From information to influence: How to succeed in Google's search results with helpful content

Google favors content that adheres to the principles of useful content - conversely, this can mean a drop in visibility for pages with low-quality content. As in any other discipline, there are winners and losers - so which side do you want to be on?
By making strategic and effective use of Google's helpful content, you can secure a stable position on the winning side.

The future of helpful content is twofold.
It's exciting, and it's challenging. But then again, no one has ever claimed that achieving success with your SEO is supposed to be easy. As always, it requires hard and persistent work, and that's why you should have a clear plan for your content.

With AI's massive influence on all content creation processes, we're experiencing greater potential than ever before in terms of how we produce, distribute, and interact. But that potential also creates greater competition.

What is helpful content?

‘Helpful content’ is a term that has gained significant popularity within the digital marketing and SEO world - especially after Google started focusing on rewarding content that is created with the user's needs at the center. But what does the concept entail, and how does it differ from the massive amount of content already available on the internet, which continues to grow?

In its simplicity, helpful content is about creating content that offers genuine value to the reader. And that might be easier said than done. For what is valuable content?

It's no longer enough 'just' to produce text filled with keywords in hopes of climbing the search engines' ranks. You probably remember the thing about specific keywords needing to be mentioned a certain number of times in a text to constitute a significant percentage of the total text volume? You can forget all about that now.
Now, content should instead address specific questions, problems, or needs that the target audience faces, and it should offer practical and applicable solutions or in-depth insight. Informative and useful equals valuable.

At its core, helpful content is about ensuring that the content you have on your website is written for people and not search engines. I have previously seen too many examples of content that is written solely with google and rankings in mind. And it's precisely this that google tries to eliminate by focusing on whether the content can be classified as helpful and useful for the visitor to your website.

If successful, it's not just google that will be pleased; your users will be too, which ultimately has a positive effect on your website's rankings.

 

Flemming C. Lund,
Head of SEO & B2B Marketing

The approach is driven by an understanding that Google constantly refines its algorithms to better identify and reward the content that is most relevant and helpful to the user. And there is always a pursuit of processes that can find the content demonstrating expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) within its field - now also with the addition of personal experience, which is why we now talk about not just E-A-T, but E-E-A-T.

To be categorized as ‘helpful content’, the content must go beyond the superficial and engage with a topic in both depth and nuance. And it must reflect the author's or brand's knowledge and experience. This means you need to focus on understanding your audience so you can identify the questions and issues that are most pressing for them. Then you must create content that directly speaks to those interests in a meaningful and engaging way.

With helpful content, it's about creating a connection with the reader, building trust, and becoming a reliable resource within a certain field. And it's an approach that requires time, research, and a genuine interest - so what are you passionate about?

Get started with helpful content - practical tips

Det kræver en velovervejet tilgang, der fokuserer på målgruppens behov, og hvordan de bedst It requires a well-considered approach that focuses on the needs of your target audience and how best to meet them to get started with creating helpful content. You need to start writing content that conveys value, solutions, and insights in a way that feels both personal and relevant to your readers.
And it's an art!

Therefore, start by establishing a deep understanding of your target audience.
Find out what they are interested in, the questions they ask, the challenges they are trying to solve, and the keywords they use when searching for solutions online.
To gain this knowledge, you can conduct audience and general market analyses. You can explore search behavior and request direct feedback.

With this knowledge, it becomes easier to formulate content that speaks directly to your readers' needs.

Afterwards, it's important that you prepare to prioritize quality over quantity. Every piece of content should be well-crafted and offer something unique that can't be found elsewhere. Therefore, you need to spend time researching the topic you want to write about and ensure to present it in an appealing way and from an angle that reflects your expertise.
This might mean sharing your personal experiences, case studies, analyses, or the opinions you have formed about practical solutions.

This is how you ensure content that is authentic and transparent.

