Google’s new update encourages original, meaningful content

Google has recently announced an update to their search engine to show more high-quality, human-centric content. They are also reducing the ranking of low-quality content specifically made to place higher in search engines.

Termed the "helpful content update", Google says this new update will prioritise content designed to be as helpful and educational as possible while reducing the ranking of clickbait search results. According to the company, this update will help people find more helpful information on online education, arts, entertainment, shopping and tech-related content.

"We know people don't find content helpful if it seems like it was designed to attract clicks rather than inform readers," reads the official announcement. "We're rolling out a series of improvements to Search to make it easier for people to find helpful content made by, and for, people."

Google also says the new ranking system will work similarly to their product review search update launched earlier this year, prioritising content with in-depth details and helpful information. Product reviews written by experts that cover comparable products and include user guides will get priority in Google Search ranking.

As per their effort to rank "original, quality content", Google Search aims to ensure that "unoriginal, low-quality content doesn't rank highly". As such, the revamped search results will focus on showing unique and authentic information that the user hasn't come across before.