Introduction: What’s Going On With Google?
If you’ve notice unexpected changes to your website traffic, you’re not alone.
As of 30 June 2025, Google rolled out a significant Helpful Content Update (HCU), shaking up rankings across industries. This update, which takes about three weeks after initial rollout to be complete, is part of Google’s broaden mission to priotise content that’s genuinely valuable to users.
Brands relying on SEO for customer engagement and conversion must adapt their content creation and optimisation strategies accordingly.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What the Helpful Content Update actually is
- How it affects your SEO strategy
- What you need to change in your content marketing approach
- Actionable steps to future-proof your visibility online
What Is Google’s Helpful Content Update?
The Helpful Content Update is a core algorithm update by Google designed to reward content that is:
- Written for people, not just to perform on search engines
- Authored with expertise and authority
- Offers original insights or useful depth on a topic
Key Aspects of This Update:
- Site-wide impact: If Google believes your site’s content is “unhelpful”, it will drag your rankings down across the domain, even your good pages
- Emphasis on original content: rehashing content that already exists without adding any value won’t perform
- Prioritisation of helpful content: Google will look for indications that your content was created with the intention of helping users or provide value, not just to simply rank
Why This Matters For SEO and Content Marketing
This update highlights a core value we’ve always held at Omni; content should be created for people first, not simply for algorithms.
For eCommerce Brands:
Your product descriptions, blog posts, how-to guides and landing pages should do more than use keywords.
- Does your content address the questions your customers have?
- Are you assisting buyers in making informed decisions?
- Are you highlighting your brand’s unique value and voice?
For B2B and Wholesalers:
Thought leadership and industry-specific knowledge are essential here.
- Do your blogs showcase that your insights are rooted in experience?
- Are you enhancing the conversation, or just rewording what’s already been said?
- Are you guiding users through the complexities of your industry?
What Google’s Looking For (and What’s Being Penalised)
To align with Google’s preferences:
- Provide unique insights
- Demonstrate expertise
- Offer clear answers supported by evidence
- Have a user-friendly structure
What Google Penalises:
- Keyword stuffing
- Mass-produced AI-generated content that doesn’t add value
- Recycled information intended solely for manipulating search rankings.
How To Adapt Your Content Strategy
At Omni Online, we always emphasise quality over quantity, and this update reinforces this approach as a necessity.
Step 1: Audit Your Existing Content
Utilise tools such as Google Search Console or SEMrush to identify underperforming pages. Be critical on your brand and ask yourself:
- Is this content actually useful?
- Does it reflect our expertise beyond generic, surface-level content?
Step 2: Improve or Remove
We get it, it can be hard to remove content you’ve worked on, but don’t be afraid to cut content that may be harming your site’s performance.
Now you’ll have room to update content with:
- Fresh insights
- Enhanced structure and visuals
- Richer information
Step 3: Prioritise Human-Led Content
While we encourage AI usage to enhance your activities, avoid overusing it to churn out articles in mass quantities. Rather:
- Use AI to brainstorm or outline ideas
- Bring in human experience and a humanised brand tone into final drafts
Step 4: Reframe SEO Strategy Around Intent
It’s not merely about keywords, it’s also about aligning with user search intent. To do so effectively:
- Utilise tools like “People Also Ask” and AnswerThePublic
- Create content that solves problems, provides value, or educates
How To Build Long-Terms SEO Success
This isn’t the first, nor will it be the final update we’ll see from Google. But the principle remains the same: quality content will always win.
Here are some tips to future-proof your approach:
- Prioritise storytelling and a relatable brand voice
- Leverage customer insight: use feedback, FAQs, and customer service queries to inform new content
- Utilise unique perspectives: share your insights as a founder, expert, formulator or designer – this will build trust and authority in your industry
Parting Thoughts: A Return To Meaningful Marketing
Google’s Helpful Content Update underscores the importance of authentic, value-driven content creation for building connections and trust with your audience.
By focusing on providing genuine value and education, brands can navigate these changes successfully and continue to grow their online presence effectively. But if you’re not sure where to start and don’t want to risk being negatively impacted by these updates, that’s exactly what we’re here for!
Do you want to ensure your content is helping you grow, not hindering it? Let’s audit your strategy together, so that you can gain clarity around what you’re doing right, and what needs changing.
