The secrets to maintaining your website’s visibility and traffic amidst the new algorithm update

Good day Reader! 👋

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It’s time to tackle the thing everyone is talking about - Google’s latest algorithm update. The Helpful Content Update has caused waves among webmasters and content teams, but we have the tips to help you sail smoothly through the troubled waters.

It is crucial that you not only understand the new update and what it means for your site but also adapt to stay afloat.

Okay, enough of the boat puns! 🛶

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👀 A Quick Look At The Helpful Content Update

There are thousands of Google algorithm updates each year, but not all of them have major impacts on content or web page ranking.

The latest update places the spotlight on content that is… well… helpful. And, interestingly, this was not the first iteration of this update!

Across the world, people are feeling the aftershocks from the update as they see dips in their organic traffic and their sites tumble down the SERPs. (Although there are the lucky few who suddenly ranked higher because of the usefulness of the content they deliver!)

Can you just ignore it? Well, sure, but it’s a clear indication of the direction Google will continue to move into, so it’s best to pay attention and be prepared.

🗝️ Key insights

Here are some key insights into the latest update:

• Putting people first: At the heart of people-first content is creating the kind of content that really speaks to the audience’s wants and needs. Content that’s optimised for search engines no longer gets the job done: it's all about the audience.
• E-E-A-T: That’s right! This new algorithm update is all about Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. E-E-A-T has always been important to Google (before 2022 it was just E-A-T, “experience” was missing), but today it is more important than ever.
• AI content: Google gave the nod to the capabilities of AI-generated content (Hi, ChatGPT!) but it also reminded website owners that the content still needs to be relevant and hold value - something mostly achieved by human hands. So, your AI content may not be penalised if it doesn’t “game the system”, but it still needs to be helpful!
• Third-party content: If you host third-party content, Google wants to remind you that it shouldn’t dim the light of how helpful your website is overall. Third-party content will be viewed more negatively by Google if it doesn’t reflect the main purpose of your site. Google recommends that you don’t index third-party content.

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💻 Practical Tips To Not Be Impacted

There is no point fighting it - I don’t personally know of anyone who has ever gone up against Google and won.

But resisting the latest algorithm update won’t do you any good. It’s time to embrace the change. Here are some helpful, practical guidelines to ensure your content meets Google’s standards:

🥇Create really valuable content

Like I said above: people first! People want to read and engage with content that adds something to their lives.

Always begin with your audience and their search intent in mind. What are they looking for? And how can your content help answer their digital dilemmas or provide solutions to their problems?

But, we know “valuable” is a subjective term. What has value for me, does not have value for you. For that reason, you always need to keep the readers’ intent in mind, and aim to answer their questions promptly and succinctly.

Rich results (like featured snippets and local packs) are also going to come into play (even more so than before). Google’s AI integrations are going to scan sites and lift out the core, relevant information. These bits of info will then be served to readers as rich results.

So not only must your content be valuable, but the way you structure your answers to reader’s queries is key too.

🤖 SEO best practices

Despite the shift, SEO (both on- and off-page as well as technical SEO) remains your friend after the algorithm update, despite SEO-first content losing some ranking power. But, even if you have a lot of link juice (which becomes less relevant with this update) and include all the top keywords in your content, SEO just can’t replace the actual helpfulness of your content.

With the new update, link relevance will take precedence over link authority.

🫂 Embracing AI

AI is the future, and it’s time to embrace it wholeheartedly. But, by embracing it I don’t mean allowing it to take over. Yes, you can use AI to write articles - but these articles often lack real value and tend to be repetitive, incorrect, and full of snippets of what is already out there on the web.

Use AI to research and guide you, but be the captain of your own ship.

Speaking of AI, you can also use it to validate your helpfulness! By giving AI a thorough prompt (like the one pictured below), you can ask AI to check if your content is original, helpful, trustworthy… you can even ask it to give you a score out of 10!

I used this prompt on this newsletter to test it out, and got very good feedback on the content - it is clear that we need to embrace the benefits that AI can offer us.

