Google’s helpful content update : 7 things you must know about it.

Introduction

It’s no surprise that Google is the most visited website on the globe. According to similarweb Google, last month alone had about 87.3 Billion visits. Also, according to research published by Moz, 84% of people use Google at least three times a day. 

Sounds unrealistic right?

But it’s true after we all use it and it (Google) has become a part of our everyday life. And no wonder Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world said that ”Google is a mountain that you can climb but can’t move”.

Although being at the top has its own set of challenges because you have to stand up to people’s expectations. 

To make this happen Google and its team have to update its algorithm from time to time. And this time they have come up with the latest Google update which is known as Google helpful content update. 

Now you might wonder what this latest Google algorithm update is and how it is helpful for you or your business. 

To answer all of your questions we have curated this article with extensive research and tried to explain all the technical aspects in the easiest manner possible. 

What Is The Helpful Content Update?

It is well known that if you or anyone who keeps their content SEO optimized then the chances of your content ranking higher in the search result are higher. 

But with this Google search update, it won’t be enough. 

What we mean by this is that after this Google helpful content update Google will promote the content that provides meaning to the users. This means the content that puts the user’s experiences and needs at the forefront will be promoted. 

To put it straight and simple, after this Google algorithm update if you want your content to rank higher in SERP results then you’ll have to keep it SEO optimized and useful for the consumer as well.

When will this update roll out?

This Google core update was rolled out on August 22 and was completed in two weeks on 9th September 2022. 

This Google search update will influence people who use it to keep their site filled with SEO optimization without providing any useful knowledge to the user. 

This implies that just because you utilize good SEO tactics your site’s pages will rank higher is not possible anymore.

But what makes this update so important? Let’s see

Why It’s Considered An Important Broad Core Update

This latest Google algorithm update is rolled out to keep the people first in mind when designing your content. 

So even if you use all the Google SEO tactics and miss out on adding value to your veers then after this update chances of your content ranking higher on Google are very slim. 

Along with this what makes this update so important is that it shatters several misconceptions that people have regarding Google. 

And if you upload your content based on any of these assumptions then take this article as a sign to stop right now.

• Have you developed your content for the search engine instead of the people?
• You haven’t finalized your niche and product content in different genres to attract traffic.
• You are taking the help of extensive automation to develop content on a variety of topics.
• You are not adding or providing value via your content to the user.
• You are just following the trend without understanding the needs of your audience.
• After reading content visitors feel like going to other websites to gather more detailed information.
• You only write with a predefined word count because you heard Google promotes certain word counts.
• Your content does not answer any question or even if it does but without proper stats or proofs to prove it.

Now that you understand the importance of this core Google core update. Let us see the pros and cons of this update.  

What Are The Pros And Cons Of This Update

Just like a coin has two sides, this Google update has its advantages and disadvantages. 

Pros

1. Help bring back the balance between SEO and good quality content

Earlier when people wanted to rank their website higher in the search result they used every possible Google SEO tactic. 

By doing so their content would rank higher even if it didn’t add value to the viewers. Meaning there was no balance between good quality content and SEO. 

But after this update you or anyone who wants to rank their content they have to keep a balance between content and SEO. 

2. Helps eliminate unhelpful content

Although there are tons of websites out of which only a handful are of relevance to the viewers because many who rank their website make use of Google SEO tactics and leave the usefulness of that content at the back end.

But after this core Google update, anyone wanting to rank higher in the search results will have to put the user first. Meaning you have to design the content that serves the users and have to keep a perfect blend between Google SEO and content quality. 

In short, with this update users don’t have to go through the unnecessary website for their queries because those will be eliminated with this latest update.

3. Helps in building more customer-centric content

This is the most crucial benefit and probably the reason behind this latest Google algorithm update. After this update in the Google search algorithm, creators have to design their content for the audience first and then for the search engine. 

The most recent version emphasizes people-first content, which means you can’t just disregard your reader’s entire experience with the information. 

The stuff you provide to the audience must satisfy them. A step-by-step tutorial that lacks graphics, or a guide to different sorts of facades that lacks associated photographs, is inadequate. 

Cons

1. No more relying on AI

Earlier when people used to produce mass content they used to take the help of AI to publish it, sometimes even to produce it. But with this update on the floor, this method is not going to bear fruitful results.

This, in turn, will put a load on creators to produce quality content in a shorter period. And if I think from an organization’s POV they’ll have to increase their workforce to maintain the same bandwidth of load leading to larger expenses.

2. Redefine your content strategy

After this update, we can assume that now short-form content will not be as effective as it used to be before this update. We say this because now the content has to be more customer centric than ever and has to answer every possible query they might have related to the topic. 

This means to answer all their questions you’ll have to produce long-form content. This ultimately means that you’ll have to redefine your content strategy where you put long-form content in the front seat and short form in the back seat.

