As a Healthcare and NDIS Marketing Agency, we always strive to improve the Google-Friendly digital marketing performance of our clients. As digital marketing constantly changes, we need to be on top of these changes to offer expert marketing services, and provide our clients with the latest tools.
At the beginning of August 2022, Google announced an algorithm update. We have seen updates from Google before, but this was a little different. In a good way.
It was different because we are used to hearing highly technical updates from Google. But this time, they came up with an update that anyone can understand just by looking at the update’s name!
The name sounds straightforward: Helpful Content Update. No panda, penguin, hummingbird and all that nerdy updates. You see this update and immediately start thinking that helpful content will be rewarded, and yes, that is what it is all about.
Google finally decided to reward contents that were not written for the search engines in the first place! This update got so much attention that social media and marketing blogs flooded with helpful content and what it means.
Let’s face it; Google can be of the best channels to grow businesses organically. But it is not easy to rank for desired terms without serious SEO effort, as the competition is high. But at least with the update, Google literally announced that they would favour unique content creators.
How to create helpful content Google loves in 4 Steps
Now that we covered some background information on Google updates let’s talk about how to create that helpful content Google loves. Hopefully, with this update, well-written, unique content can rank better than it used to. Here are the vitals if you want to rank in Google fast.
1. Choose Your Expertise
Google favours specific sites already, and this became even more important with the helpful content update. Whether you create generic or specific content, Google tries to put you into a niche. This process gets complex if you cover a wide range of topics; if you are specific, it becomes much more manageable for Google. Let’s say that you have a blog on fishing. You might be thinking a blog on fishing is specific enough. Sure, it is but not in the search engine algorithm world. You have to get specific within Fishing, such as spin fishing, inshore fishing, bait fishing, shore jigging etc. The same applies to a digital marketing agency. It would be harder to rank for all digital marketing terms but easier when you niche down to, say, Google ads. When you make life easier for Google, Google does the same.
2. Write Your Experience
In the content writing world, there are many ways to create content. Some of us can write content easily based on our first-hand experience. Alternatively, some writers research the topic and create a piece from here and there. The second form of writing has never been organic ranking friendly, and now with this update, it will be pointless. Because now, we are looking for content that will actually help people find answers to their questions.
When someone writes an article with the sole purpose of SEO in mind, that is not going to help anybody. Moreover, there is one more downside to the research and write technique. All content looks the same because the sources are pretty much the same. Why would Google rank this type of content on her first page when real experts write a bunch of unique content?
3. Use a Content Framework
Once you figure out the topic and target keyword, you should be able to decide on a content framework that will help your readers understand the topic even better. Content frameworks are different types of content, such as an expanded list post, go-to guidebook, or awards bait. You can find the details of these frameworks in the Content Led SEO course by Brian Dean. You should use these content frameworks because these are tried and tested content types that rank well on Google. Using a content framework also makes your life easier as a content writer since it is easier to write when the structure is predefined.
4. Don’t Stop Optimising
Last but not least, we would like to discuss optimising your content for search engines. With the helpful content update, Google tells us not to over optimise our content for the search engines. There are two sides to this.
Off-page optimisation like buying links from spammy sites will be punished more than ever.
We must however not neglect on-page optimisation. On-page optimisation is still the bread and butter of ranking on Google. Choosing a focus keyword, including relevant internal and external links, optimising headings and all that stuff still works like a charm. If your content is optimised on-page, Google will spend less on crawling and finding it. That is key to higher rankings. Are you not ranking well on Google? Do you want to write compelling content? Or you just liked this piece of content? We are here to help with any SEO for NDIS and Healthcare and Medical business challenges you might have. Call us today, and we will guide you through your helpful content challenges.
