Good Storytelling Is Crucial for Marketing
Shortcuts are bad, but lazy marketers don't learn. Here's why you should learn from their mistakes and invest in good storytelling instead.
Google’s Helpful Content Update - 6 More SEO Tips to Tackle It!
Even More Tips and Tricks
Google's Helpful Content Update
Google’s Helpful Content Update has content writers and SEO strategists in a frenzy and is a very hot subject right now.
SERPs are in flux and websites are scrambling to fix the issues with their content to get their ranks back. While the update itself looks and sounds very complicated, the fix is very easy. You can view Google’s blog post about the update here.
So, continuing from our earlier post about the update, here’s another quick list of 6 actionable tips to help your website rank again!
Make Helpful Content for People!
As Google points out in their Developer Blog post, while your content should follow these SEO best practices, it must put people first. The questions they’ve asked here are a great way to ensure that the content we publish on our websites is actually for people instead of Google.
These work with the first set of questions to help you assess your content better. If your answer to any of these is yes, follow our actionable advice to remedy it now!
IS THE CONTENT PRIMARILY TO ATTRACT PEOPLE FROM SEARCH ENGINES, RATHER THAN MADE FOR HUMANS?
If you create content for humans, it will read very differently from content created around keywords meant to rank well on search engines. Traditionally, content was stuffed full of long and short-tail keywords that delivered little to no value to the audience. It would rarely explain your services or product features well. The easy fix for this is to create the content your audience needs instead.
ARE YOU PRODUCING LOTS OF CONTENT ON DIFFERENT TOPICS IN HOPES THAT SOME OF IT MIGHT PERFORM WELL IN SEARCH RESULTS?
If your content is all over the place, it won’t rank well and simply won’t feel cohesive. It must be focused on your niche and industry. If you are offering a product or service that caters to a specific industry, your content needs to be relevant for that industry. If your website looks and feels like a news website full of random, irrelevant bits of information and fluff, it will not rank. Google’s algorithms de-rank such websites very quickly.
Are You Using Extensive Automation to Produce “Helpful Content” on Many Topics?
There’s so much buzz around about using AI to create content, art, and graphics, but Google doesn’t really like it that much. Using AI-generated content to game the system is an easy way to get flagged and de-ranked. AI makes life easier but it’s easy to spot and rarely any good. Most of the time, you’ll end up with robotic content that won’t deliver value to your audience. It won’t read well either. The easy way to fix this is to use AI to develop a list of relevant, focused subjects to write about but hire actual writers to create that content. This way, you get the best of both worlds, and Google won’t flag your website either.
Google's Helpful Content Update is Great!
Now, now! Hear me out before you smash your screen with your keyboard!
This new update might be wreaking havoc on your website traffic right now, but this is a great opportunity to rework your SEO strategy to align with more human-centric and audience-focused content.
One simple shift of mindset, and not only will you be making better content, but your audience will love you as well!
ARE YOU MAINLY SUMMARIZING WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY WITHOUT ADDING MUCH VALUE?
We’ve all been guilty of this at some point in time. Luckily though, this is easy to fix. Taking inspiration from other resources is very common in content creation, and one can argue about originality is just a myth or that it’s rarely worth it. However, the truth is that everyone takes inspiration from somewhere to create something new. That is perfectly fine and acceptable. However, recreating or summarizing someone’s work never sits well with their algorithms. Lazy work is easy to spot. So, why not put in a tiny bit more effort and focus on delivering value? Properly answering a question that your audience is asking in a meaningful and satisfying way is always better.
DOES YOUR CONTENT LEAVE READERS FEELING LIKE THEY NEED TO SEARCH AGAIN TO GET BETTER INFORMATION FROM OTHER SOURCES?
Content should always answer questions your audience is asking in a meaningful way and Google’s Helpful Content Update reinforces this. If you’re creating content that isn’t going to satisfy your audience’s questions, you’re not doing it right. The difference between good and bad content is that the former always does the job properly and completely. If your reader feels like you haven’t completely answered their question, they are far less likely to return to your website. High bounce rates are bad!
If you want them to stick around, make sure you answer their questions and satisfy them properly. The best way to do this is to keep it engaging, free of fluff, and simple. Most importantly, always write from experience.
ARE YOU WRITING TO A PARTICULAR WORD COUNT BECAUSE YOU'VE HEARD OR READ THAT GOOGLE HAS A PREFERRED WORD COUNT?
One of the biggest myths we’ve ever come across in the industry is that Google has a preferred word length. Sure, long-form content does sometimes rank better but that’s because you get to cover a topic in much more detail. If it isn’t written well, even it won’t rank. I’ve personally seen shorter pieces rank much better because they were that good. A 350-word blog post can rank on SERPS just as well as a 3500-word one, if it’s relevant, helpful, and informative.
Does the Update Ensure We’ll Make Helpful Content?
Content writing and search engine optimization are a lot more complicated now than they used to be but in a very positive way. While it makes our jobs a lot harder, it makes it easier for people to find real and useful information that they do need. This makes content writing more worthwhile because your work can make someone’s life a bit easier. So, let’s earn our keep and put in the tiny bit of extra effort needed for better content.
If you’re still not sure about it and want to do away with the hassle altogether, get in touch with us today to see how we can help you. We offer a range of content creation services that include SEO content.
So, let’s tell your story better.
Author:
Master of Storytelling
Weaving brand magic with decade and a half of experience in marketing, branding, and content.
Kashif Malim is the Master of Storytelling at Fundamentally Content. He weaves intricate, inspiring, and captivating stories that help bring brands to life. Stories have the power to bring people together, to help us surpass language and communication barriers, and to connect with others wherever they might be. Kashif helps our clients find their unique voices and build intriguing narratives to tell their stories better and connect with their audience in a more meaningful way.
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