There’s been a bit of a shakeup in Google. Especially as it seems for niche content sites.

I know what you’re thinking.

Google is always making updates, right?

Well, this one feels different. At least so far.

We’ve known about the Helpful Content Update (HCU) and what Google’s been discussing for quite some time.

Google is always experimenting with search results, and at a philosophical level, I tend to agree with much of what Google says they are trying to accomplish. As a user and content creator, I want the best, most relevant content to rise to the top.

I’ve survived many a core update. Saw some wins. Saw some losses. It helps to have all the data from our portfolio of sites.

I can usually see and understand what Google’s up to.

But, I’m a little dumbfounded looking at the SERPs these past few days. I get what Google is trying to accomplish, but I feel that, in some cases, they overcorrected quite a bit.

I mean, for some queries, if this is the future of search, I don’t know if I want to be a part of it.

Are we supposed to be hosting Reddit-like forums on our sites now? Do we all try to figure out how to get our content pushed up to the top of forums now? Is that the game we need to be playing, really?

I mean, we’ve been warned by countless SEO experts out there that we need to do these things:

• Make sure you have topical authority. If your site is bolstered by one big post, but the rest of your content is weak, or thin, it’s just a matter of time before the HCU will take down your entire site.

• Make sure you create high-quality content that differentiates itself.

• Content needs to be helpful!

• Create authentic content, written for humans, not algorithms.

And for a lot of us, we’ve done the hard yards to provide quality content for our readers and for Google.

Yes. We know that SEO is a much larger ecosystem than all of that, but at the very basic level, it should make ‘sense’ to us in this industry why something is ranking.

Yes. I know that this HCU might not be officially done. Looks like Google is rolling back some of the updates as of today, as I find time to write about this.

One thing in life that is certain — uncertainty.

But boy oh boy, what a shakedown.

I’m not sure I’m going to be able to tell you what I think all of this means just yet. I’m not even going to start talking about a big, new strategy. Yikes!

But, let’s dig in.

First. Looks like the real winner in all of this is Reddit.

We’ve seen a ton of forums jump to the top of the SERPs with this update.

It’s happening to a lot of us. You’re not alone. Even seemingly stable sites are seeing massive hits. Maybe Google has overcorrected a bit here?

What Do We Do From Here?

First, if your site or client sites have been hit, try not to fret.

I know that’s hard.

I admit it. I was a little flapped looking at this HCU this week. Somehow, it really helped to know that we were not alone though.

But even in the past day or so, I’m seeing some small shifts (for the good), so Google might be making some corrections.

I think it might be okay just to wait this one out a bit as well.

We do know, that there’s literally nothing you can tweak, fix or update today that will miraculously change everything.

And, if you do start to panic fix, update, or (gasp) delete content, then Google rolls back the update, or makes some corrections, how will you know if the ‘success’ came from Column A, or Column B?

So, I’m going to sit tight. I’m still watching.

Grab the popcorn.

2023 is turning out to be a rocky, exciting year for us in content.

Things to Read, Watch, and Ponder

Okay. Search Engine Land just published this AMA with Google’s Gary Illyes that I think illuminates a few things, not just for this update, but for how Google is experimenting, and thinking about search results. People. We still have SGE to think about as well.

I love the freelance journey and there are many things that I would do differently if I could go back. I mean, who wouldn’t? So, I really loved this advice and discussion from Women in Tech SEO. Worth a listen!

Hey, if you’re new here, thanks for subscribing! Would love to hear from you all! Send me a note anytime!

Remember, as content nerds, we’re all in this together!

Cheers! Amy

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