The Google September 2023 helpful content rollout took a shocking two weeks to complete. However, sources confirm that the project started on September 14th and was completed as of September 28th. After all of the anticipation and time to roll out this update package, consumers are eager to learn what they have gained. The benefits for users include:
Help For Sites With Third Party Content
If your site includes content from a third party, that content will now be used to evaluate the helpfulness of your site, independent of the main site’s purpose. Google has taken this step to allow sites using third party information to rank better due to the data as it pertains to your site rather than simply the original site where it resides.
Person VS. Machine Content Creation
Google removed the critical phrase “written by people.” The phrasing is “helpful content created for people in search results.” So there is no longer the same premium being placed on content that is written by people. This could challenge some sites that are dedicated to having human writers and content creators, while AI content creation gets a boost to rank as well as a human’s work.
A Self Help Tool
Google is not allowing you to self-assess your content to determine if it ranks poorly as helpful content. If that is the case, you can make fixes or remove any content that is not seen as beneficial to increase your results.
Google Now Catches Date Changers
In the past, it was common to change the date of content to appear new and fresh, when it was simply reposted more recently. Google has caught on to this ploy and is not asking if you have genuinely revised the content or are simply reposting it to increase ranking. The goal appears to be pointing out that this ploy is not a professional or viable SEO strategy.
Are You Adding Or Removing Content?
In an effort to assign the proper value to new and original content, Google is asking if you added new or removed old content to improve your search ranking. Again, loading fresh content that is original will get an increased ranking that cannot be earned from refreshed content.
What To Do If Your Rankings Are Not What You Hoped To Achieve
If your content is not getting the ranking you want, Google provides information to help get the ranking and value you want from your content. First, it mentions that even though the algorithms do not target specific information, there is a positive impact on information about online education information, arts and entertainment, shopping, and tech-related content.
It is also important to note that if your site has been hit due to the helpfulness of the content, it can take months for the changes and corrections you make to restore the site’s ranking. In addition, this update covers only English language Google searches at this time. However, there are plans to expand to other languages and other products like Google Discover.
To learn more about getting the most benefit from the content added to your site, contact the seasoned experts at Digital 1 for insight into our proven processes and strategies to get the most return on your investment in your Internet presence.