Newest Google Algorithm Update: Helpful Content Update

Aligned with its mission, Google wants to provide original, relevant, and prioritize the needs of its users. Every algorithm created is focused on achieving that mission. On August 18, 2022, Google rolled out an algorithm update called the Helpful Content Update.

Broadly speaking, this algorithm is part of Google's efforts to ensure users can find more original and useful content written by humans and for humans in search results. The following guide will explain in more detail about the helpful content of this update.

Quick Facts About Helpful Content Update

Over time, Google keeps updating its algorithms to show high-quality content on search results. The latest update from this search engine is called the Helpful Content Update.

The details of the Helpful Content Update update are as follow:

• Release date: August 18, 2022.
• Starting to be implemented on: August 22, 2022 (lasts for 2 weeks)
• The goal of the update: to make it easier for users to search for content from and for humans
• Impact: poor quality content will lower website ranking
• Penalty: Google may remove content deemed irrelevant from the SERP and result in decreased website performance
• Type of Industry Affected: Online Education, Arts and Entertainment, Shopping, and Technology
• "Helpful" signal: the whole website goes through Google's system that runs automatically
• "Unhelpful" classification: content still ranks in the SERPs if other signals are deemed relevant
• Actions that can be taken: optimize and conduct SEO audits to rework content to improve quality

What is Helpful Content Update?

This update from Google is different from the previous one. Helpful Content Update is intended for the website as a whole. So, not only specific pages that will be affected. This latest Google update has an impact on all pages of a website.

The Helpful Content Update will produce a new signal that Google uses to rank website pages in the SERP. This update is expected to result in original content created by and for humans.

By implementing this update regarding content quality, Google is committed to removing web pages that are not helpful to users, such as articles written by AI. This method can later push articles or informative content to the top position.

Helpful Content Signal

Given the importance of this latest Google update, the publication of high-quality content needs to be considered. The content on your website must contain information that can help users. For that, the purpose of writing must involve the interests of the reader.

In other words, helpful content is content that is not made to achieve top rankings in the SERPs only. The content must present the information that is in context and can be digested by the reader.

To find out more fully what helpful content is, you can identify its characteristics below:

Topics Has A Large Audience

The characteristics of helpful content are discussing topics that are being searched for, interested in, or needed by the audience. Usually, keywords with high search volume can be the best indicator in this case. After that, content development can be done by determining the context and what type of information can be created.

Written by Expert

Helpful Content Update emphasizes informative content. In other words, avoid writing articles or content that looks amateurish and only aims to get the most clicks. For this reason, article writing or content creation by experts in their fields needs to be prioritized. Or, as an alternative, you can write content that is reviewed by the experts.

Relevance Between the Content and Title

In addition to expert input, the content you present must also be relevant to the title. To avoid penalties from Google, make sure to create non-clickbait content. The information in the article needs to be adjusted to the title so as not to confuse the reader.

Easy for Humans to Understand

Basically, helpful content is content that humans can understand. The information provided should help solve user problems, not confuse them.

In other words, avoid using AI technology to write content. Writing information using language that is easily understood by humans will be able to help readers get what they want. In the long term, CTR will increase so that website performance will also improve.

Written Following SEO Rules

Although the focus of Helpful Content Update is to remove content that prioritizes ranking in the SERPs, that doesn't mean you should avoid writing with SEO rules.

Make sure to stick to SEO principles by focusing on keywords that are relevant to the user's search intent. In addition, evaluate content regularly so that website optimization provides maximum results.

Unhelpful Content

On the other hand, avoid writing content that doesn't help users solve their problems. Unhelpful content tends to confuse readers. The main goal of creating it is simply to rank high in the SERPs without answering users’ queries.

Here are the characteristics of unhelpful content that you need to pay attention to:

Only Focus on Search Engines

Content that is written just to get a top position in the SERPs falls into the search engine-first category. Generally, the content found is not easily understood by humans. The information also tends to be irrelevant to the search term.

Different Topics in A Niche

In order to get high traffic, usually, unhelpful content is filled with information from different topics. This can confuse the reader because one passage to another tends to be unrelated.

Not Written by Experts

Unhelpful content is generally created to meet the needs of websites in reaching the top positions on search engine search pages. Therefore, content is often created by amateurs and without expert supervision. Instead of helping users, published information tends to be confusing and difficult to understand.

Not Answering User Questions

Search engine-first content usually does not help users and instead confuses them with the information provided. In general, unhelpful content appears in the top position, but is unable to answer user questions.

Strategies for Facing Helpful Content Updates

To deal with issues related to Helpful Content Update, you can start planning for the improvement of content on your website from now on. Therefore, apply the following strategies to resolve any issues that may result from the Google update:

Focus on People-First Content

In order for content to be judged as high-quality, make sure to put the interests of the reader or user first. In other words, create people-first content by presenting information that is relevant to the context and the user's search terms themselves.

Avoid Creating Content for Search Engines

Do not create content with the primary goal of getting top rankings in the SERPs only. Often search engine-first content contains irrelevant information and is not focused on a single topic. This practice includes creating content on PBN and other ranking manipulation.

Answer All User Queries

Helpful Content Update invites content creators to provide information that can answer user questions. For that, make sure the content created is relevant to the user's search and helps them solve problems according to the context in the discussion.

Make Content More Relevant to Your Business Niche

Besides prioritizing user needs, content also needs to be adapted to business needs. The more relevant your content is to your business niche, the better your brand reputation will be in the eyes of Google's search algorithm.

That is the information about the Helpful Content Update from Google. Be sure to publish content that can help users solve their problems. Even so, follow the rules of SEO so that your content can be optimized and get top rankings in the SERP organically.