sure to alter blog strategy and create people-focused content instead of focusing on SEO alone. 

How SuiteJar Helps You Find Outdated Content

SuiteJar is one such tool that can automatically identify outdated content on your website and provide you with a report detailing the content that needs to be removed. This will help you keep your site up-to-date and compliant with Google’s guidelines. SuiteJar analyses the website and compares them to the latest versions of the Google Guidelines, and flags any content that needs to be updated or removed.

Conclusion

Google Helpful Content Update was nearly an overnight shock to all domains of search engines. With the update rolling, a new signal is integrated into the system that will analyze website pages based on user experience. Moreover, Google’s purpose behind this update is to reflect only one thing – Start creating content for people instead of Search Engines.