Helpful Content Guide: Content That Ranks And Engages Users

Google loves nothing more than an algorithm update to keep content creators on their toes, and the latest one is no exception.

Launched in August 2022, the Google Helpful Content Update focuses on rewarding websites that provide useful content while simultaneously reducing the online visibility of those who focus solely on creating content for rankings.

Whether you are a digital marketer, content creator, or business that wants to improve your presence online, you need the helpful content explained if you want to thrive in 2023 and beyond.

Read on to find out:

• What is the Google Helpful Content Update?
• When did the Google Helpful Content Update come into effect?
• What is the purpose of the Google Helpful Content Update?
• Who is impacted by the Google Helpful Content Update?
• How to create helpful content?

Ready to get started?

In just a few minutes you will know everything there is to know about the Google Helpful Content Update and how it affects your business.

What Is The Google Helpful Content Update?

The Google Helpful Content Update is the latest algorithm update from the powers that be over at Google Headquarters. Designed to identify content that is helpful for users, as well as content that is not, this is not a Google Core Update but a new signal that Google uses to evaluate and rank content.

For websites that provide vast amounts of unhelpful content, the impact of this update could be catastrophic, with a significant drop in rankings and possibly months of work to regain positioning on SERPs.

However, on the other hand, websites that have lots of helpful content can expect to see a vast improvement in online visibility.

While Google did not mention any penalties for websites that provide unhelpful content, it is clear that these sites will be punished in terms of their rankings.

If you are interested to find out more about previous Google updates, then you can read about Google update history in more detail here.

When Did The Google Helpful Content Update Come Into Effect?

The Google Helpful Content Update was first launched in August 2022, but the second release of this update was announced on December 6th, 2022. This new update adds new signals to its predecessor and works globally in all languages rather than just in English.

Google announced that this new update might take up to 2 weeks to be completely rolled out.

What Is The Purpose Of The Google Helpful Content Update?

The Google Helpful Content Update is another algorithm update that is designed to improve the overall searcher experience. As the leading search engine in the world, Google is constantly looking for ways to improve its service. One way they do this is to ensure that its users get exactly what they want when searching online.

While many websites focus their efforts predominantly on rising up the ranks of Google through the use of SEO, Google is keen for them to create high-quality content that is helpful to their users.

In a nutshell, the purpose of the update is to encourage content creators to focus on helpful content rather than content that is designed purely to impress Google.

Who Is Impacted By The Google Helpful Content Update?

Every website will be affected by the Google Helpful Content Update. That being said, there are certain industry sectors that are more likely to be impacted by this update than others.

Most notably, websites that offer the below types of content are most likely to see favorable changes since the update:

• Online education
• Arts and entertainment
• E-commerce
• Tech-related content

What Are The Most Likely Outcomes Of The Google Helpful Content Update?

In the next few months, you can expect to see a number of outcomes following the launch of the Google Helpful Content Update. Some of the most likely outcomes include the following:

• A significant fluctuation in SERPs
• More authentic content
• Previously unseen content
• Low-quality websites dropping in SERPs
• Less AI-generated content
• Less duplicate contentDuplicate content is content that appears more than once across a single website. Duplicate content can be a sign of poor resource management, low trust, or a lack of quality control.
• More user-focused content

What Is Google Saying About The Google Helpful Content Update?

Although it may sometimes feel as though Google is doing everything in their power to make ranking difficult, they do want to help businesses as much as they do searchers.

If you need the helpful content explained in just a few sentences, John Mueller, the Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, recently took to Twitter saying:

You decide what you write, and whether it’s low effort or not. Go and make some truly awesome things that bring value to the web. That said, if you’re giving financial and medical advice on a beauty blog, I suspect users are – probably rightly – going to find it a bit sus.

Therefore, to aid websites in navigating their new algorithm update, they have advised content creators to ask themselves the below with the aim to help answer the question – what is helpful content?:

1. Is your content designed primarily for searchers or search engines?
2. Do you create lots of content on different topics solely with the intention of improving your rankings?
3. Do you overuse automation to produce vast amounts of content?
4. Does your content add value?
5. Do you only write about trending topics regardless of their relevance?
6. Does your content leave users having to search again for answers?
7. Do you focus on a word count that you believe is preferred by Google?
8. Does your content promise to answer a question to which there is no answer?
9. Do you create content for a particular niche that you have limited knowledge of?
10. Is the content you publish useful to your target audience?

