Google Releases December 2022 Helpful Content Update

[engine]

Google is releasing the December 2022 Helpful Content Update, which it says will take about two weeks to roll out.

[twitter.com...]

[developers.google.com...]

The helpful content system aims to better reward content where visitors feel they've had a satisfying experience, while content that doesn't meet a visitor's expectations won't perform as well.

The system generates a site-wide signal that we consider among many other signals for ranking web pages. Our systems automatically identify content that seems to have little value, low-added value or is otherwise not particularly helpful to those doing searches.

Previous story Google To Release Core Update From 21 August [webmasterworld.com]

[BigKat]

My guess is this update will have the opposite effect of its name, being hurtful to pages with unique content, products, services, etc. But I'm sure it does help shape the reality of webmasters when they use names like "helpful" or cute & cuddly creatures like a Panda and so on. It's been years since Google released an update that actually helped us, but judging by Google's profits the updates sure helped them.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I think changes began Nov 30th according to site log activity, crawling level, rank movement, etc.

[Atomic]

I think changes began Nov 30th according to site log activity, crawling level, rank movement, etc.

I was starting to wonder when all my cache dates were no older than 7 days. That's never happened before. But the ranks I see now were definitely taking shape days ago.

Time to make some popcorn.

[robzilla]

Importantly they're now releasing it for all languages, whereas the previous was English-only. Although they've also "improve[d] [their] classifier" I think it probably won't affect English queries as much as last time.

[rogrmartn]

Hi BigKat

Helpful content is different than the unique content

[rogrmartn]

Hi

Please Let me know

Helpful Content Update is more effective than a Google Core update?

[robzilla]

It's been years since Google released an update that actually helped us

LOL

[beaverman]

@rogmartn both are global and in all languages (this time for HCU).

Core Update changes core algos and may influence all systems, all niches, and website types. Helpful Content Update is about a singular ranking system/new signal and is content-specific.

However, the efficiency and influence will highly depend on your website. You may probably not feel a core one a lot, but be killed by HCU, if you have just enough content-specific issues.

[ichthyous]

I am seeing a huge hit today...my USA traffic is down 54% this morning. Ex-USA seems to be steady. Previously I have seen al EN language traffic very rocky, surging one day, dropping the next...but USA has been affected the most. I have lost a considerable number of top 10 ranking terms today alone, both mobile and desktop.

[BigKat]

Helpful content is different than the unique content

@rogrmartn

In our industry, which is industrial product manufacturing and retail sales, much of what Google is rewarding in the SERPS is old/outdated and fails to meet modern day safety standards. We, as a company, adapt to meet evolving safety standards while some of our old stolen/copied/spun content still ranks above our pages. This is the problem consumers have when Google decouples unique and helpful content from its original source and incentivizes the very spam problem Google alleges they continually combat. In our industry, the health/safety of consumers are put at risk due to how Google assesses and promotes "helpful content" reproduced by spammers.

[anubitez]

Nothing drastic is going on in my niche from competitors to myself. It has not finished rolling out, so until it does will take it day by day.

[Martin Ice Web]

It is not helpfull Content update, it is: HELP google get FULL Control update

[engine]

This is the problem consumers have when Google decouples unique and helpful content from its original source and incentivizes the very spam problem Google alleges they continually combat. In our industry, the health/safety of consumers are put at risk due to how Google assesses and promotes "helpful content" reproduced by spammers.

That's an interesting observation that i've certainly seen in the past, and i'd like to think that it's slowly become less of an issue as these updates roll out, and it completes.

[rogrmartn]

Helpful Content Update to much fluctuation in the last 2 days

What we can do

[beaverman]

@rogrmartn same for many out there. It's still ongoing and will finish by 19th December, officially.

For now the answer is wait and see.

[Dimitris1]

It has rolled out what is your approach?

[Dimitris1]

Has anyone felt the impact yet? This update is completely unhelpful, as all google updates. From what I gather, a lot of sites that are or were practicing link building and selling out links will go null if not penalized.

[Athedian]

Seems delayed but big impact here happening in the asia region right now for me. Traffic suddenly died even if the avg. page ranking is good. Then again, it could be holiday season, or both combined. Either way, none of the Google updates helped despite "helpful content" already on the site. Then again, who can determine what's helpful or not? It's purely subjective even for Google.

[beaverman]

@Athedian might be Link Spam Update as well. I believe HCU is already over.

[rustybrick]

HCU is not over yet.

[beaverman]

@rustybrick okay, thanks for clarifying!

I thought it spans exactly 2 weeks, from December 5 to December 19.

[sem4u]

Google said that it "may" take up to two weeks to complete. Danny Sullivan has said today that "[it] would take longer to roll out than originally expected", as reported by @rustybrick

[samwest]

Time to hire AI to rewrite my entire site, then the machines can debate the content quality among themselves. Always some new way to penalize us for being human.

[nova88]

I'm tired because despite my efforts, it's always blogs with bad content that are on the first page of google, I've lost 80% of my traffic since October 2022, it's not fair

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

You know content is becoming LESS important when Google search shows you content from the "most trusted" sites first, Often the BEST content is NOT on the most "trusted site", or the spammy sites you currently see in most queries.

"Create the best content out there and you're going to do well"

I have to call BS on that, judging by the spam mixed in with really good(but not most trusted) sites.

[nova88]

Traffic Loss ~80% on my website from Google Updates
Any expert here, who can help me to get rid from this loss

My website (a windows and mac troubleshooting guide) get continuesly hit from HCU update.

I'm not able to figure out what's wrong happened with this site. In every google updates gives a negative hit to my site.

I've tried the following updates on my end but not a single updates reflected...

removed thin content from the site

removed thin content links from other pages

updated missing alt tags and meta information

removed 404 external links

updated the major performing content Completely

partially updates 1000 of content from last 3 month

disvaow spammy links like blogspost and some others

Please guide me if I'm something doing wrong or the way by which I can start recovering my traffic...

[Atomic]

@Nova88

The improvements you've done may not be rewarded until the next core update. HCU allegedly addresses other issues.

[Martin Ice Web]

As far as i can see is, that HCU didnīt catch the sites they wanted to catch with this. There are still hundrets of MFAmazon sites ranking with schwubbel content. Like: The best 10 %item%
All of them are only for linking to amazon. All of them have no helpfull content. All of them are useless.
This, while realy good sites got hit very hard.

IMO HCU is something that is looking for phrases in content that other sites do not have ( !=affiliate). And it needs only to be some nonsens text. If it is on topic or not doesnīt matter.

[engine]

What's the possibility the index hasn't yet been updated to reflect the HCU changes?