It’s been a long time coming, but Google recently launched its new “helpful content” update. This change is designed to make it easier for search engines to understand the context of your content, so people can be more appreciative of quality content and less likely to share spammy content.
Google is making it harder for you to make your content more helpful. But Google makes little sense and most of what you write doesn’t really have any “value” unless someone wants your blog post on their Facebook page or shares it with their friends.
After all, Google wants you to create content for humans and not search engines.
Since no one wants to read the same thing over and over again, so Google has updated the algorithm to favor sites that are helpful, mobile-friendly, informative, interesting, and visually appealing.
What is helpful content?
There’s no surefire answer to what exactly Google deems as helpful content. However, there are some key things you can do to make your content more likely to be seen as helpful by the search engine. For one, focus on creating informative and keyword-rich content that is original and well-written.
Additionally, structure your articles in an easily digestible format with headlines and subheadings. Finally, be sure to promote your content through social media and other channels to help increase its reach. By following these tips, you can create content that is not only helpful to your readers but also more likely to rank high in Google search results.
Although the internet is vast and we only know of a small percentage of sites out there, there are some ways you can ensure that your site makes sense in the digital world. Here’s what Google classifies as helpful content!
Only write what you know
One of the most common pieces of copywriting advice that I see online is “write about what you know.”
If you’re serious about writing fiction or nonfiction, then it’s a good idea to start with something that you know. Writing about something you know helps to ground your story and characters because you understand them in some way.
Writing based on personal experience also means that you have much more motivation and willingness to work hard on your project than someone who has never been through anything similar.
To write well, you need to be able to filter your knowledge and ideas so they fit within the context of the story you’re trying to tell. Writing what you know is an excellent way to find elements of your stories that will resonate with your reader, making them feel as if they are experiencing the same things at the same time.
Writing what you know is a powerful writing exercise. For example, many novels are set in America’s past, which makes sense since American history is full of adventure and fierce conflict. The same can be said for the world that readers live in today. Writing about countries you know well might make your characters feel more real to readers who may have never traveled or lived there before.
Focus your content on a specific industry or niche
Google’s aim is to help users find the information they are looking for, but they do not want to have to sift through a pile of pages to find what they need. Google loves it when you’re flexible, but they also don’t like it if you write too much about the same topic or try to be a jack of all trades.
As Google stated in the past, they prefer that you don’t create lots of content on different topics. It makes it easier for them to find and index your content. So when deciding on what to focus on, pick a specific industry or niche that you know about, and make sure all of your content will fit nicely together in this area.
Make sure your content is executable
Your content should be precise, detailed, and actionable. If someone reads your content and they don’t have a specific takeaway and they don’t know what to do next, you’re failing with your content then.
Your content needs to be executable. You want your content to be so easy for someone else to put into action that they don’t even need to read the rest of the article.
For example, if someone reads your content and they don’t have a specific takeaway and they don’t know what to do next, then you might have failed with your content.
The more that your content is actionable, the better it is. You should have a goal with each article and what you want to achieve through all of your content. Also make sure you have a call to action at the end (a resource, a link to another blog post being displayed after the article, etc.).
Continually update your content
It’s no secret that Google loves fresh, relevant content. That’s why it’s important to continually update your website with new blog posts, articles, product pages, and other types of content. Not only will this help improve your SEO, but it will also keep visitors coming back for more.
You don’t assume that if you write a piece of content it will keep getting traffic. Things change over time, and when they do, you need to update your content with new and better information so users can get what they want from your content.
So how often should you be updating your content? There’s no magic number, but a good rule of thumb is to aim for at least once a week. If you can’t commit to that, try at least once a month. And if you really want to see results, aim for multiple times per week.
The key is to find a rhythm that works for you and your team. Once you get into the habit of regularly publishing new content, you’ll start to see the benefits in terms of traffic and engagement.
Do your keyword research
Before you create any type of content, it’s important that you do your keyword research. This will help you understand what people are searching for online, and how you can create content that meets their needs.
There are a few different ways to do keyword research. One is to use Google’s Keyword Planner tool, which is free to use. Simply enter in a few relevant keywords and the tool will show you how many people are searching for those terms each month.
Another way to do keyword research is to use a paid service like Moz or SEMrush. These services provide detailed data on keyword searches, including related keywords and search trends over time.
Once you’ve done your keyword research, you’ll need to choose which keywords to target in your content. Try to choose keywords that are relevant to your topic and have a decent amount of monthly searches. But don’t worry if you can’t find perfect keywords; simply choose the ones that make the most sense for your content and audience.
Conclusion
Google values quality content that is both informative and helpful. By understanding what Google considers to be helpful content, you can create SEO-friendly content that meets their guidelines.
This will help improve your website’s ranking in search engine results pages, as well as provide valuable information for your readers. With a little bit of effort, you can create the kind of helpful content that Google loves and reap the rewards from increased visibility and engagement with customers.
