Google has announced a helpful content update on August 18, 2022. This is a good thing because it will ensure people only get the information they want, which means less spam and more of what you’re looking for.
A brief overview of Google’s Helpful Content Update
The Helpful Content Update is a change to the way Google ranks content. Business owners, SEOs, copywriters, and digital marketers should be aware of it because it affects how many people can find their website or brand on Google Search.
In short, this update focuses on the importance of creating people-first content and avoiding search engine-first content—ensuring that your content provides value for users before trying to rank for keywords in search results. This means you need good quality content on your site before attempting to rank for competitive terms with other sites like yours! It also means that if you want better rankings in organic search results, you need more than just using keywords – create helpful articles instead of just adding keywords randomly throughout them!
How to create helpful content:
Creating helpful content means taking a step back from search engine optimization (SEO) and focusing on creating a great user experience. To do this, you need to focus on your audience first. This starts with having a primary topic or theme and knowing your audience inside and out.
You want to give that audience an experience that meets their needs—and does so effectively. You’ll want to exhibit firsthand expertise and knowledge about the topic, whether blogging about fashion or writing about finance. In addition, once you’ve decided what kind of content you’re going to create, make sure it aligns with how people use Google today—and take advantage of all the tools available for creating helpful online material!
1. Focus on people first content
The first step to creating helpful content is focusing on people first content.
People-first content is about the people you’re writing for and how your content will help them. When you write for search engines, you’re writing about something narrow and specific—but when you write for people, you’re attempting to be helpful in a broader sense. This is an important distinction because it means that your job isn’t just to create a piece of text; it’s also to make sure that your readers get something out of it.
Let’s look at it from another angle: What do you expect when you search for something online? You want answers, right? And if those answers don’t come easily enough when you type in your keyword or phrase, then you’re likely to try something else. Now think about how this scenario applies to people visiting your website; if they don’t find the information they need quickly and clearly, they’ll leave and go elsewhere.
For example, if you’re looking for information on how to buy running shoes, you want answers that will help you make the best purchase for your needs. This means considering the running you’ll be doing, your foot type, and what kind of support you need. You also want to know about the different types of shoes available and what features to look for. With people-first content, you’ll get this information and more presented in a way that’s easy to understand and follow.
2. Avoid search engine first content
If you’re creating content for your website, it’s important to avoid making the search engine first content mistake. This means writing for the sole purpose of ranking high in search engines without considering whether or not the content is actually helpful or interesting to people.
Instead, focus on creating helpful, people first content. This means writing on interesting and relevant topics to your audience without stuffing keywords in unnecessarily. It also means being original and adding something new to the conversation rather than just summarizing what others have already said.
And finally, make sure your content isn’t misleading. People will quickly lose interest if you promise one thing but deliver another. Keep your content relevant to your overall goals and brand image, and make sure it’s something your audience will find interesting.
3. Your website should stay on topic
Your content should stay on topic. This may seem obvious, but it’s worth noting that some websites have a habit of jumping from one topic to another. You expect to find information on a single subject when you visit a website. If the site changes topics frequently, it can be confusing and frustrating for users – especially if they are just trying to find a specific piece of information! It’s better for your readers if you stick with one topic throughout your website; this will make everything easier for them when they visit or revisit your site later.
4. Have a precise target audience in mind
When you’re writing content, the more specific you can be about your target audience and what they want, need, and desire, the better. It might seem obvious to think about these things at first glance, but it never hurts to go over some basics again.
One of the easiest ways to get started is by thinking about:
- Who are you writing for? What do they do? Where do they live?
- What do they like/dislike? Why are they reading this article or watching that video or listening to this podcast episode?
- How can you help them achieve their goals (and yours)?
These questions may seem like simple ones to answer, but they’re important. You want to know exactly who your audience is and what they want so you can provide the best possible experience for them. The more clearly defined these things are in advance, the more likely it will be that you’ll get good results from your content.
5. Give that audience a satisfying experience
Your content should be easy for your audience to understand. It should also be easy for your audience to find what they need when they need it. This can include ensuring that your content is well-organized and that each piece of information is easy to find within the overall document or set of documents.
The next step is ensuring that the content you create is usable: people use it! When this happens, you’ve reached the gold standard in creating useful content—your audience has found exactly what they were looking for and been able to use it in their own lives (or work).
6. Exhibit first-hand expertise and knowledge
To create convincing content, you’ll need to demonstrate your expertise. To do that, provide data and facts to back up any claims. Showing off your first-hand experience is another way of enhancing the credibility of your writing—if you can talk about the topic at hand from personal experience, do so!
You can also be more persuasive by providing references for other sources that support your claims. This can be in the form of links to relevant websites, books (or even journal articles).
Finally, providing examples will help support a point that may not have been entirely clear before now—so if there’s an opportunity for an example here or there, go ahead and insert one! You might even want to include some images as well; people respond well when they see something visual related to their topic of choice.
If you’re a business owner, you can make your content even more helpful by providing a quote from yourself or someone within your organization. This might sound intimidating, but it’s actually pretty easy to do! You have to say something like, “I’m an expert in this field because…” and then provide some evidence that supports that claim. It won’t take long before readers are hooked (and convinced).
7. Create in-depth content that helps achieve a goal
If you want to achieve success in anything, you need to have a clear goal in mind. The same goes for your content. It’s not enough to simply write something; you need to write to help your reader achieve a specific goal.
To do this, your content must be actionable, meaning it should provide the reader with clear next steps or a call-to-action. It should also be long enough to be useful, but not so long that it becomes overwhelming. Finally, it should be easy to read and understand.
If you can provide your readers with content that meets all of these criteria, you’ll be well on your way to creating successful, Google-friendly content!
8. Make use of SEO best practices
If you’re looking to create content that will be successful with Google’s new helpful content update, you’ll want to follow their long-standing advice and guidelines. People first content creators focus on creating satisfying content while utilizing SEO best practices to bring searchers additional value.
Here are important SEO best practices to follow:
- Help Google find your content
- Help Google and people understand your content
- Manage your appearance in Google Search results
- Organize your site hierarchy
- Optimize your content
- Optimize your images
- Make your site mobile friendly
- Promote your website
- Analyze search performance
By following these best practices, you can help ensure that your content is successful with Google’s new update.
Learn more by reading Google’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide and How to build a strong SEO foundation with on-page SEO.
Key takeaways
- The Helpful Content Update is a change to the way Google ranks content.
- This update focuses on the importance of creating people-first content and avoiding search engine-first content—ensuring that your content provides value for users before trying to rank for keywords in search results.
- Creating helpful content means taking a step back from search engine optimization (SEO) and focusing on creating a great user experience.
- To do this, you must focus on your audience and create content that meets their needs.
- Your content should also be easy to find and use, and you should exhibit first-hand expertise and knowledge about your topic.
- Finally, follow SEO best practices when creating your content to ensure it is successful with Google’s new update.
Conclusion
The Helpful Content Update from Google is a change that business owners, SEOs, copywriters, and digital marketers should be aware of because it affects how many people can find their website or brand on Google Search. By focusing on creating people-first content and avoiding search engine-first content, you can ensure that your content provides value for users and ranks higher in search results. Remember also to make your content easy to find and use and follow SEO best practices to ensure it is successful with Google’s new update.
