Google has announced that it is ready to drill down on low-quality search results. A new search update rolling out for English-speaking users new week will “make it easier for people to find helpful content by, and for, people,” says Google.
Helpful Content Update
Starting next week, Google will be rolling out their ‘Helpful Content Update’, which, according to Google, is to “better ensure people see more original, helpful content written by people, for people, rather than content made primarily for search engine traffic.”
How the update works
According to Google, their systems will automatically identify content that seems to have little value, low-added value or is otherwise not particularly helpful to those doing searches. Any content content on a website that is determined to have a relatively high amount of unhelpful content is less likely to perform well in Search, with the assumption that other, more helpful content exists elsewhere on the web.
As said by Google:
“This classifier process is entirely automated, using a machine-learning model. It is not a manual action nor a spam action. Instead, it’s just a new signal and one of many signals Google evaluates to rank content.
This means that some people-first content on sites classified as having unhelpful content could still rank well, if there are other signals identifying that people-first content as helpful and relevant to a query. The signal is also weighted; sites with lots of unhelpful content may notice a stronger effect. In any case, for the best success, be sure you’ve removed unhelpful content and also are following all our guidelines.
This update impacts English searches globally to begin with and we plan to expand to other languages in the future. Over the coming months, we will also continue refining how the classifier detects unhelpful content and launch further efforts to better reward people-first content.”
How to create content going forward
So, what should you do going forward to avoid seeing a dip in rankings due to unhelpful content? Google advises that content should be written for people first, and not search engines.
Content created for people first focuses on creating satisfying content, while also utilising SEO best practices. If you can answer yes to the below questions, that means you’re on the right track to creating quality, people-first content:
- Will someone reading the content you’ve written leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
- Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge?
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came to you directly?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- Are you keeping in mind Google’s guidance?
