Helpful content updates from Google that content marketers should know

Don't worry about Google. Google is always changing. There are new updates every time you turn your head, and it seems the marketer and his SEO need to adjust their strategies accordingly.

In August 2022, Google released its latest search algorithm update called the Helpful Content Update. This update uses new machine learning algorithms to remove useless content that appears to rank higher on search engine result pages instead of actually providing information or helping searchers. Identify According to Google, the update is "part of a broader effort to surface more original and helpful content written by people for people in search results."

So, in the face of this new algorithm update, how can you help your content rank higher?

5 Tips for Creating Helpful Content

Google's useful content updates ultimately reward those who provide a good user experience and quality information. Practice these tips to create purposeful content.

1. Put people first. When developing content and providing an engaging experience for your visitors, you must think of people first. To help with this, we've shared a list of questions to ask yourself before publishing.

Do you have an intended or existing audience that you think would be helpful if the content came directly to you? Does your content demonstrate direct expertise and depth of knowledge?

Does your content make readers feel they've learned enough to reach their goals? Do readers feel they had a satisfying experience after reading your content? Are you implementing Google's policy on core updates and product reviews??If you answered yes to these questions, you are on the right track.

2. Don't create content for search engines first. After reading Tip 1, it goes without saying that I would like to reiterate that creating content for search engines in the first place is a mistake. Google can determine which content is actually helping visitors and which content is keyword stuffing in hopes of ranking higher in search results.?

So how do you avoid a search engine-centric approach? Google also provides a list of questions about this.

Do you want to create content on Scattershot topics and expect it to rank high in search results?

Do you rely heavily on automation to create content on various topics?

Do you mainly summarize what others are saying without conveying much-added value?

Don't you write about topics because they seem trendy, or else you write about them?

Does your content require readers to do a different search to get better information? I heard?Google prefers a certain number of characters, so do you write the content of a certain length? Did you decide to write about a niche topic you don't have expertise in because you thought you could get search traffic??If you answered yes to any of these questions, you probably need to rethink your content strategy.

3. Think about how your content is structured.? A surefire way to frustrate your visitors and provide them with an unhelpful experience is to post cluttered content that is hard to navigate. To do your best and make sure?your?visitors?find the valuable content they're looking for, ask yourself the following questions:

Can visitors easily find the most important information? Are there bullets, callouts, or other formatting features that make content more accessible? Are the font sizes legible and do you provide old text for all graphics or images so that visitors using screen readers can interact with the content they can interact with? If you answered yes to these questions, you are on the right track.

?4. Check the technical performance of your website. If your website is not performing well - slow loading, visitors leaving the site too soon, etc. — Google concludes that your website and content do not provide a good experience for visitors. To let Google know that your website offers useful and engaging content, we need to monitor and improve our website's technical services.?Consider the following.

After visiting her website, do visitors have to wait a long time for the page to load??Do visitors quickly leave your site without navigating to other pages to further explore your content? Are your visitors spending very little time on her website pages??If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should review your site and improve its performance.

5. Put yourself in your visitor's shoes.?To provide your visitors with a truly useful and engaging experience, you need to put yourself in their shoes and consider how they perceive your website and its content. Zoom out and think about what annoys people coming to your site.

As you evaluate how visitors experience your site, ask yourself the following questions:

Are there any intrusive pop-ups that distract your visitors while navigating your website? When a visitor navigates to the top navigation bar, does your website assume they are leaving the site and block the screen with a popup telling them not to leave the site?

Are there visuals, text colours, etc. that make the site difficult to read?

Isn't it hard for visitors to easily find what they're looking for and navigate to find out more??If you answered yes to any of these questions, review your site. and note any updates or revisions that improve your visitor experience.

Honestly, given Google's informative content updates, its marketers who are already creating relevant and informative content for their audience may not need to change much. However, let this article serve as a hunch test to ensure that this update hasn't negatively impacted your content marketing results.?