SEO content is changing, with Google’s new “helpful content update” set to benefit sites that have a people-first focus on how they present information. While previously keywords were a core part of how your finance brand could reach the top of search engine rankings, now it’s about producing content written for people, by people. So, what changes are being made and what can your finance brand do to stay ahead?
What Google’s changing
Rather than rewarding content that’s overly SEO purpose-driven, Google’s new update will benefit content that’s human-first and provides a satisfying user experience. This means your financial marketing content needs to be created for people, rather than search engines.
“ Your financial marketing content needs to be created for people, rather than search engines. ”
This update should start rolling out at the beginning of September and will identify content that’s unhelpful for web users. If your site has a large amount of unhelpful content, then it will be pushed further down search engine rankings. Currently, this update will only affect English-speaking content and countries, with it being planned to expand in the coming months.
So, what does a people-first approach mean? And how can you make sure your financial marketing content isn’t penalised by Google?
How financial marketers can respond to Google’s update
While Google may be changing the algorithm of how sites can get to the top spot in search engine rankings, your content shouldn’t need to alter drastically. If your finance brand has been creating value-driven content that’s tailored to your target market (which it should be!), this content will remain beneficial, despite the changes taking place.
To ensure your finance brand remains high in search engine rankings, you need to remove all unhelpful content as this is less likely to perform well. If you’re not sure what content is deemed unhelpful, ask yourself:
- Is this content created for search engines or for people to find relevant information?
- Is this content duplicated across your site with the hopes of it performing well in search?
- Is your content adding value or repeating what others have said on a topic?
- Does your content answer people’s questions?
- Do people need to continue searching for further information after reading your content?
Key takeaways for financial marketers
At the end of the day, this algorithm change will only affect content that’s unhelpful or has only been created for SEO purposes. What your finance brand needs to do is to create content that’s tailored to your target audience and adds value. This can be achieved by:
- Presenting timely information in an easy-to-understand way
- Answering people’s search queries
- Creating content with the end-user in mind
- Creating value-driven content that includes useful data and research
- Having a purpose (content can’t just be created to hopefully rank on Google, it needs to be targeted and helpful)
- Presenting educational content that will improve user’s financial skills and knowledge
By ensuring your content has been designed to benefit end-users and written in a personable and ‘human’ way, you can maintain or improve your spot in search engine rankings. If your finance brand isn’t yet creating helpful content for people, it’s time to change your marketing content strategy.
