As a result of Google releasing its new algorithm update in August, the types of content that are considered “helpful” have changed. Trying to figure out what content on your website is “unhelpful” can be difficult. Let’s discuss a few things that could be lowering your site’s ranking, and how you can change the content on your website to be on the helpful side of Google’s new algorithm.
Duplicate content
Displaying the same content across multiple pages on your website is arguably the most unhelpful thing you can do. Not only do users get bored of reading the same information over and over again, but Google will detect duplicate content and rank your site lower as a result.
Reading the same information on your website is not helping your website’s users and they will more than likely look for answers elsewhere. This will greatly increase your bounce rate (the number of users quickly clicking off your website) and your average session time will plummet. From these stats, Google will recognise that your website is unhelpful and it will rank your site lower in the search results., Meaning that you will get much less traffic to your website.
To avoid a low ranking on Google, you need to make sure that all of the content on your website is different. This isn’t just limited to text, it includes images and videos too. By reducing the amount of duplicate content your website contains, your average ranking on Google will increase. It won’t be an immediate spike in statistics, but over time you will start to see your session time increase and your bounce rate decrease.
Here at Seaside Creative, our team of content experts are on hand to make sure that your website is full of original content. Give us a call on 01903 686858 to find out how we can help you.
Writing to fit trends
Although Google doesn’t recognise all trend-fitting content as unhelpful, it will flag up content that is written to fit a trend just to appeal to the search engine.
The way to identify if your content is written in this way is to ask yourself the question, are you writing about this for your existing audience or just because you have seen a lot of other people writing about it? If the answer is that you’ve seen a lot of other people writing about it, Google will likely flag this up and, as a result, rank your website lower.
The solution to this problem is to make sure you know your audience, and don’t just follow what everybody else is doing. By understanding your audience, you’ll be to create content that will be helpful to them.
Unsatisfying content
One indication that might suggest your website could be unhelpful is users feeling the need to find more information. This would commonly be identified by a high bounce rate.‘Unsatisfying content’ is another way of saying ‘unhelpful content’ which is exactly what Google would identify unsatisfying content as.
Unsatisfying content forces users to look at another website for the answers that you could easily provide. Writing satisfying, high-quality content would resolve this issue and improve your website’s statistics as your bounce rate would be much lower, improving your overall ranking.
Keyword stuffing
Keywords themselves aren’t considered unhelpful by Google, however, excessive use of them just to appeal to search engines is. Keyword-stuffed content is usually written poorly, making it unhelpful to the user. As explained in one of our latest blog posts, Google’s main aim with the new update is to ensure all listed websites in the user’s results are helpful.
Therefore; websites with keyword-stuffed content are simply not going to rank as highly as websites providing useful, less keyword-stuffed information. Getting rid of keyword-stuffed content on your website can really help Google recognise your website as a helpful one and ultimately make it rank higher in search results.
False Information
False information will cause Google to flag your website as unhelpful. Misleading the reader into believing something that isn’t true is very unhelpful, not only to the reader as they have to find the correct information from somewhere else but to your website as well. Any website containing false information will automatically rank lower on Google. It could also lead to low review scores for your company on social media. Would you want to be known for providing false information?
The best practice to prevent this from happening is to make sure the information you display is factual. Proving this with credible sources (also known as backlinks) will help to show that your information can be trusted and your credibility on the internet will start to improve.
At Constructive Marketing we have a team of specialists who can help you get to grips with this new update to the Google algorithm. We can make sure that your website is helpful to Google and make sure that your website stays relevant as this new era of Google rolls out. Give our specialist team a call on 01903 686858 to find out how we can help you with your website.