Summary
- In September 2023, Google released a Helpful Content Update, and my sites were affected significantly.
- Three of my websites experienced a drop in rankings and traffic due to this update.
- The update introduced a sitewide signal targeting content with little value or low added value, impacting search rankings.
- As a business owner, it's crucial to identify issues with content when updates like this occur to protect revenue and care for employees.
- This update impacted many businesses, not just mine, indicating a wider industry trend.
- To recover, focus on creating content that truly helps users and adds significant value to their searches.
Video
How To Take Action
I would suggest starting by reviewing your existing content to identify areas where you can add more value. Look for articles, blogs, or web pages that may not be providing enough useful information to the readers. Update them with relevant facts, practical tips, or detailed explanations that can genuinely help the audience.
A good way of doing this is by putting yourself in your readers' shoes. Ask yourself if the content answers common questions or solves problems people might have. Add real-life examples or case studies to make it more engaging and informative.
I recommend focusing on what your audience needs and tailoring content to fit these needs specifically. Explore current trends or frequently asked questions in your industry and create content that addresses those.
Additionally, keep your content fresh and regularly updated. This doesn't have to be time-consuming. Even small tweaks, like updating statistics or rephrasing sentences for clarity, can make a significant difference.
I would also suggest getting feedback from your audience. You can ask for comments or run quick polls to find out what they like or what they want to know more about. Use this feedback to guide your content improvements.
Lastly, remember that quality beats quantity. It's better to have a few strong, helpful pieces rather than a lot of content with little value. This strategy not only helps with search rankings but also builds trust and credibility with your audience.
Full Transcript
now I'm going to be dead honest here when the infamous September 2023 Google helpful content update hit my sites were not spared here's three of them getting kicked in the nuts right on that faithful day so as a business owner I had to figure out what was wrong we'd invested tons of money into these sites our Revenue was down and we had a lot of employees to look after and I wasn't the only one this Devastation happened industrywide to websites that Google once loved and now discarded because of reasons in The Helpful content documentation Google says this update introduces a new sitewide signal that we consider amongst many other signals for ranking web pages our systems automatically identify content that seems to have little value low added value or is otherwise not particularly helpful for those doing searches thanks for watching and remember to subscribe for more videos just like this one
