Content MarketingSEO Tips and Tricks
Google Helpful Content Update
Google has released an update to the algorithm it’s using for its search results page called “Helpful Content Update.”
The purpose of the update was to provide users with search results that were more informative and actionable.
Now, this was great news for many people and particularly helpful for content marketers and SEOs who now have a clearer idea of what Google prioritizes regarding relevant and well-written content.
Google released details about a new update targeting content considered “not helpful.” This falls under their core quality guidelines of providing “unique, well-written, and engaging content.”
They supplied some questions to ask yourself to ensure you were writing based on the recent update, and here’s our take.
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find valuable content if they came directly to you?
Our Take: Develop a comprehensive encyclopedia about your industry topic. Become the site where visitors do not go directly to a search engine but instead search your name to get the data they seek.
- Does your content demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise from having used a product or service or visiting a place)?
Our Take: Connect yourself to Prestige by being more detailed and better by providing information, written proof, testimonials, and media clips to prove your quality and expertise.
Do ample research and ensure accurate factual accuracy. Please don’t hold back, as sharing anything you feel comfortable with is okay.
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
Our Take: You cannot rank the best electric car and the most excellent mortgage firm. Concentrate on defining your niche, As Search engine dominance comes about in topical dominance.
- After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
Our Take: Google has put a lot of work into understanding the difference between good and bad content. One of the best ways to improve your site’s quality is to ensure you’re answering user questions.
This is more than just keyword stuffing, when it comes to content marketing, it’s essential to ensure that you are answering questions that people want to be answered, not just those you want them to ask.
Google wants to see the great context. Look at every sentence on your site, and if it begs another question, either elaborate on it right there or create a new piece of content and link to it.
- Will someone read your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
Our Take: As with the previous question, this is about the content itself and not just the written words.
It does not constitute a successful website if the individual pages or your site are challenging to navigate or if your site and all of its pages take a long time to load.
Your homepage has many other media (images, video clips, audio, slideshows, etc.), the website loading is fast, nothing is out of order or missing, the information you post is absolutely accurate, and so on.
The requisites for any website content are innumerable, so you should keep optimizing for anything in the user’s experience.
Conclusion:
With this update, Google also hopes to provide users with reliable information. If you’re not sure whether your content is living up to this measure or not, take a step back and analyze what you’re doing.
Compare it to the ways customer needs are being addressed. Be honest with yourself regarding quality, but don’t despair if you need to make some changes.
Google wants its users to have the best experience possible and will hold sites accountable. Is it time to rework your content writing process? Keep these tips in mind as you try to re-evaluate and improve your online presence.