On August 18, Google announced a new algorithm update, which they've called the Helpful Content Update. This update started rolling out on August 25.
In this post we'll summarize and explain everything that's known so far about this update, which could fairly be called "people-first," "anti-AI," or "anti-SEO-content."
What has the Silicon Valley giant said?
Google's official announcement says the algorithm update is part of a broader effort to reward original, helpful content made by and for humans.
This is a clear reference to AI-generated content, which is becoming more and more common. But note: this update won't be limited to acting only against content automatically generated by AI.
Specifically, the algorithm update will favor in rankings the content that offers a useful and satisfying experience to users, over content that doesn't meet expectations (content created with search engines in mind rather than users).
For now, the algorithm update will only affect English-language pages. It's planned to act on pages in other languages later, but no specific date has been set.
How the algorithm works: a site-wide signal
The algorithm update acts as a site-wide signal. What does that mean?
If the algorithm decides a site has unhelpful content for its type of users, this could affect the rankings of every page on the site.
In other words, unhelpful content could sink the organic traffic of pages on the site that do have useful content for users.
Likewise, according to Google, if unhelpful content is removed, the entire site could recover.
Recovery, after correcting or removing unhelpful content, can take a few months to take effect, since the algorithm needs to confirm that the absence of unhelpful content is permanent.
The new algorithm update will run continuously, allowing it to evaluate both new sites and long-running ones.
Google has also explained that the new algorithm update is not a binary signal. That means it's not "helpful / not helpful" — there are different degrees of unhelpfulness. A site classified by the algorithm as having a large amount of unhelpful content will experience a stronger negative effect than one with less.
To sum up, it remains to be seen how the Google algorithm update will play out. Will it have a major impact on rankings, the way Panda did in its time? Will it be positive for users?
Agencia Interaction | Publicidad Digital | Agencia de Publicidad | interaction.cr
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