Google’s a helpful content update. Have you noticed that when you search, some of the content that is ranked on Google is just obviously written for search engines? And when you read that content it provides little to no value. Some of those pieces of the content contain even tons of keywords that don’t really flow within the article.
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So why do people write this kind of content pieces? Well, it’s because they want more SEO traffic. But what’s the problem with that? It creates a terrible experience for users. So what did Google do? They released the helpful content update, in which their goal is to rank non-helpful content not as high. They want to rank the non-helpful content lower, and they want to rank the helpful content, which is great and amazing and is not created for search engines, higher.
Now, here’s what Google has told us about the update.
They first said,
Focus on writing content for people. and they give us feedback such as: “After reading your content, “will someone leave feeling like they’ve learned enough “about the topic to help them achieve their goals? “Will someone reading your content feel like “they have had a satisfying experience? “Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise “and depth of knowledge? “For example, expertise that comes from “having actually used “a proctoring service or visiting a place?”
Second,
they said, “Don’t focus on writing content for search engines.” And here’s what they mean by that: “Is the content primarily “to attract people from search engines “rather than made for humans? ” You produce lots of content on different topics “in hopes that some of it “might perform well in search results? “Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say “without adding much value? “Are you using extensive automation “to produce content on many topics? “So what does all this that Google has told you, “mean for you?
Well, number one:
Google wants you to focus your content on a specific industry or niche. As Google A Better Way to Advertise on YouTube stated, they prefer that you don’t create lots of content on different topics. They want you to focus. Be the expert. Know what you’re talking about. That way people get the most value.
Number two:
make sure your content is executable. If someone reads your content and they don’t have any specific takeaway, and they don’t know what to do next, your content is failing. What I like to do, and here’s a quick solution for this. Is, at the end of my articles, I summarize my learnings through a conclusion section and I label that section ‘Conclusion’ And I define my key takeaways. That way, in case someone just wants to skim, they can just get the main points from the conclusion.
Number three:
continually update your content. Things change over time. Don’t assume that if you write a piece of content it’ll keep getting traffic. As things get stale, your traffic will go down. It’s sad, but it’s reality. Keep your content up-to-date, fresh, and relevant, so it provides users with the most benefit. When updating your content, it’s not about how much you change, it’s more about what do you need to do to keep it amazing. And that could be very little or it could mean that you make a lot of changes.
Try to update your content at least once a year, and if you’re confused about how, how to make content more amazing, search for the main keywords that your article ranks for on Google, or you wish to rank for on Google, and look at all the people that are ranking that aren’t your website, and see what they’re doing that’s different than you are. That’ll give you ideas on how to make your content more amazing and ideally even better than theirs.
Number four:
adding your secret sauce. What do you know about the others who don’t? What have you experienced that others haven’t? By adding in your secret sauce and your personal experiences, you are more likely you get social shares backlinks and generate more traffic. If you’re just regurgitating what everyone else is already saying, then there’s nothing unique. So in every content piece, try to add your personal experiences. That’s how you beat the helpful content update. You just go above and beyond and delight users.
