In the world of SEO, staying on top of Google algorithm updates is crucial to ensuring the visibility and success of your website. In particular, the Google Helpful Content Update is a crucial update for the quality of search results.
You need to be able to understand its impact and adapt to its changes, as this is essential for any digital marketing professional looking to stay competitive. We invite you to take part in this journey to discover all the secrets of the Helpful Content Updates of recent years!
What is the Google Helpful Content Update?
To begin, the first thing we need to know is that the Google Helpful Content Update is an update to Google’s search algorithm first launched in August 2022, whose main objective is to improve the quality of search results by prioritizing useful and relevant content for users. Its main purpose is to combat and reduce low-quality content that attempts to trick search engines through tactics such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, and other forms of manipulation.
In other words, Google seeks to encourage the creation of content that is truly useful, informative, and user-focused, rather than content that attempts to manipulate search rankings without providing any real value. Are you interested in learning more about this? Then we invite you to delve into this article!
Why is it important for SEO and Digital Marketing?
The importance of these types of updates lies in maintaining the integrity and quality of search results, ensuring that users can find valuable and reliable information, and are not inundated with irrelevant or misleading content.
Google updates, such as the Helpful Content Update, Spam Update, and Core Update, are crucial for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and digital marketing because they dictate the rules of the game on how content is ranked and displayed in search results.
For those who work professionally in the world of digital marketing, it is vital to understand and adapt to these updates to maintain and improve online visibility.
Creating user-centric content and avoiding misleading tactics not only improves search engine rankings, but also builds trust and credibility with your audience.
If you want to know more details about the Google Helpful Content Update, we recommend you visit the Google Updates Dashboard, which has a detailed history not only of the latest Helpful Content Updates, but also of the Core and Spam Updates. If you have any doubts about the main differences, wait a bit and continue reading, you will be able to understand it better.
Google Helpful Content Update: How does it affect websites?
The Google Helpful Content Update is an update that, as you can see, affects websites (for better or worse) in several ways:
- Content relevance: Naturally, sites that publish content that is genuinely useful to users are more likely to see improvements in their rankings. This means that the content should address the real questions and needs of visitors.
- Penalty for useless content: Sites that publish superficial content or content designed solely to appeal to search engines may see a decrease in their visibility. Google can more effectively identify content that does not provide real value and penalize it in search results.
- Focus on user experience: Content creators should focus more on user experience, ensuring their content is easy to understand, useful, and accessible. This includes the structure of the content, the clarity of the information, and the usability of the site.
- Review and update content: Websites should regularly review and update their content to keep it relevant and useful. Outdated or irrelevant content can negatively affect your website’s ranking, so it’s best to review it periodically.
- Improved traffic quality: By focusing on useful content, sites can attract a more relevant and engaged audience, which can translate into higher rates of traffic, clicks, conversions and, consequently, better engagement.
It is important to understand that adopting these practices not only helps meet Google’s expectations, but also improves user satisfaction and ultimately the success of the website in terms of traffic and conversions.
Google Helpful Content Update September 2023
The last Google Helpful Content Update released was on September 14, 2023, following the Core Update in August. This new Update is the evolution of Google’s approach to helpful content, and marks a significant change from the last Helpful Content update in 2022. Below, we explore the main features and impact of this update.
Key Features of Helpful Content Update
Some of the key features that this latest Helpful Content introduced are:
Evaluating content quality without considering the origin
Previously, Google stipulated that high-quality content had to be created by humans. However, with this Update, Google has removed that restriction. The focus is now on the quality of the content itself, regardless of whether it was generated by artificial intelligence (AI) or humans.
This shift reflects a recognition that the battle against AI-generated content cannot be won by simply rejecting it, but that the intrinsic quality of the content must be assessed.
Warning about “renting” subdomains or subdirectories
Renting parts of a website to third parties, whether in subdomains or subdirectories, is a fairly old practice in SEO, which is nowadays quite frowned upon by algorithms (or at least that’s what they say). Google has revived warnings about this practice, pointing out that it can have negative effects on the content of the main domain.
This measure seeks to counteract the impact that third-party content can have on the reputation and overall visibility of the site that rents its spaces.
Content date update with no real changes
With the new Update, Google insists that the dates of the last update of content should only be changed if significant changes have been made. Previously, some webmasters adjusted these dates without having made any real changes to the content, which is now considered misleading. Google aims to ensure that the dates reflect the actual freshness and relevance of the content.
General considerations for this update
It is safe to conclude that the Google Helpful Content Update of September 2023 represents one of the most significant changes in Google’s strategy towards useful content. The update emphasizes the quality of content regardless of its origin, warns against subdomain rental practices, and promotes honesty in content update dates.
