The Rollercoaster of Google Helpful Content Updates

byNewydd105

678 followers

5 months ago

Just incase you missed it - Google did another Helpful Content Update or Unhelpful Update as I call them. It ran from the 30th June for 3 weeks. There are winners and losers as usual. Having several websites it has been like being on a rollercoaster, some sites up and others down.

But there are points to take away from each update and this is what I've gleened so far.

What Google Claimed (Official Messaging)

Google's statements around the recent Helpful Content Updates include:

1. Content written for people, not for search engines. - Google reiterated that it’s targeting content created solely to attract clicks, especially if it’s overly SEO-optimized or lacks depth.
2. We continue refining how we identify content that’s unhelpful, lacks expertise, or is primarily meant to gain search rankings - This includes blog posts that are vague, generic, or reworded from other sites, even if they’re technically “correct.”
3. We are using more advanced signals to assess the overall helpfulness of a site, not just individual pages - This confirms that entire sites can be affected (not just bad posts), and that recovery depends on site-wide improvements.

What Did Google Actually Mean

Here’s what’s changed in real terms:

1. Stronger Site-Level Demotions

• Content is mostly AI-generated and thin
• There's too much repetition across posts
• There’s no clear unique value or expertise signal

Once a site is flagged, even good content may stop ranking.

2. AI + EEAT Overlap

Google is pushing sites to:

• Have real authorship
• Showcase first-hand experience
• Build topical authority (not just scattergun blogs)

This is especially affecting solopreneurs and small businesses who haven't built strong “entity signals” (author bios, about pages, podcast mentions, links from trusted sources).

3. Demotion of Overly Template-Based Content

Listicles, glossaries, or affiliate content that looks “too formulaic” are being downgraded unless they offer original insight or interactivity.

Who’s Being Hit the Hardest?

• Small sites with <300 indexed pages
• Affiliate sites with generic reviews or “best of” lists
• Sites relying on parasite SEO or republished content
• New blogs that haven't built search intent clusters or external links

Who’s Winning?

• Reddit, Quora, YouTube → Google is giving more real estate to user-generated content
• Sites with strong topic focus, long-form value, real authorship, and trust markers
• Brand entities with clearly defined expertise niches

How Often Does Google Run Helpful Content Updates?

It used to be once in a blue moon. This is the 2nd one this year and I wouldn't be surprised to see another one or two this year.

How Do You Recover from This Update

Here are some of the strategies I'm using to try and rebuild some of my website rankings that were particularly hit:

1. Show first-hand experience and insight – Add personal takes, stories, commentary, or unique models
2. Improve internal linking and topical clusters – Create several blogs under a cluster before starting another cluster.
3. Add EEAT to every key page - stamp my authority on each blog/page showing experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness. Add author bios and links
4. Focus on user intent – Ask: Does this page answer a specific question better than Reddit or a video might?
5. Rework pages/blogs to reflect these changes

Finally, I'm no longer chasing rankings but finding other ways to drive traffic to the websites. So, for now my advice is relax and enjoy the summer.