What does the Google Helpful Content Update Mean for You?

10.28.2022 01:01 AM Comment(s)

You may have heard about the recent Google helpful content update. I've seen quite a lot of concern about its potential ramifications online, so I thought I'd share some insights on how to make the transition and why.

Hint: it's not just to protect or ensure your site ranks well in Google searches, although that's certainly important. Instead, it's about becoming an authority in your niche, community or industry. You want to be the go-to for what you do.

What is the Google helpful content update?

The purpose of the update is to make it more likely for searchers find what they are looking for in searches. What is their intent? That needs to match your content.

This is a good thing! (Especially for me because my whole business is about how to create content to warm prospects toward sales and encourage referrals. Muahaha, no bias here! 😉) Intent traffic is super valuable.

Google released this post explaining what the helpful content update means for creators. You should read it, but it's a bit technical and says more about what you shouldn't do than what you should.

So I thought I'd share some highlights from an awesome Twitter thread by SEO expert Jeremy Moser of uSERP. He walks through why the update is a good thing and how to implement the changes. Enjoy!

Google cares about your brand. About trust and authority. They care about reputation and consensus from other big websites saying you're legit, too.

And keyword-driven content isn't always enough to fuel it...
— Jeremy Moser (@jmoserr) September 12, 2022

Create content focused on building a brand and driving branded searches — not just keyword-based listicles.

People don’t want to link/share/promote “XX best workflow tools.”

They want to link, share, and promote things like:
— Jeremy Moser (@jmoserr) September 12, 2022

1. Research reports with reputable data
2. Opinion pieces + thought-provoking takes
3. Pattern interruption content
4. Actionable step-by-step teachings
5. New ideas, strategies, tactics, that haven't been around for decades
6. The company story!
— Jeremy Moser (@jmoserr) September 12, 2022

Content for the purpose of brand might not target any major keywords. It might not drive tons of organic traffic

But it can earn you great links, shares, and press in your niche that build a real brand

A brand that people actively search for by your name, not by "CRM tool"
— Jeremy Moser (@jmoserr) September 12, 2022

Don't stop creating keyword-driven content that helps searchers.

START thinking outside the box with new content pieces that might not drive keyword traffic and instead will drive links, PR, and make ranking for everything else 100x easier.
— Jeremy Moser (@jmoserr) September 12, 2022