Its impact on website visibility has been notable, with valuable changes in several sectors. However, it is necessary to monitor this update to clearly identify who the winners and losers have been. For example, it is possible to observe how a site like findthisbest.com, which is dedicated to product recommendations, was a big loser of these updates, with a drop of more than 60% in its traffic:
Google Helpful Content Update December 2022
We will be going with the Helpful Content Update on December 5, 2022, with a rollout time of 38 days , ending on January 12, 2023. Some of the main features of this update were:
- Global Update and Improved Signals: The December 2022 Update is a global update, affecting all languages, not just English. Google has integrated new signals into its system to better identify low-quality content created primarily for search engines rather than for people.
- Focus on unsatisfactory content: The purpose of the update is to improve the quality of content on the web, prioritizing those sites that offer useful and relevant content for users, instead of content designed solely to obtain a good ranking in search results.
- Identification and recovery: If a website is negatively impacted by this update, it may take several months to recover its position if appropriate adjustments are made to the content. Google suggests reviewing the questions provided about the content to ensure that it meets the new standards.
Objective of the update
The update is aimed at reducing low-quality content that is created primarily to rank well in search engines, at the expense of actual usefulness to users. Google seeks to promote content that is authentic, useful, and designed for people, not just search algorithms.
Impact on SEO
When this happened, it was possible to see changes in the ranking and visibility of Google search results. Many content creators or webmasters have had to adjust their strategies according to Google’s guidelines in order to see a recovery that, in many cases, took months or never happened.
Google Helpful Content Update August 2022
The first Google Helpful Content Update was on August 25, 2022. This update was initially part of an ongoing effort to improve the user experience when searching for information online, ensuring that results are useful and relevant.
Helpful Content Update Objectives
The Helpful Content Update focuses on rewarding content that offers solutions that are satisfying to users and reducing the visibility of pages designed solely to attract clicks. The update aims to ensure that content is created with users in mind rather than optimized for search engines.
This update affects the entire website, not just individual pages. Therefore, websites had to meet quality standards to maintain good performance in search results. As a result, pages that did not meet visitors’ expectations could notice a decrease in their performance.
Adapting to New SEO Requirements
In order for you to adapt to the changes introduced by the Helpful Content Update, as an SEO professional or enthusiast, you should focus on three key aspects of the EEA:
Content authority can be assessed by several factors, such as :
- Backlinks: The quantity and, above all, quality of external links pointing to the site, indicating that others consider the content relevant.
- Analysis and structure: the depth of analysis and structure of content, using approaches such as the 6 Ws of journalism to address topics.
- Authorship: The credibility and personal brand of the author, which contribute to the perceived value of the content.
Experience
In this case, you need to demonstrate first-hand experience on the topic being discussed. Content that reflects deep knowledge and authentic experiences is valued positively by Google, as it is understood that it also benefits users. This is something that automated content generators, such as Chat GPT, cannot fully replicate at the moment.
Reliability
Trust is an element that is built from the combination of a solid text structure, user activity on the page, backlinks and Google approval, that is, an infallible combo.
Sites that display authority and expertise also develop greater trust in search algorithms, which helps them rank higher in Google SERPs, or any other search engine in general.
Differences between the different Google algorithm updates
As we explained before, Google usually launches three different types of updates to its algorithms: Helpful Content, Spam and Core Update. Don’t know the differences? Here we explain them to you!
Google Helpful Content Update
As we have already explained throughout this content, this update is responsible for prioritizing the content that is most useful and focused on solving the user’s needs, providing value.
Its impact is that it improves the visibility of relevant and useful content, penalizing superficial or non-useful content.
Google Spam Update
The purpose of the Google Spam Update is to combat and reduce low-quality content and deceptive practices. This type of update focuses on identifying and removing content that attempts to manipulate search results through tactics such as keyword stuffing and cloaking. Its impact is to improve the integrity of search results, ensuring that users find valuable and reliable information.
Google Core Update
Last but not least, we have to mention the Google Core Update, which is the first of the three that Google launched, back in 2021. In other words, it is the older brother, and it is responsible for adjusting the search algorithm to improve the relevance and quality of the results. These updates do not focus on a specific area, but rather affect multiple Google SERP ranking factors.
Websites can experience significant fluctuations in rankings, requiring constant focus on improving content quality and user experience.
As you can see, these three updates are complementary, and you can’t just focus on one without looking at the other two. It’s essential that you establish a strategy to optimize your website’s content, taking into account what the newest updates released by Google establish.
Improve your websites and prevent Google Helpful Content Update!
In conclusion, being able to understand and adapt to Google updates, such as the Helpful Content Update, as well as the already mentioned Spam Update and Core Updates, is crucial to maintaining and improving visibility in search results.
These updates reflect Google’s commitment to providing a better experience for users by rewarding high-quality content and penalizing deceptive practices.
Staying on top of these updates and tweaks to your SEO strategy will help ensure the long-term success of your website. But do you know how to do it?
At Enjoy Minder we can help you achieve better results
If you have any doubts or difficulties adapting your content to Google’s new requirements… Don’t worry! At Enjoy Minder we have a team of professional experts in all areas of digital marketing, always on the lookout for new updates to Google’s algorithm.
If you want to improve your SEO strategy and stay ahead of the curve, don’t hesitate to contact us! We are here to help you achieve your digital goals.