If you don’t want to come up with your own prompt, you can always use Google’s Content Assessment Questions to check your content - or ask AI to do it for you.

The most important thing when you embrace AI is to still remember your brand voice and also who your audience is and what they need.

🩹 Recovering From The Update

If the worst happened - an almost overnight drop in traffic and rankings - don’t fret! You can still recover from it and retake your spot on the SERPs. But, sadly, there are no quick fixes and it can take weeks or months to see a positive change.

It will be a bit of a tedious process, but it can be done! Here’s how:

🔍 Become an expert

It is time to dive into the archives! The reason you’re seeing a drop in traffic is because your current content is just not up to Google’s (new) standards.

For that reason, you have to analyse what you’ve already put out onto the World Wide Web.

You need to remember that Google is no longer looking for search engine optimised content - it is looking for human-optimised content!

You also need to keep Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines in mind while creating and reading your content. Who created it (author pages and qualifications are key!), why was it created, and how was it created? What was the intention? Does it have value, reflect a good level of expertise, and demonstrate that you are trustworthy?

It’s all about originality here!

You need to be a voice that stands out (but don’t be shouting nonsense). Provide info beyond the obvious. Add additional value not found in the content of your competitors.

Once you’ve gone through all your content and identified where it is lacking, you better get cracking and start updating what you’ve posted online, or remove that unhelpful content completely.

Google has even created its own guide to guide you on how to create content that ranks - The Content Assessment Questions I linked to above.

👍 Create content with first-hand experiences

Whether redoing your current content or starting anew, it’s crucial that your content is not only original and helpful, but that it contains first-hand expertise!

Meaning, don’t just repeat what you read elsewhere; instead share your own experiences, opinions, and insights.

Your readers aren’t dumb, they will quickly be able to tell whether you’re being truthful or not. But, understandably, no one can be an expert on every topic - and that’s okay!

So, how can you convince your readers that you are an expert? By using personal experience and giving tidbits that only someone in the know will… know!

For example, say you’re writing about the best beaches in Bali. There is lots of standard info on these places available online, like what to do there, nearby hotels and restaurants, and where to rent surfboards. But only someone who’s really been there will know how tough it is to find a parking spot, or how overwhelmingly busy the beach got by 5 p.m.

Now that’s real, helpful information!

You can still do your own research - across different sources and platforms - and share what you’ve learned.

👑 Focus on your primary purpose

Every article you publish should have a primary purpose or objective.

For example, a recipe blog’s purpose is to help people cook. A travel blog helps to make vacation decisions easier.

Having a clear purpose in mind when you write your content will help you create helpful content that your readers will engage with and Google will love.

In the past, you might have performed well if you covered lots of different topics (hey, one might land after all!) but no longer - you need to focus on one primary objective.

👯Write for your audience

You can’t please everyone, and you shouldn’t try to!

This tip is in line with the ones above - but you need to ALWAYS keep in mind who you are writing for. Your content will not be very useful or helpful if you’re trying to write it for the masses.

There’s no point in writing about trending topics “just because”. Write with your clan/followers/buyers in mind (a keyword research tool is helpful here). Figure out their pain points and interests, and tailor your content to help them. You will not only improve your rankings but also your conversions!

❓Answer the questions

Google has made it very clear that the content they aim to promote is content that actually answers a user’s search query.

Once someone has read your content, are all their questions completely answered? Can they now go out into the world and achieve their goal?

Or will your readers click away from your page and search elsewhere?

It’s important that you create complete and comprehensive answers, to make sure your blog is really helpful!

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😙Wrapping Up

Initially, it may have been a shock to see your traffic fall away as the helpful content algorithm update rolled out, but it’s okay - you can still fix it.

By remembering to produce people-first (NOT SEO FIRST!) content that is genuinely helpful, you will be able to navigate through Google’s latest update.

If you have any first-hand experience with dealing with the repercussions of the helpful content update, we’d love to hear it!

Until next time,

Adri and Ian

Head of Proofreading / Content Writer

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