Google Helpful Content Update: a guide for website owners

What is the Google Helpful Content Update?

The Google Helpful Content Update is a new algorithm update that Google began rolling out on 20th September 2023. The goal of the update is to improve the quality of search results by making it easier for users to find helpful, relevant content. Google wants to reward websites that publish high-quality content that is written for people, not search engines.

How will the update affect websites?

Websites that publish high-quality, informative content that is helpful to users are likely to see a positive impact from the update.

Conversely, websites that publish low-quality content, described by Google as content that is thin, repetitive, or unhelpful, are more likely to see a negative impact.

What's 'thin' content? We asked Google and here's what it told us:

• Short articles that only provide a superficial overview of a topic
• Articles that are full of keywords and keyword stuffing
• Articles that are copied from other websites without permission
• Articles that are generated automatically by software
• Articles that are poorly written or contain many errors

The example that stood out to us was the one about articles generated by software, so we asked if this was specifically aimed at websites using content produced by generative AI platforms like Chat GPT. Google said it was. It went on to tell us that "Google has not explicitly stated that it will penalise websites for using generative AI to create content" but that because generative AI tools are in their infancy "the content they produce can sometimes be low-quality or repetitive" which is what it's trying to avoid people finding when using Google's search engine.

To understand how the update is affecting your website, log in to your Google Analytics account. You'll be able to tell quickly if traffic has increased (because your website is benefiting from enhanced visibility in search results) or has decreased

What can you do to improve your website's visibility?

There are a few things you can do to improve your website's visibility in light of the September 2023 Helpful Content Update:

• Create high-quality, informative content that is helpful to users. Think about what people will be looking for and aim to satisfy their search needs
• Write your content for people, not search engines. Avoid using keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO techniques
• Make sure your content is relevant to the keywords that users are searching for. Use your keywords in a natural way throughout your content
• Keep your content fresh and up-to-date. Regularly add new content and update your existing content

If you're going to use Chat GPT or other generative AI tools to create content for your website, carefully review it before publishing to make sure it's accurate, informative, and helpful to users. Let AI do the heavy lifting of producing initial drafts but then edit them yourself to make them more human, and so that they use language that's part of your adopted tone and voice.

Summary

Key takeaways

The Google Helpful Content Update is a new algorithm update that aims to reward websites that publish high-quality, informative content that is helpful to users.

Websites that publish high-quality content are likely to see a positive impact from the update, while websites that publish low-quality content are more likely to see a negative impact.

There are a few things you can do to improve your website's visibility in light of the Helpful Content Update, such as creating high-quality content, writing for people, and optimizing your content for relevant keywords.

Actionable tips

• Review your existing content and make sure it is high-quality, informative, and helpful to users (solve their problems, answer their questions)
• Create new content that is relevant to your target audience and maybe focused on a specific topic or niche
• Write your content for people, not search engines. Avoid using keyword stuffing (it becomes to 'jargony' otherwise) and other SEO techniques Google hates
• Make sure your content is optimised for relevant keywords. But use your keywords in a natural way throughout your content
• Keep your content fresh and up-to-date by regularly adding new content and updating your existing content

By following these tips, you can improve your website's visibility in light of the Google Helpful Content Update and ensure that your website is ranking

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