Google's new update proves once again the importance of quality content

Google's "useful content" update puts an end to the manipulation of unprofessional sites that manipulate search results and do not provide value to surfers

Ditza Kern

08/28/2022

Sunday, August 28, 2022, 6:02 p.m. Updated: 6:19 p.m.

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Israel's marketing community. (Photo: Unsplash, Yaron Other)

Google has begun rolling out the "useful content" update it announced last week, which targets sites with a relatively high amount of unhelpful content created primarily to manipulate search results.

The launch, which began on August 25, is expected to last two weeks at most.

According to Google, "This ranking update will help ensure that unoriginal, high-quality content doesn't rank high in search, and our testing has found that it will particularly improve results related to online education, as well as arts and entertainment, shopping, and technology-related content."

We have all seen how self-proclaimed experts publish all kinds of "guides" that don't really innovate anything and sometimes even mislead the readers.

This move by Google comes as part of its ongoing effort to filter low-quality content from the platform and give greater value to its users.

Thus, apparently, it hopes to beat Tiktok and Instagram, which are gaining popularity as alternatives to the "traditional" Google search,

Who needs to worry about the new Google update

Sites that until today have given real value to surfers should not be damaged by the update.

The main victims will be sites with thin and shallow content, built solely to manipulate the algorithm by specifically matching keywords, and metadata that aligns with Google's main search trends, but does not really answer the question that surfers come to them for.

You can think of the meta data that appears in the search results as a kind of "promise" about what people will find when they enter the page.

It is likely that a page that matches the meta data and answers the promise or question it presents in a comprehensive and thorough way will rise in ranking, while a page where the connection between the two is loose will be pushed to the bottom of the list.

For example, when we searched on Google "free parking in North Tel Aviv" we got this result:

The search results before the Google update (photo: screenshot, Google)

Upon entering the first result, it became clear that the page has no value, because it does not answer the question of where and how it is possible to park for free in North Tel Aviv.

If this is not enough, it is evident from the wording of the first paragraph that this is generic content produced using an automatic template.

Finally, clicking the button that should redirect to a new search also leads to a page with no results.

Poor content that does not answer the query will soon be relegated to the margins of the search results. (Photo: screenshot, parking site)

On the other hand, the second result in the search is already much more useful and informative:

Quality content should answer the question for which we gathered. (Photo: screenshot, official website, Rav Ko-Online)

With the new update, it is likely that the first result will be pushed to the bottom of the list, while the second result will rise to the first place.

At this stage it is not yet known what the full consequences of the update will be, but it is recommended to monitor your Analytics data in the coming months.

Bottom line, Google wants to see content created with the audience in mind and not just the search engines.

Original and in-depth product reviews

Later in the message, Google emphasizes the importance of the update in the context of reviews of products, movies, books, etc.

The purpose of the update is to present quality and useful reviews based on research or personal experience, and to push aside general, short reviews, or those copied from another source.

According to Google, "You may have previously seen articles that have garnered reviews from other sites without adding perspectives beyond what's available elsewhere. That's not very helpful for those looking to read something new. With this update, you'll see more results with unique and authentic information, so you're more likely to read something." New that you haven't seen before."

Again, Google's main focus is to provide quality and informative search results that answer the questions people are asking.

The better and more detailed you do this, the better the search performance will be.

Google is also updating on the launch of another update in the coming weeks to make it even easier to find high-quality original reviews, and promises to continue this work to make sure that surfers find the most useful information when they search for products online.

Check yourselves

The decrease in the ranking of low-value websites is expected to help increase the ranking of websites that have provided quality and original content to date.

To help website owners understand the meaning of the update, and how it might affect them, Google published a series of questions you can ask yourself:

• Is the content designed primarily to attract traffic from search engines, or is it designed for humans?

• Have you created content on different topics, hoping that parts of it will rank well in the search results?

• Have you used extensive automation to produce content on many topics?

• Do you mostly summarize what others have to say, or do you add your own value?

• Do you write about things just because they are trendy, or would you write about them anyway to enrich your existing audience?

• Does the content make readers feel like they need to search again for better information from other sources?

• Do you write content of a certain length, just because you heard or read that Google has a preferred number of words?

  (This is not true).

• Have you decided to enter a niche without any real expertise because you thought you would get high search traffic?

• Does the content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, for example, a search result promising a release date for a product, movie or TV show, when in fact no official date has yet been confirmed?

How to prevent a decrease in ranking as a result of the update?

If you have been affected or you fear that you will be affected by the update, the first thing you want to do is improve your content:

• Check which results have increased in ranking following the update and how they provide a better answer to the query.

• Write your content so that it contains a comprehensive answer.

• Make sure you are giving new information and not just echoing messages from other sites.

• Make sure that there is synchronization between the content of the page and its metadata and keywords.

• Ensure that all content, including product, service or intellectual property reviews, is original and authentic.

Even if you apply all the recommendations correctly, it may take you several months to recover.

In the coming days it is recommended to keep an eye open and pay attention to the ranking and search visibility.

If there's a significant change, for better or worse, it's likely because of this update.

is a technology reporter and the editor of the channel Walla!

Marketing and digital

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• search results

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