Do you see any changes in your content rankings? That’s probably because of Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content Update, which wrapped up on September 28, exactly two weeks after Google’s Search team rolled it out.
The Helpful Content System is a set of Google’s ranking factors that “better reward content where visitors feel they’ve had a satisfying experience.”
This update isn’t as vague as the August 2023 broad core update, though, since Google’s help documents clarified how the company’s algorithms will assess the helpfulness of your content in three facets:
- Third-party content: Google will process third-party content you host on your website to determine the helpfulness of your content. This means that if these third-party content are irrelevant to the purpose of your website, your ranking may take a hit.
- Back-****** and removing pages: If you’re manipulating the dates your content was posted or removing old pages to seem “fresh,” Google suggests you stop. Its updated help document warns that this is a search engine-first strategy you must avoid. We’ve previously covered a statement made by the Search Liaison last August 2023 to address the issue of content pruning. This update just makes things more official.
- AI-generated content: You have to read between the lines for this, but Google’s updated guidelines imply a shift in its attitude toward AI-generated content. While subtle, this is in line with its other help documents and the statements of the Google Search team in recent months.
Google’s updates are tracked in this status dashboard. Recovering from the helpful content update is very simple. In a nutshell, you need to follow the same guidelines and steps as before but also ensure that any content is well-written and valuable, whether AI-generated or not.
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