For SEO to have a real impact, you need to create helpful content. But what exactly does that mean? And how do you create content that Google sees as ‘helpful’?
We’ve put together this guide to answer common questions on Google’s Helpful Content Update and how to incorporate helpful content into your content marketing strategy.
What is Google’s Helpful Content Update?
There are four certainties in life – birth, death, taxes and Google algorithm updates.
When it comes to content, Google wants the articles, blog posts and videos that are most useful for users ranking at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), rather than content that has just been written to rank well.
The Helpful Content Update was launched in mid-2022 to ensure ‘people-first content’ ranks the highest in Google, with further updates rolled out in December 2022 and September 2023 to fine-tune it.
The algorithm update is designed to prevent people from cheating the system by creating poor quality content or AI-generated content that ranks well in search engines because it is well optimised.
What is Helpful Content?
Helpful content is content that would still be useful and of interest to your customers if it wasn’t online.
It is written for people first, rather than for search engines.
Helpful content demonstrates first-hand experience or expertise on the subject, it is written by someone who is an authority on the topic and the information is provided by a trustworthy source – either an individual or a business.
People-first content is written:
- With the user in mind
- To add value through expert commentary or advice
- To provide new information on the topic
Helpful content is not content that has been written just to rank well in Google or that has been rewritten from another source.
How to create helpful content
Understanding the user’s journey through the purchase funnel and through your website is essential for creating helpful content.
The customer journey typically consists of three stages:
Awareness > Consideration > Decision
Your website should feature content that supports users at every stage of this journey. For example, blog posts that answer frequently asked questions on the topic, customer case studies and advice on overcoming issues or challenges. These can all be considered helpful content in the eyes of Google when written and optimised correctly.
Tips for writing helpful content
- Matches the user’s search intent – they find information that is relevant to the keyword they have searched
- Demonstrates expertise – the author has in-depth knowledge and experience on the topic
- Provides something new – the content doesn’t just include the same information as other blogs on the topic
- Helps the user make a decision – provides value, offers a comparison, includes third party testimonial
- Points the user to other relevant resources or actions – includes links to blog posts on similar topics, or to a contact page
How does content marketing help SEO?
Google uses many ranking signals to determine where your website will appear in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This includes how quickly the pages of your website load, how many backlinks it has and the keywords it is optimised for.
Websites that are regularly updated with relevant optimised content and gain backlinks overtime are much more likely to rank on page one of Google.
We recommend creating a content calendar that covers the key topics of your business and is based on user search behaviour. It should include a mix of evergreen and trending topics, and be written to entertain, inspire, educate or convince users.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content is optimised for keywords that are commonly searched by users, so it stays relevant and useful for users over a long period of time.
The key benefit of evergreen content is that it requires little maintenance, so once it’s published it will gain visibility in Google and traffic over time.
Types of evergreen content include:
- FAQs e.g. ‘What is helpful content according to Google?’ or ‘20 FAQs on content marketing’
- Guides e.g. ‘Choosing an SEO agency’, or sector specific advice such as ‘Digital marketing tactics for logistics companies’
- How-to articles e.g. ‘How to create a PR strategy’, or ‘How to add a 301 redirect in WordPress’
Trending content
Trending content is optimised for keywords and phrases that are timely and gaining traction. This could be in relation to an event in the news, new legislation or industry talking points, or even the latest TikTok trends.
The key benefits are that you can position yourself as an authority, by talking on the topic before your competitors, and reach new audiences. However, it does require you to be fast and reactive with the content you create to ensure your website captures traffic when searches for the topic peak.
Examples of trending content include:
- Industry predictions, e.g. future AI, Google, social media platforms
- Reactions to news or trending topics, e.g. Christmas TV ads, crisis comms responses, fake news
- National days or events, e.g. International Women’s Day, Earth Day, Olympics
Not sure what’s trending? Take a look at Google Trends or TikTok Trends to find out what content people are currently searching for. But remember to only create content that is relevant to your business. Learn more about using TikTok creator search insights to create content that users are actively searching for.
Looking for help with creating helpful content for your website? Find out more about our SEO services and how we can help your website rank better in Google.
