Important How is the Useful Content Algorithm Update Impacting Local Businesses?

[Colan Nielsen]

Google has officially released the Helpful Content Update. We are going to track and share observations about how it's impacting the local algorithm and local businesses here.

Please share your observation below.

 

[seaniaaa]

The quiet is unnerving. Has anyone seen any forums or article comment sections where people are sounding off about impacts?

 

[JS Girard]

It's entirely possible we (as in the users of this forum) are not going to be affected all that much. I think most competent SEOs are perfectly capable of not making actual overoptimized drivel.

 

[seaniaaa]

It's entirely possible we (as in the users of this forum) are not going to be affected all that much. I think most competent SEOs are perfectly capable of not making actual overoptimized drivel.

That's the hope! We're cautiously optimistic that we're going to be okay, we're even hoping we'll get a boost in some locations. But the uncertainty is killing me slowly lol.

 

[JS Girard]

Besides, this is (I believe) by and large an organic-only update, and those typically don't have much of a direct impact of Google Maps and three-pack results, do they?

 

[seaniaaa]

Besides, this is (I believe) by and large an organic-only update, and those typically don't have much of a direct impact of Google Maps and three-pack results, do they?

Well, on-page optimization does impact local pack ranking. I think the impact will be less so and possibly a bit delayed, but I think it might carry over. Again, unsure and just watching and waiting.

 

[JoyHawkins]

So far I've heard and seen nothing major. This kind of reminds me of Mobilegeddon. People were freaking out for weeks that they were going to be impacted and then the actual impact people saw was next-to-nothing.

 

[keyserholiday]

Marie Haynes tweeted that with the last product reviews update, people didn't see any movement until the last day of the rollout. So far nobody has seen or noticed any changes. Time will tell.

 

[seaniaaa]

Marie Haynes tweeted that with the last product reviews update, people didn't see any movement until the last day of the rollout. So far nobody has seen or noticed any changes. Time will tell.

I'm leaning that way Keyser. I'll breathe easy once they say the rollout is complete. I'm trying to be patient until then. If the update is as large and industry-shaping as everyone thinks it may be, it makes sense to me that it will take longer to actually hit while they implement it.

 

[djbaxter]

Google Helpful Content Update So Far Pretty Weak​

by Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Roundtable
August 29, 2022

Google announced the helpful content update on August 18th and it officially started to roll out on August 25th. I thought this update would hit hard and fast, but so far, and I know it has only been a few days since it officially rolled out, it has been slow to roll out and pretty weak relative to what I thought it would be.

Google also posted a feedback form for this update, despite many SEOs not being worried about the impact.

Both in terms of the SEO chatter within the community and the automated tracking tools, I see very little chatter and movement.

 

[Gustavo]

Google is requesting feedback on the August 2022 Helpful content update. They have created a form for that purpose: "If you feel that your site was affected by Google's recent helpful content update, and you feel that it shouldn't have been affected, use this form to send us feedback": Feedback on Google's recent helpful content update

 

[JoyHawkins]

 

[seaniaaa]

It's almost like they're testing it out piecemeal before letting it loose full steam.
So. I read into the fact that Google has rolled out a form to give feedback in one of two ways. A, Google thought this was going to be a much more impactful update than it's been and they thought there would be a lot more chaos. Or B, the big one is still coming, it's just not here yet. They're throwing us a target to direct our anger and panic so when we freak out and try to get ahold of Google, that's where they will direct us. Thoughts?
If you take all of this together in context, it's almost like they're worried about the accuracy of the update and they're hoping for feedback early on to see if they're on the right track before they ramp up to full deployment.

 

[AndySimpson]

It's been 6 days so far, good summary this morning from Glen Gabe on Twitter...

There's still time, so things could change, but underwhelming so far.

Personally...
"Best thing is take two beers and come back Monday"
Mike "The Legend" Blumenthal

 

[keyserholiday]

Looks like Danny weighed in on the lack of movement.

 

[Nikki Stine]

it's almost like they're worried about the accuracy of the update and they're hoping for feedback early on to see if they're on the right track before they ramp up to full deployment.

Is the feedback form a 'normal' thing for algorithm updates?

 

[seaniaaa]

Is the feedback form a 'normal' thing for algorithm updates?

I don't believe so, but I also haven't been around for an amount of time that I'd consider long enough to qualify as an authority on it.

 

[Nikki Stine]

I don't believe so, but I also haven't been around for an amount of time that I'd consider long enough to qualify as an authority on it.

Which is the same reason why I'm asking. I haven't see it before... but thought I'd ask the experts here.

 

[PaulSteinbrueck]

Today, I noticed one of our blog articles completely disappeared from Google search results - 25 Stories From 25 Years - Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO It's a post that lists and links to all the posts in a series. I'm thinking maybe it's been penalized or devalued by the Helpful Content Update because of this question Google posed in their announcement about the update, "Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?"

Anyone else notice pages/articles like this experiencing lower rankings or completely removed from search results?

Thoughts on how likely this is due to the Helpful Content Update?

 

[Joey Abna]

Is that page still indexed? If the Helpful Content Update did get it there are tons of articles like that on the web. Something to keep an eye on.