The reader should be able to sense that your content is created based on a genuine interest in a topic, and it should be clear that you aim to help. Your SEO goal should stand in the background of the value your reader should experience.
Therefore, it can be advantageous to be honest about the sources you have used and not be afraid to admit if there are some points you are not an expert on. This increases your credibility and the trust you are trying to build and maintain.

To provide the best help, you can also include direct calls to action, so your reader knows what the next step is. Helpful content should not only inform but also inspire to take action on the information gathered. You can suggest where to read further material, where to sign up for relevant newsletters, where to download good guides, or you can make it possible to contact you directly for more information.

Always think about writing good content that your visitors can actually use. Try to see if it's possible to push SEO techniques a bit into the background and focus instead on ensuring that the content is good and unique. For example, investigate what pain points often make your product relevant and make sure to address solutions in your content. Also ensure that your content is better than the competitors'.

And if it seems like google has identified that people prefer videos in connection with a relevant search term, then get a good, unique video recorded that can supplement your content.

 

Flemming C. Lund,
Head of SEO & B2B Marketing

Based on such efforts, it ensures that you're not 'just' attracting traffic, but also building a loyal audience that will come to appreciate you as a reliable resource.

The good checklist for helpful content

Before you start creating content, there are a few thoughts you should consider to ensure that your content actually hits the right target audience, is helpful, and lives up to Google's high standards.

Start by investigating whether your topic will hit the intended target audience.
Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a target audience that would find the content useful?
• Does your content supplement the primary focus of your site?
• Is the purpose to write content for people rather than search engines?

Make sure you can answer 'yes' to all 3 questions.

Then find out if your content is written with sufficient expertise.
Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does your content clearly show your expertise and in-depth knowledge of the subject?
• Do you include your own views rather than summarizing others?
• Do you write your content because you have a real interest in the specific area rather than to attract traffic?

Again, make sure you can answer 'yes' to all 3 questions.

You should also ensure that the content is credible.
Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the information presented with source citations, analyses, reports, background information, links, or anything else that proves your knowledge?
• If your site is examined, does one get the impression that you should know something about the subject?
• Is the content properly produced without spelling mistakes, exaggerated headlines, and generally sloppy use of sentences?

Here, you should also be able to answer 'yes' to all 3 questions.

Last but not least, your content should meet the needs of your target audience.
Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you get a sense of having learned something new after reading your content?
• Is your content so informative that it's not necessary to seek further knowledge on the subject elsewhere?
• Do you make sure to write accurately and currently rather than hinting at something for which there is not yet an answer or is not confirmed?

And you might have guessed it - again, you should be able to answer 'yes' to all 3 questions.

The future of helpful content - what about AI?

AI technologies are evolving at a rapid pace, and the potential to revolutionize the way we produce, distribute, and interact with online content should not be underestimated. Therefore, it is advantageous to incorporate AI into all aspects of your work with helpful content.

Start by using AI to gain an understanding of your target audience. For instance, you can use AI to analyze large data sets, giving you insights into user preferences, behavioral patterns, and trends regarding engagement. This can lead to more targeted and relevant content that better meets users' needs and questions.

Then, use AI to automate certain aspects of your content production. This way, you can focus more on creativity and developing a good SEO strategy. You can use AI to write drafts, create templates, get good ideas, and generate entire content pages, speeding up your own production process and ensuring that your content is always current and relevant.
However, it's important to maintain originality and your personal touch, and to fact-check all the information AI provides you with. You must navigate challenges with misinformation, biases in algorithms, and the lack of human empathy.
Therefore, always keep the ethical aspects in mind.

AI can also be used when you want to personalize your content, allowing you to deliver tailored content experiences faster. With AI, you can predict which types of content will appeal most to different readers.

Feel free to experiment with AI when measuring and analyzing performance, developing new ideas for your strategy, and generally getting good input for a headline.

With AI, you can experience both challenges and innovative approaches to your content production. Therefore, it's your responsibility to use AI's potential responsibly.