On 9th September 2022, Google confirmed that Helpful Content Update has rolled out. It took two weeks to complete the roll-out. According to this Algorithm, people’s first content will be rewarded and the content written for search engines will be devalued. There are so many ways to find out whether your content passes the terms and conditions of “people- first”. Here, we are going to mention seven important things that you need to consider while creating content to make it “people-first”:
1. Stay Focused On Your Main Topic
It is imperative to have useful content on your website for your targeted audience. The existing or intended audience should be able to find useful information on your website. Now, Google wants everyone to stay inside the area of expertise.
While creating content, the creator should keep in mind that it is important to create articles related to their niche. For example, if your website is related to the recipe sports gadgets, but you see the opportunity to bring traffic to your website through a high-volume keyword related to kitchen gadgets. And, you start creating content by using kitchen gadgets-related keywords. You may get traffic, but the audience will not find your content useful because they are here for kitchen gadgets. But, they will find sports gadgets on your website.
The content creators should ask a few questions from themselves before posting their content:
- Whether this content is to attract an audience from search engines it is created for humans?
- Does your content explain things to your new and existing audience?
- Whether you have real expertise in the topic over which you have written the content or do you want to drive traffic by writing random articles?
2. Show First-Hand Experience
Find out whether your content shows first-hand experience and in-depth details. For instance, the content that demonstrates the expertise that comes from actually using the product or service, or doing something.
Google wants people to show something that they have personally experienced. Earlier, the creation of content was done for search engines only. Thus, content creators used to write about the products or services that they have not used even once. These kinds of articles usually contain an affiliated link for earning a commission from the author. As the author does not have real experience using that product or service, therefore, the content might not be as helpful as it could be.
If you want to make your content helpful, then write about the product or service, or place that you have experienced. You need to try to make things clear by uploading original pictures.
3. Never Combine Multiple Topics Into One Site
Make sure your site is primarily focused on one topic. Google wants that you should choose a specific topic for your website and target that specific niche. By targeting multiple topics on one website, you will not be able to help your visitors.
It is not just unhelpful for the visitors but also confuses search engines as well. Try to create your website around a specific subject. If you want to create content for multiple niches, then you should create different websites. Along with this, Google also want you to ask a question yourself- Are you producing plenty of content in hope that some of them will bring the audience to your website?
4. Provide Adequate Answers To Queries Of Searchers
Another important thing that you need to determine is whether your content help readers to get collect helpful information on a specific topic. While creating content, you should ensure that your content teaches something useful or readers and help them to accomplish their task.
Content creation for search engines is just about writing meaningless and valueless sentences. You need to write content for people and you should try to solve their queries through your content. Google suggests asking a question yourself- Does your content make your readers satisfied or they do need to search again to get better information?
If you have heard that Google has a preferred word count, then let me clarify to you that it is a myth. So, stop writing to meet specific word counts and start producing valuable content.
5. Don’t Neglect The Overall Reader Experience
Always try to create content that can make your readers satisfied. Google suggests every content creator think about the overall experience of the reader while creating content. You may meet all the above criteria and still not be able to provide a satisfying experience to the readers. Yes, it is possible!
For example, just reading a review of a previous customer on the website without any picture or video of that product may not give a satisfying experience to the reader. Though searchers love the textual description, adding pictures or videos would complete their experience. So, keep in mind that you need to fulfill searchers’ needs and demands and end their search at your website. Make sure that they do not leave for your competitors.
6. Never Answer A Question For Which You Aren’t Sure
You should never create content to answer a question that does not has an answer. For example, suggesting a release date of the movie when it is not confirmed. Google cautions these websites for providing fake content. You should make it clear to the reader if your content is related to something inconclusive. Complying with the Helpful Content Update, it is recommended to maintain readers’ trust.
7. Follow Guidelines For All Major Updates
Always follow the guidelines given by google for core updates and product reviews. The guidelines given by Google for other major updates are equally important in the case of a Helpful Content Update. If you are already following all these kinds of advice, then there is a high probability that you will be benefitted from the latest helpful content update.
Final Notes
The Helpful Content Update of Google is rolled out. It will affect all English searches in the world. In the future, it will expand to other languages as well. Google is always trying to it has been trying it refine searches and provide helpful content to users by removing unhelpful information.