There has been a lot of chaos around the recent “Helpful Content Update” from Google. Content marketers, content writers, and SEO teams are working hard to see the results of this update. As the algorithm comes to fruition, websites with content solely targeting the search engines will be penalized. There are chances that the website might be blocked forever.
Google works hard to provide helpful content and value to the reader. Today we will cover how this update works.
What is the update?
Google believes in content pieces that are helpful to the readers of the content. The recent Google update focuses on the content written by and for the people. It aims to ensure that the content pieces are original and helpful.
But how to ensure that the content you produce is SEO optimized AND people-friendly? Let us take a look.
How to produce content that adheres to the newest Google HCU update?
When content writers produce content, they always include all the SEO keywords. Traditionally, using these keywords resulted in the desired website rank. But, with this update, the content pieces that offer a satisfactory experience will rank better.
But if a content piece does not meet reader expectations will not be able to perform better on the Google search engine results. To ensure this, the content creators should create content with people in mind.
The content should not be written with the sole purpose of optimizing for search engines alone but should also include content helping people out with their queries.
To provide the best content piece, you have to focus on two things:
- Prioritize producing helpful content for the readers
- Use SEO best practices to curate SEO-friendly content
Your content should be able to go through the following parameters to ensure that your website does not get punished:
- A well and clearly defined target audience for the content you are publishing.
- Ability to define first-hand experience and understanding of the product/service.
- The content is in-depth and well-researched
- A clear purpose of your website
- Does your content piece provide enough information and understanding of the topic?
- Will your reader be satisfied with the content you have written?
- Does your content follow Google’s core updates and product review guidelines?
You have no reason to worry if your content goes through all these filters and still looks perfect.
Stop producing content that targets the Search engines
SEO practices should be implemented only after the content is focused on educating the reader. Firstly, as a writer, ensure that the content is human-first, not search engines. Secondly, optimize the content once the draft is ready.
In general, the content piece that targets search engines primarily is very dissatisfying. Therefore, a piece of advice here is to avoid writing for search engines. Instead, analyze how your content piece can be a valuable piece of information.
The following pointers help you understand what kind of content looks valuable to Google and your visitors:
- The content piece provides valuable information to your audience.
- Don’t push out the content just for a rank.
- Avoid using automation tools to produce the content.
- Give in-depth research into the content you have to offer instead of putting out a summary.
- Write about something that provides value to your audience and visitors.
- Producing valuable content, so the users don’t have to look elsewhere to find what they are looking for.
- Creating content that has a quality, not just word count.
- Addressing a niche with evident expertise without thinking about traffic.
- Answer a question that you know of without an official announcement about the topic.
A word of caution
A website with unhelpful content published to attract web traffic using SEO practices has a high chance of penalization. There will be a lot of changes in the website ranks after the rollout.
With the release implementation from next week, many websites will tumble off the results. Other websites may start ranking better. It all depends on what kind of content you produce and whether it is focused on people or search engines.
Want to know more about the Helpful Content Update or SEO in general? Reach out to us.
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