You’re lying. If I can see it working in SEO, Google can, too. You’re going to waste your time nudging the engine for a crawl.
You say a new author has been added to the site and they made changes to the content.
But why did the only things that have obviously changed are the new author and a new timestamp?
That feels rather a lot like a lie you’ll be caught out in, too.
Much like creating content, updating content takes time and costs money.
It isn’t just hitting “update” on a sequence of posts or forcing the sitemap to say the entire library has been updated when nothing has happened.
We’ve all worked on clients like this, and it’s just not helpful for maintaining clarity.
Instead, try to be as transparent as possible. For instance, if you have an advertising policy referencing how you make money, include it in a menu, like the one at the footer.
Make sure it’s indexed so Google can read it and understand that you’re making the best attempt at being transparent. If you need to reference affiliate connections, do that where you can.
In short, do all the things you can to be honest, because that’s being helpful to users and search engines alike.
And don’t lie about it because Google will know.
4. Fix your technical problems
Every time I do a presentation on search, there’s a part of it reserved for dealing with the problems of running a website. Often, it’s the things we’re not thinking about that Google can see.
For that, you need to turn to Google Search Console’s Pages section and look for errors. Juicy, juicy errors.
Pages that aren’t found that you need to correct and make redirects for. Pages that may be found but set to noindex.
Unintentional or not, it’s a search marketer’s prerogative to determine how to handle these fixes.
I spent months on this process before my HCU recovery, staying up late to fix errors and pages Google could see, then verifying and waiting days or weeks for Google to recognize the changes.
Until one day, it started getting through it all. The erroneous pages finally started to fall and my site was getting healthier.
Yes, we’re all dealing with the ramifications of the HCU, but in cleaning up the problems and issues, we’re dealing with the fallout from what could have also been a “healthful content update.”
That means dealing with the problems at Search Console and also looking at potential issues with other parts of your site.
Look at the code, your robots.txt file and the things that make your website hum and purr, because Google is definitely looking at those, too.
5. Work on your brand
I know it’s tough and, like the vague idea of what “helpful” means, improving your brand isn’t straightforward. But mentions of it do show up over time.
I remember a Google rep years ago mentioning brand pull and marketing your site, saying it wasn’t the search engine’s job – but hinting it could help. I can’t find the exact quote, but it stuck with me.
This year, it seems especially pertinent.
Tom Capper’s excellent research at Moz cleverly suggests what the HCU could have been about, with the crux being brands.
Granted, it’s connected with the domain authority metric Google doesn’t use and a Moz brand score that may or may not be useful. But the research is detailed and well-thought-out and aspects make sense.
It’s a little like the popularity of a search, only it’s connected with the brand of your site or the website your search may be affiliated with.
This doesn’t sound like a trait of a helpful content update but rather one that’s all about important qualities.
Let’s call it the “hallmark content update” and be done with it because hallmarks can infer quality, and that is what Google could be trying to say.
Specifically, that a brand being searched infers just that.
Appearances in the media may be the cause for some, driving up searches of related terms, but so, too, could solid marketing efforts in general.
I’m not suggesting TV and radio will necessarily boost ranking or that they’re easy to get either in the first place, but they could definitely connect with relative search terms.
John Mueller has already poured water on the idea that brand mentions boost ranking, but he didn’t argue for searches around the brand itself.
Indeed, when search picks up in Google Trends, it is a trending search.
It stands to reason that increases in search around brands imply authority per se, necessitating marketing and brand-related actions.
The 3 things I didn’t do
I did much more than what was listed here, but some were very specific to my site. It wasn’t just my site that I worked on that saw improvements.
Every site is different and so will need your attention on what can be done to make a good, positive change for each.
But there were three things I didn’t do, and they’re notable because there are those in the SEO community implying outright that these were reasons why sites gained in position.
They include:
Complaining about a ranking publicly on social and forums.
Filling out that Google form.
Trying to get backlinks beyond writing great content.
I literally did none of these things. Not. A. Single. One.
I didn’t shout about my frustrations and struggles trying to identify how Google could suddenly undervalue my site. Instead, I worked on understanding what could go wrong and tried to devise fixes.
I didn’t fill out that feedback form following the March 2024 update because I didn’t really have the time, and I wasn’t the only one.
It’s difficult enough to fix your SEO alongside doing everything else, and I didn’t put in the extra time for a form I wasn’t sure Google was actively going to care about.
And importantly, despite the regular insistence of Reddit’s SEO community on how important backlinks are for ranking, I didn’t try to get backlinks at all. Not one bit.
You won’t find a single artificial backlink for my site I’ve pursued and I actively push back against clients who infer they need that. You don’t. It’s one factor, but it’s not the be-all, end-all of factors.
There’s a reason Lily Ray gets out a specific GIF when backlinks are mentioned online. It’s a factor that just won’t die because it continues to make SEOs money and is easy to keep making money from.
Backlinks are just one factor and given how many signals there are in the age of AI, it may not even be one that truly genuinely makes much difference.
I did a lot of things, but none were focused on backlinks.
However, I did make changes to the design and fonts, working to find a style that improved overall readability for users.
I focused on delivering greater transparency through administrative pages, focusing on an editorial policy and an advertising policy and even made these easier to find.
I used a noindex tag on certain pages I didn’t want showing up in search results while I created better pages.
Some internal links were marked as nofollow, while others remained active. It’s important to find the right balance.
And there was custom code, media size increases and ensuring that every page a search engine could find was the best it possibly could be for users and engines alike.
Put the time in and talk to SEOs in specific areas
If you’re seeking help to recover from the HCU, find someone who has real experience in your area and has seen actual results.
Ask for their track record, proof and data. If possible, verify their recovery wins using a tracker. Don’t just take SEO advice blindly. You could end up wasting time and money on strategies that don’t apply to your site.
Look for someone who understands your specific issues. If needed, turn to the broader SEO community.
Remember that seeking a second opinion is always an option, just like with a doctor. Many of us are out here willing to help others learn.
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