What does Google’s ‘Helpful Content’ update mean for website content

As a specialist digital marketing agency, here’s what we’ve discovered:

• What is the update?
• What approach should you take?
• How can our SEO services help you?

Google is constantly looking at new ways to ensure all web pages that appear and rank in its search engine are as helpful and relevant as possible for the user.

At the end of August 2022, the company announced its Helpful Content update, an alteration to how its search engine algorithm ranks website content.

As a specialist digital marketing agency in Sutton Coldfield, it is our nature to keep up to date with all the latest news and updates that affect online content and SEO (search engine optimisation).

Read on to see our content marketing experts explain the latest Google update in more detail, focusing on how it should change your approach to writing website content.

What is the Google Helpful Content update?

The update was introduced on August 25th 2022 and took around two weeks to fully roll out to all worldwide searches in the English language.

It is not a core update to the search algorithm. Instead, it is a new signal that aims to reward content that satisfies the user experience and lowers the performance of content that fails to meet a visitor’s expectations.

Google introduced it as a weighted site-wide algorithm. This means that if the AI determines a high amount of unhelpful content on a website, it could get flagged with a label that can impact the visibility of the entire site on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

All this could sound quite daunting, but don’t worry, the content specialists at our SEO agency in the West Midlands are here to make life easier for you. Reach out to a member of the team for more information.

How we recommend you approach web content after the update

You are probably wondering what you need to consider when trying to produce content that the Google update will respond positively to.

In short, the emphasis should be on creating web content that satisfies the user intent and provides additional value using SEO best practices, without it feeling like it has been made with a focus on search engines.

The most successful content will focus on the intended audience of your website and the information they want from you. Ultimately, avoid trying to be everything for everyone.

Websites will be rewarded for clearly demonstrating first-hand expertise and depth of knowledge in a particular area or field.

Using elements like original photos or insights are an effective way to highlight the experience you have with the topic you are writing about. These visual demonstrations can enhance the experience.

Put yourself in the shoes of the user. Imagine the questions they are likely to want answering in your content and at speed. Make sure you are accurate with your answers because Google will caution websites that are making false claims and not giving the user what they want.

How can an SEO agency like EDGE Creative help your business?

As a fully integrated marketing agency in the West Midlands, we have dedicated SEO and content teams who specialise in creating high-quality web content that ranks highly on search engines and implementing effective SEO strategies.

We focus on identifying the needs of your audience and satisfying those requirements through accurate and engaging content that demonstrates your expertise and depth of knowledge.

If you want to take your website content to the next level, contact us today by calling 0121 355 8092 or emailing info@edge-creative.com.