What is the Google helpful content update?
The Google helpful content update is a new algorithm. The new algorithm is designed to identify pages that provide users with answers to their questions, and rank them higher in search results. This means that if you want to rank highly in Google and get more traffic from organic search, you need to focus on providing high-quality answers to user queries.
How does the helpful content update work?
The helpful content update works by identifying pages that have already received positive feedback from users (such as likes, shares or comments) or ranked highly for specific keywords. It also takes into account whether users are satisfied with the page after visiting it, based on factors such as bounce rate and time spent on page. Pages with high levels of engagement will be given priority over other pages when it comes to ranking in organic search results.
What does this mean for your website?
It means that if you have a website filled with helpful content, then your site will be more likely to rank higher in search results than sites that don’t have much helpful information on them. The same goes for any other type of business; if you sell products or services that can help people, then more people may click on your site because they think it’ll provide them with some sort of help they need.
What you need to know about the Google Helpful content
Here are five things you need to know to ensure you’re creating content based on guidance provided by Google.
1. Focus On People-first Content
The first thing you need to do is focus on what Google calls “people-first” content. This means writing your pages based on the perspective of real people who will use them and not from an SEO perspective.
How can you evaluate if you’re creating people-first content? Google give a questions for you to answer, answers yes to the questions below means you’re probably on the right track with a people-first approach:
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
- Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
2. Do Demonstrate First-Hand Experience
Google tells people not to write about something they haven’t personally experienced. This is especially true if they’re writing about a topic that requires expertise, like blogging about SEO or creating a video that shows how to use a product.
For example if you want to write about a topic like nutrition or fitness, then you should write about it from the perspective of someone who has tried various diets and exercises themselves. In other words, don’t just write what others have written; share your own experience instead! If you can’t create content through your own experiences and expertise, then at least make sure that you have quotes from experts who can talk about the topic and what they think about it.
3. Your Content Needs to Answer Your Audience’s Questions
Google wants to see that you’re creating content that answers a question or helps the reader solve a problem. Think about what people are searching for, then create content that provides an answer or helps them find what they’re looking for. If you can answer questions without having to use a search engine, then you’re doing it right!
To help you stay on the right track when it comes to creating helpful content, Google recommends asking yourself the following questions:
- Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources?
- After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
4. Great User Experience
Google also recommends asking yourself if someone reading your content will leave feeling like they had a satisfying experience. For example, reading a product review with first-hand expertise that doesn’t include photos or videos. While searchers may appreciate the textual content, a visual demonstration of the product would complete the experience. Satisfy searchers’ wants and needs, don’t leave them looking for more.
5. Don’t Combine Multiple Topics Into One Site
Build your site around one subject area. If your site covers multiple topics, it will be more difficult for Google to understand what you do and why people should visit your site. This can result in less exposure in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Instead, create separate sites for each of your different offerings, so that it’s clear to Google what each page is about and which keywords apply to those pages.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that, as long as you are creating solid, insightful content that fits with the theme of your site, you can breathe easy knowing that Google will take care of the rest. That’s why your focus should be on creating helpful, quality content that your users will love—and if you do it right, you might just see a traffic spike!
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