What 7 Things You Kept In The Mind Before Optimizing Your Website Content?

Even after this latest Google algorithm update optimizing your website content from a Google SEO perspective and content is still important.  And here are seven important things that you have to keep in mind while optimizing your content after this Google update.

1. Keywords are just the starting

Many of you believe when it comes to optimizing your website/content “keywords” are the end. 

But it’s not true. This wasn’t true before the update and after this latest Google algorithm update, this has become even more solid. 

Because after this update stuffing your content with keywords and with no proper knowledge delivery your content will be pushed down the SERP results. 

While you’re wondering about the scope of this latest Google update, you should take a step back and rethink your marketing strategies.

2. Follow a detailed structure

After this Google SEO update, you need to understand that now you’ll have to put out detailed content for your audience. So that they don’t go on several different pages to gather the information they seek. 

And if you do so this Google update will push your website higher in search results. But the question is how do you achieve this feat?

Well, the answer is to follow a detailed structure for your content. Meaning framing the content structure from the audience’s POV and not just the search engine POV. This will help you provide all the necessary information that your audience seeks for a topic in one article only.

3. Keep the paragraphs short, sweet, and precise

Now that you know that with this Google update content that provides value to the viewers will be pushed to the top. So it makes sense to keep the content engaging and keep the readers hooked on your website. 

And how do you do that? Well for starters write good and meaningful content that is precise to user search intents and adds value. 

Another thing that you need to remember is to write your content in small paragraphs. Generally, we would say keep the paragraph between 2 to 3 sentences. Apart from this make use of bullet points to keep the content look good and easy to read and comprehend.

4. Keep the user experience in the front seat

Before this many creators used to stuff their content with Google SEO tactics and rank their content higher in search results. But not anymore because this update is solely based on putting the user experience first.

Meaning now you will have to publish content that adds value to the audience and then apply other SEO tactics to rank it better. 

To make this happen make sure you use photographs, infographics, relevant source citations, etc so that your viewer doesn’t have to look anywhere else for information.

5. Don’t write about multiple niches

After this Google update, you have to finalize a niche and then write around that if you want to rank higher in search results. This will help your audience understand that you have expertise in a certain niche. 

Meaning whenever they want some information in that niche they will know where to go. Apart from this, it will be easier for Google crawler to understand what your website is about helping in better indexing of the same.

6. Provide the complete answers

Earlier what people used to do was that they used to build their articles around the small topic which was a part of the bigger topic. By doing so they use to make different articles for a single broad topic. 

But with this Google helpful content update, you have to provide the complete answer related to one topic in one go. So they don’t have to go to another website to look for more information. Meaning now you’ll have to put the user first rather than the search engine. 

7. Keep up to date with the updates

Google is constantly rolling out updates to enhance the user experiences just like this one. That is why you must keep yourself updated with such updates. 

To do so make sure you go to Google’s official website where they publish news related to any new update they might roll out. This will help you better plan your content and marketing strategies.  

Conclusion

After this latest Google update, the internet and many creators are worried. This update shall be a sign to all those people who use to design for the search engine rather than the users. 

We hope after reading this article you have a clear understanding of why this latest  Google algorithm update is so important. 

This new helpful upgrade is only getting started in terms of attracting more user-friendly material across search engines. 

And if you want to add more to the conversation or if you think we might have missed something do let us know in the comment section. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I get Google to update?

Updating your Google is no rocket science. Generally, whenever you restart your system Google is updated but if you haven’t restarted in a while then you should follow these steps:

1. Open the Chrome browser and click on more at the top right corner.
2. If you see the following coloured icons an update is released.

• Green: An update was released less than 2 days ago.
• Orange: An update was released about 4 days ago.
• Red: An update was released at least a week ago.

To update Google Chrome:

1. Open chrome on your system
2. Click on more at the right-hand corner
3. Click on help.
4. Click on Update Google Chrome (if you don’t find any such button then you are using the updated version)
5. Click Relaunch.

2. What is the latest update in Google?

Google regularly updates their platform for a better user experience. Apart from this Google helpful content update, they added Google Site Verifier as part of the latest update. To keep yourself up to date with such updates make sure you check out their official website at regular intervals.

3. What is the latest Google algorithm update in 2022?

The product reviews update is the latest Google algorithm update in 2022. 

4. How do I SEO my website to Google?

To keep your content SEO optimized for Google you’ll have to keep certain thighs in mind like

1. Publish only relevant content
2. Make use of on and off-page SEO
3. Make use of alt tags
4. Make proper use of linking
5. Make use of hyperlinks and permalinks

5. What is helpful content according to Google?

After this Google update, what Google considers helpful content has to fully ascertain criteria like

• It’s created in a certain niche and based only on trends
• The content is written with certain expertise in the matter
• All the facts stated (if any) are properly cited from credible sources
• Answers the queries of the searches

If your content checks all these boxes then your content falls under helpful content.