Guide · Search
Helpful Content Update: What Google Changed for Site Owners
Helpful content update is the name Google gave on 18 August 2022 to a new signal that lowers pages made mainly to rank in search. It rolls out in English first. This guide explains what Google said, how the signal works and how to check your own pages.
What the update is
The helpful content update is a new ranking signal that Google announced on 18 August 2022. Google says it aims to show more original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results. It also aims to show less content that seems made mainly to rank well.
Google's systems find this kind of content on their own. A machine-learning model runs all the time and looks at both new and old sites. Google says the update is not a manual action and not a spam action. It is one signal among many that Google weighs when it ranks pages.
The announcement came from Chris Nelson of Google's Search Quality team. Google also linked a list of questions that site owners can use to check their own content. We cover those below.
Sources: Google Search Central Blog, What creators should know about Google's helpful content update
When it rolls out
Google said the rollout would begin the week after the announcement. Its ranking updates page lists 25 August 2022 as the release date. Google says the rollout could take up to two weeks to complete.
At first, the update only affects searches in English, around the world. Google said it plans to grow the update to other languages later. It gave no date for that.
This means results may move while the rollout runs. If your traffic changes in the next two weeks, give it time before you act. Check the ranking updates page for the finish notice.
Sources: Google Search Central Blog, What creators should know about Google's helpful content update; Google Search Central, Google Search ranking updates
Why one page can hurt the whole site
The signal works across a whole site, not on one page at a time. Google says a site with a lot of unhelpful content overall may see its other pages do worse in search too. That holds when better pages exist elsewhere on the web.
Google also says helpful pages on such a site can still rank well if other signals show they match the search. A site with more unhelpful content may feel a stronger effect.
Google adds that removing unhelpful content may help the rest of your site do better. The signal does not switch off right away, though. Google says sites may see it apply over several months, and it lifts only after the unhelpful content has stayed gone for a long time.
Sources: Google Search Central Blog, What creators should know about Google's helpful content update
A plain check of your own pages
Google gave site owners two sets of questions. You can use them as a simple audit. Pick your ten most important pages and answer each one honestly.
These signs suggest content is on the right track:
- Your audience would find the page useful if they came to you directly.
- The page shows first-hand experience, such as using a product or visiting a place.
- The site has one clear main purpose or focus.
- A reader will leave knowing enough to reach their goal.
- A reader will feel the visit was a good one.
These signs suggest you should rethink the page:
- The page exists mainly to bring in search visitors.
- You publish on many topics in the hope that some will rank.
- You lean heavily on automation to make content.
- You mostly sum up what others wrote without adding anything.
- You cover a topic only because it is trending.
- The page leaves readers needing to search again for better answers.
- You write to a set word count because you think Google prefers it. Google says it does not.
- You write about a niche you do not know well, only for traffic.
- The page promises an answer to something that has no confirmed answer, such as a release date no one has announced.
For an agency, the point is simple. If a page could be swapped for any rival's page without anyone noticing, it adds little value. Add something real: a result you measured, a method you used, a mistake you learned from.
Sources: Google Search Central Blog, What creators should know about Google's helpful content update
What to do this month
Google's advice is short. Make content for people first. Use good search practice, but only to help people find content that already serves them. Remove content that does not help.
Here is a short plan that fits that advice:
- List every page that gets almost no visits and has no clear reader in mind.
- Improve each one with first-hand detail, or remove it.
- Stop publishing pieces just because a topic is trending.
- If you use tools to draft text, make sure a person adds real knowledge before it goes live.
- Keep track of your search traffic during the rollout, and note the date of any large change.
Do not panic-delete good pages. Google says helpful pages can still rank on an affected site. Cut the weak pages and keep the ones that answer a real need.
Google's general rules for search are in its Webmaster Guidelines. They sit beside this update, not under it, so keep reading both.
Sources: Google Search Central Blog, What creators should know about Google's helpful content update; Google Search Central, Google Webmaster Guidelines
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