In the online world, Google plays a core role in how online users find the information they are looking for and how website owners get their sites in front of their target audiences. To help improve the quality of the information found on the Internet, Google rolls out a few updates a year that change how their search engines rank websites and deliver results to users.
The latest Google algorithm update was announced in August of 2022, and upon its announcement, website owners have speculated on how this will potentially affect their site rankings on SERPs. The significant speculation is attributed to how Google will change its ranking algorithm based on what they classify as “helpful content”.
For the average website owner, this might not seem like anything to worry about, as this seems like something you should worry about only if you’re concerned about SEO. However, this update is essential for anybody who has a website that they want to be seen by their target audience, as the lack of proper consideration for the new update in your website can drastically reduce site metrics.
While the new Helpful Content update is vital on the SEO level, you also have to understand that this is something that you need to think about for the entirety of your website, including how your website is designed and developed. To get you up to speed on this, here is what you need to know about the new Google algorithm update, how it can potentially affect your website, and what steps you can take to avoid penalties to your site.
What Does the New Google Update Mean For Me?
Essentially, Google is changing how its algorithms will rank websites based on the presence of what they deem “helpful content”. This can be anything from step-by-step instructions to product reviews and beyond. For website owners, this means that if you want your site to rank highly on SERPs, you need to have content that is not only keyword rich but also helpful to your target audience.
There is an emphasis on how implementing certain SEO practices will take a backseat to other factors, such as how applicable your content is to your target audience and how your content is structured.
This means that certain types of content can potentially help your site rank better on SERPs. However, in addition to content updates, there is also a focus on the user experience on your website. Essentially, there is a stronger focus on how the user finds value in your website from an expertise and knowledge standpoint.
While Google has always emphasized the user-first approach when implementing ranking strategies, this recent update has said upfront that it will negatively affect websites and content designed for SEO first, considering the user coming second. With this in mind, this isn’t to say that SEO strategy is meant to fly out the window; it means you need to bring the human element back to your website design and strategy.
How Will This Potentially Affect My Website?
The first and most obvious way is that your website’s rankings could potentially drop if you do not have helpful content on your site. If you want to maintain or improve your current rankings, it is essential to ensure that all of your website’s content is beneficial to your target audience in some way.
This means that you must emphasize creating content that is not only keyword rich but also informative, well-written, and easy to understand. If you have a blog on your website, make sure that each blog post provides value to the reader in some way.
Another possible way this update can affect your website is through the user experience on your site. Your rankings will likely suffer if you do not have a good user experience. Google wants to ensure that users can find what they are looking for on your site quickly and easily, without searching through mountains of irrelevant or useless content.
This means that your website needs to be designed in a way that is easy to navigate and use, with clear and concise information that is easy to find. If your website is difficult to use or understand, likely, users will leave and go to a competitor’s site instead.
What Steps Can I Take To Avoid Penalties On My Website?
Given all of the above information, it helps to take the steps needed to minimize the impact of the new update and help improve your site’s ranking moving forward. Here are some of the ways that you can take to avoid penalties to your site and improve your website ranking.
Of course, one of the most important things you must do is ensure that the content you choose to put out on your website is well-researched, well-written, and helpful to your target audience. This is the most important factor when ranking highly on SERPs, so ensuring that you put out the best content possible is essential.
Additionally, it would be best if you focused on creating a good user experience for your website visitors. As mentioned above, your website needs to provide users with a smooth and seamless user experience from start to finish.
As a website owner, one of the core responsibilities that you need to handle is to keep your website updated according to current site design standards. There are several ways that you can do this. One way is to perform a website audit regularly to assess your website’s backend for any design or functionality issues that may be present.
Your audit should also include checking for your site’s loading speed to ensure it does not take too long for your website to load for users. A fast-loading website is essential for a good user experience, as users are likely to click away from a site that takes too long to load.
Finally, it is essential to remember that the new Google algorithm update is not the end-all-be-all when ranking highly on SERPs. While it is necessary to take into consideration, other factors come into play as well. For example, backlinks are still an important ranking factor, so focusing on building quality backlinks to your site from high-authority websites is important.
Overall, the new Google update is something all website owners need to be aware of and consider when optimizing their site. By following the tips above, you can help reduce the impact of the update on your website and improve your ranking in SERPs moving forward.
