Google To Release “Helpful Content Update”


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Google just started rolling out a new algorithm update called the “Helpful Content Update”. If you publish blog content on your website here is what you should know.

What is the purpose of the update?

The purpose of this update is to ensure that content publishers are creating content that  satisfies user intent rather then only satisfying algorithms. With AI writing software becoming a popular choice for many bloggers and SEO companies to pump out mass amounts of content in a short period of time. This update helps to reward people that write helpful content for their users and punish those only focused on creating content with the sole intention to rank first.

Who will this update affect?

Below is a list directly from Google itself. If you answer yes for any of these below, you may want to rethink your content publishing strategy.

  • Is the content primarily to attract people from search engines, rather than made for humans?
  • Are you producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results?
  • Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
  • Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
  • Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you’d write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
  • Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources?
  • Are you writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don’t).
  • Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you’d get search traffic?
  • Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there’s a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn’t confirmed?

 

source: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update