Creating top tier content that thrives in Google’s SEO updates
30 September 2024
Whenever Google announces a new core update, marketing teams around the globe brace for impact. These core algorithmic and general system updates are made to ensure that the top search engine continues to deliver accurate and useful results for searchers. However, these updates can also create pain points for companies that invest in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Luckily, there are several ways to create high-quality SEO content that aligns with Google core updates so your webpages can maintain those high rankings.
Before we get into creating or updating content, it’s good to know why Google makes these algorithmic updates in the first place.
- Staying relevant. Google updates its algorithm to keep pace with changes on the web. With over 7.5 million blog posts and articles being published each day, ranking content becomes extremely important. For example, a blog post that was popular in 2019 might not be the best resource in 2025.
- Prioritising human answers to human questions. Google is beginning to crack down on low-quality AI-generated content and content that is overly catered to search engines. In its August 2024 core update, Google specifically altered its algorithm to show more content that people actually find useful and less low-quality content that feels as if it was created to only perform well on Search.
- Remaining the top search engine. Google’s #1 goal is to remain the top search engine by providing the best possible and most reliable answers to user questions. The content you create on your website must not only be SEO-friendly, but must also be useful to your target audience.
Key steps for creating high-quality and high-ranking SEO content:
Showcase authentic thought leadership
GenAI tools, like ChatGPT, are extremely useful for copywriters. However, if every law firm tells ChatGPT to write an engaging blog post about “The Ultimate Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions,” there will be nothing that sets it apart from the competition to potential customers or Google’s rankings. Speak with a subject matter expert to add authentic and specific thought leadership to your blog post. Now, you will have the foundation for high-quality, useful content that can be enhanced by AI tools, not solely created by them.
Keywords! Keywords?
Google’s core updates are trending against overstuffing articles with keywords for the sake of keywords. While blogs still need to indicate their subject matter to customers and Google’s algorithms through strategic copy, all copy should be intentional and informative. The exact number of keywords added typically depends on the blog’s content, its length and the history of which keywords best convert on the chosen website.
Audit your content
Google will continue to make core updates that trend against low-quality, primarily AI generated content. If you have this type of content on your website, we recommend creating a plan of action for enhancing that content with authentic thought leadership or even removing some articles. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link—don’t wait until Google’s next update compromises the chain.
Consistency is key
One of Google’s primary reasons for doing core updates is to keep pace with changes on the web. By regularly posting new and relevant content, Google’s search engine crawlers will consistently have something new to rank. Plus, you can tie this regular blog content into your greater marketing content strategy and repurpose material for social media, podcasts, reports and more.
Keep up with Google’s updates
One of the best ways be prepared for SEO changes is to stay informed about Google’s updates and anticipate greater changes. Google will continue making these algorithmic updates and you can see when these changes happen in the Google Search Status Dashboard here.
Want to know more?
If you’d like to understand how your content can feature more highly, or continue to climb Google’s search results, please contact Duncan Shaw in New York, Greg Hobden in London or Gigi Yung in Hong Kong.