enable Google to enhance the search engine’s ability to offer users the best content quickly and, in the end, increase their revenue.
Here is what Google’s HCU is intended to do — validate and rank content with a greater emphasis on author authority and trust. Moving forward, Google suggests that content marketer developers should position authors as subject matter experts for content to be recognized as valued content, ideally linking posts to LinkedIn pages where the readers can learn more about the authors’ experiences and industry credentials.
Google also is concerned about the growing popularity of AI generated content via providers such as Chat GPT to Longshot. Industry experts theorize that it won’t be long (potentially) before the internet is flooded with AI content — websites and blogs craſted by writing “bots.” Google’s updates are the company’s way of protecting what it views as legitimate content, making sure that the content it ranks high in SERPs is developed by individuals who are truly qualified to do so — subject matter experts in their field and not “AI writing assistants.”
Tis is where the Spam Update comes into play. Te update is designed to determine whether the content was created by a trusted, expert source. If not, the algorithm will identify the content as spam. So as tempting as it may be to use an AI platform such as Chat GPT or Longshot to generate your blogs instead of a trained writer with industry expertise and credibility, you may want to resist that temptation or face the wrath of Google’s algorithm updates.
In addition to the steps that Google is taking to validate content, the company also is taking a less favorable view of
“all text content.” In Google’s opinion, there’s much more to content than text, and it’s true. Te way people consume information has been changing for quite some time, and Google has been watching very closely. Specifically, they’re watching YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok. Te fact is that all-text content engagement is on the slide while short-format video engagement is on the rise, and the numbers prove it. Roughly 250 million hours of video are viewed on YouTube every day, and young people globally spent 56 minutes a day on YouTube last year. According to Forbes, YouTube Shorts now claims 1.5 billion monthly viewers — more than TikTok has at 1 billion viewers a month — and gets 30 billion views a day. In an October 2022 earnings call, Meta reported that Reels gets 140 billion plays a day across Instagram and Facebook (
forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2022/12/20/ youtube-shorts-monetization-multiformat/?sh=6ffc04116f41). As you look to create engaging content that Google will crawl and rank highly on its SERPs, consider short videos, either standalone or embedded in your text content.
As you move forward with content creation — keeping in mind that SEO plays a critical role in the effectiveness of that content — it will pay to also keep in mind that Google has an ever-watchful eye on the web. Remember that how, when and even if your content will be viewed online is in Google’s hands, not yours.
Neal Reynolds is president of
BankMarketingCenter.com, whose goal is to help banks with topical, compelling communication with customers; the
messaging — developed by banking industry marketing professionals well-trained in the thinking behind effective marketing communication — that will help your bank build trust, relationships and revenue. In short, build your bank’s brand. Learn more at
BankMarketingCenter.com.
BankMarketingCenter.com is an MBA endorsed member.
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