We understand that this may be a lengthy process, particularly if you have published a lot of content, but it is a necessary one if you want to keep or improve upon your Google rankings and stay 1 step ahead of your main competitors.

How To Create Helpful Content

Now that you know what the Google Helpful Content Update is and how it may affect your business, the next step is to start writing helpful content to appease it.

Here at Click Intelligence, we live and breathe content which is why we have made it our mission to unearth all the best techniques to create helpful content that promises to see you soar on the SERPs.

Check out our top tips for content creation below:

1. Focus On Your Readers

If you are guilty of creating content for search engines rather than searchers, then now is the time to change your approach. Think carefully about your target audience and what type of content is useful to them.

Make a list of any questions you think they are likely to have, and then create content that provides the answers. Make the most of your expertise and create how-to guides that provide the information your customers are looking for.

If you are in doubt about what your target audience wants from online content, then simply ask them.

Finally, avoid content that is long-winded or created to hit a specific word count, as this can bore readers or leave them feeling frustrated.

2. Use Your Experience

While you may think that writing about trending topics is the best way to rise in the ranks of Google, you are actually better off writing about what you know.

Think about it this way. If you wanted to know about how to write great content, would you rather read content created by a content marketing agency or an eCommerce site?

Of course, it is the former, so you need to make sure that you focus your efforts on writing about what you know. Showcase your expertise and experience with first-hand accounts. Try out a product or service so you can write about it knowledgeably rather than copying and pasting from another source.

3. Avoid Making False Claims

If you ask Google a specific question, how frustrating is it to read an entire blog or article and still not find the answer? Or worse still, get an answer only to later find out that it is incorrect?

While many pieces of content promise the answer to a question to get featured on Google Snippets, this only appeases the reader if the answer actually relates to the question and is correct.

Therefore, you should never make false claims when creating online content, as this is a sure-fire way to see your rankings drop in the upcoming months following the new update.

4. Add Value With Your Content

Although this may seem obvious, you will be surprised at just how many content creators decide to overlook value in favor of search engine optimization. Of course, the latter is still important, but this shouldn’t be to the detriment of the user experience.

There are many ways that you can make sure your content adds value, such as giving a fresh perspective on a particular topic or answering a commonly asked question.

It can also be highly effective to use storytelling to inform your readers, as this can make your content engaging as well as useful.

If you struggle to write great content, then check out our Content Services here.

5. Don’t Go Outside Your Niche

Are you tempted to write about a topic outside of your niche to improve your rankings and increase your online visibility? This is exactly what you should NOT do when writing helpful content.

Consider this. If you sign up for a gardening blog, would you be a little confused if you received content about the new Google algorithm update? Of course, you would. You would also be much less likely to trust the content, as well as any future content from this source.

Therefore, even if a particular topic is trending on Google, this doesn’t mean that you are the right person to write about it. Again, stick to what you know, and you will start to see favorable results.

6. Offer A Satisfying User Experience

When answering the question, “what is helpful content”, Google has made it very clear that they expect websites to offer a satisfying experience, so you need to make sure that this is what you are doing.

Think about how users will feel after reading or watching your content. Will they come away with the answers they need, and will they have enjoyed the content consumption process?

There are several techniques that you can adopt to ensure you deliver a good UX, including:

• Make sure you answer any questions quickly and effectively
• Include visual aids such as images and videos where applicable
• Make your content skimmable with the use of bullet points and short paragraphs
• Provide a table of contents for enhanced navigation

If in doubt, put yourself in the shoes of the user and think about what would satisfy you.

7. Be Original

Anyone can rehash a piece of content and pass it off as their own. However, if you want to impress Google and its new update, you need to focus on creating authentic content that has not yet been seen.

Listen to feedback from your customers and write content based on their views and questions. Join industry forums and see what people are talking about and then share your opinion with your target audience.

Do whatever it takes to source original and fresh content ideas that will inspire, engage and help your readers.

Conclusion

If you think that the Google Helpful Content Update does not affect you and that you don’t need to take any action, then be prepared for the possibility that your rankings may take a hit in the upcoming months.

Google is serious about providing searchers with helpful content, so you need to be too.

Whether you focus your efforts on creating new, helpful content or you want to update your current content to make it more useful, our team of experienced and dedicated content creators is here to help.

Get in touch with us here today and let us help you navigate the new Google Helpful Content Update with minimal effort and maximum results.