Google: Not All Sites That Think They Were Hit By Helpful Content Issues Actually Were

Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison, wrote on X, "Another thing to keep in mind is that some of the sites I've looked into, where someone thinks they have a helpful content issue -- they're fine." Meaning, those sites may have seen competitors see a lift and jump up ahead of them but their traffic is down because of the competition ranking better, not because of any unhelpful content issues.

"They're ranking in the top results. There's no fundamental content issues. It's more that other things might have moved up even slightly," he added.

He wrote this a while ago over here as well, saying, "But I also think it's important to understand that your content might be great, not have any issues to correct, but it's just relatively speaking, perhaps it's slipped a bit down in the rankings." That was him addressing a specific case.

Here are those posts:

Another thing to keep in mind is that some of the sites I've looked into, where someone thinks they have a helpful content issue -- they're fine. They're ranking in the top results. There's no fundamental content issues. It's more that other things might have moved up even…

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) February 12, 2024

Katie, if you're trying to understand how to improve, the key page from us is this: https://t.co/NaRQqb1SQx

But I also think it's important to understand that your content might be great, not have any issues to correct, but it's just relatively speaking, perhaps it's slipped a…

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) December 11, 2023

But of course, those seeing drastic ranking declines for many queries they ranked super well for over the years, assume you were hit by this helpful content update (if the timing of your decline was shortly after the helpful content update rolled out in September). If you just saw a competitor or two outrank you, then you probably were not hit by that update.

That being said, I think most of those complaining saw drastic and devastating declines from this helpful content update and are praying for the day to see their website content rank well again - sooner than later.

Forum discussion at X.