Google wants to reward your SEO… If you put in the work.
Google is launching a content update that “aims to better reward content where visitors feel they’ve had a satisfying experience.” Aka content for content’s sake is not going to help you meet your KPIs when it comes to improving your company or organization’s search engine optimization (SEO).
What does this mean exactly? Well… everyone, and I mean everyone needs to up their game.
Google moving in this direction is likely due to the massive content incursion we’ve seen from pretty much everyone under the sun… ultimately there is too much ‘stuff’ that does not provide enough value to the people engaging with it. Not to mention, the process of Google SEO ranking is not as cut and dry as you might think; in fact, there are over 200 ranking factors that contribute to your standing.
If you read Google’s “long-standing advice” for creating people-first content and feel gaslit like the rest of us, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
How to prepare for the future of optimization
TLDR: We don’t exactly know what you should expect in terms of content performance… No one really does.
Google, like any major corporation with influence on our success and failures, is pretty ambiguous. And, historically they tend to update their systems and let us know later. Ask for forgiveness not permission, right?
Realistically, if the content you and your organization or company are producing is aimed to educate, answer questions, engage human visitors, etc. Then, you likely will not see any extremely negative effects of this update.
SEO content for content’s sake that offers no unique perspective or value is going to start to tank. Content that delivers real value, even if not perfectly optimized, will get a boost, and those who will win will have content that is amazing and optimized.v
Expect to create people-first content, and start ASAP!
What is people-first content?
Google already considers site over-optimization in its ranking factors. And, Google is happy to penalize you for excessive keyword decoration, header tag stuffing, keyword flooding, and more. This new update, however, steers away from the fairly standard “happy middle” of creating good content and ensuring it ranks well with SEO.
According to Google, in order to create people-first content, you must ask the following questions:
- Do you have an existing or intended audience that would find this content useful if it came directly to you?
- Are you a source that will keep your audience engaged?
- Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge?
- Or are you just creating content that you or your company thinks is semi-important?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- Are you reliable? Or are you wearing far too many hats, making your content seem overloaded?
- After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
- Is your content too vague for a general audience or are you providing specific measurements, expertise, information, etc. that genuinely answers someone’s questions?
- Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
How to avoid creating exclusively SEO driven content
In order to ensure your content stays relevant and protected from the possible negative side effects of this new update, ensure you’re keeping a handful of questions in mind.
Consider: What would make this content so obviously SEO-driven it doesn’t look or sound good?
While you may already avoid the extremes of that hypothetical, you may need to reassess just how much you plug and flood your SEO strategy.
Being vague:
If the topics you’re focusing content on are extremely broad, you are not going to be successful with this new update.
Google is only interested in genuinely answering someone’s questions, so, even if you’re playing the algorithm with little white lies like misleading backlinks, specific h1s and h2-3’s, etc., this update will rank you low in the pile due to Google’s want to provide more thorough and thoughtful information.
We suggest honing in on niche topics. Ask yourself… if I was XYZ person, what would I be searching for to get an ABC answer?
Being valuable:
Is the content you are creating valuable? Are you answering questions and engaging your audience?
Google’s current and past SEO systems are not so forgiving when you aren’t hyper-strategic in content creation.
But…
Now you have more opportunities than ever to prove your company’s value!
Why are you the right resource, service, team, and more by providing quality content that is purposeful and intentional. Become the hub for exclusive content that distinguishes your expertise from your competitors.
This is going to take more work than relying on your confident SEO strategy, but it will likely benefit you and your company’s reach and influence.
Take risks, test strategy, and create new, extraordinary content!
Have no fear, Insivia is here!
If your team or company is…
- New to SEO strategy
- Requires more than a few ‘helpful’ articles
- Struggles with SEO strategy as it is
- Is seeking consultation for marketing, content, and SEO
Insivia offers a myriad of solutions and expertise in marketing, awareness, content, media, web, conversion, strategy, brand, and retention.
Should you require additional support when it comes to this new SEO update, Insivia is your best resource for navigating this update and achieving your milestones.
Our teams are exclusively focused on SaaS and tech companies. We are results-obsessed and ready to support your needs.
Contact us today to find out how we can help!