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Latest Google Update Favors Original and Unique Content – Here’s What That Means For Your Content Strategy

In today’s day and age, most topics and subjects have already been covered in some form or fashion online. This can make it tempting for content creators to regurgitate information that has already been reported.

Before Google’s latest update, if the content was relevant and well-written, Google tended to favor it in terms of SEO.

However, Google’s latest update is shining a spotlight on the necessity of individualized, quality journalism. In order to enjoy a boost in SEO, writers are now required to produce content that differs from the primary sources it draws from.

What does Google’s new update encompass?

What does it mean for writers, content producers, and publishers?

How can you craft your content to meet Google’s new SEO content guidelines?

How Did Google’s Algorithm Work Before?

Before their recent update, Google tended to favor articles that were relevant over articles that were unique. So long as reporting was current and factual, Google’s algorithm would prioritize it.

However, this produced issues in terms of quality control.

Many articles that skimmed the surface of a topic, neglected to contribute new information, or were uber repetitive were prioritized above articles with original reporting.

Additionally, a plethora of repeated sources was pinned against one another for traffic, resulting in repetitive and poor-quality journalistic practices.

What is the Latest Google Update?

In a recent update, Google announced that they will now be focused on rewarding original, unique reporting over repetitive, copied, and surface-level journalism.

Their algorithm will no longer boost articles for being up-to-date, but for containing quality, specific content that cannot be found at other sources.

In section 5.1 of their update, Google said that they classify this type of content as “original reporting that provides information that would not otherwise have been known had the article not revealed it.

Original, in-depth, and investigative reporting requires a high degree of skill, time, and effort…Very high-quality news content must be accurate and should meet professional journalistic standards.”

While this may make your palms sweat, generating unique and relevant content isn’t as difficult as it seems. There are many effective ways to produce original content about events and subjects that have already been reported on.

What Does This Mean for Writers and Publishers?

There is no reason to panic over this new update. While original reporting does require more time and energy, it will help you build a brand that is solid in its foundations and successful in terms of SEO.

It will also help you gain more control over your content, produce quality writing, and develop a confident voice for your brand, blog, or site.

Introduce Your Own Insight

One way to support your content in being unique is by incorporating your individual views or insights about information that already exists. When reporting about a widely-covered topic or subject, you don’t only need to regurgitate pre-existing info to give your article structure.

What unique insight can you offer into the topic? Do you have any personal thoughts/reflections on the subject matter?
Can you draw connections between the topic and another event/subject?

Do you feel that something wasn’t covered or explored in the original story that you want to dig deeper into?

Answering these questions can help you bulk up your writing with more specific, effective, and individualized content.

Make Your Work Trustworthy

Google doesn’t favor work that is stolen, ripped off, or uncredited. Failing to attribute your facts and figures to an original, respected source breaks your trust with Google and your reader. An essential part of reporting is ensuring that you are both factually correct and credit your facts to those who first reported on them.

Don’t worry—you won’t sink your site by linking your competitors. It’s more important to cite your sources than to lose the respect of both your readers and Google.

Ensuring that you link your info to valid sources will help you gain credibility as a site far quicker than ripping off the reporting done by other creators.

This also provides you with the space to expand on original reports. You’ll be able to give your take on a topic rather than merely recycling general information. By crediting primary sources, you’ll have the room to respond to previous reports, as well as create your own links and connections between multiple sources.

The Latest Google Update In Review

Google now favors original and unique content to repetitive or regurgitated information. If you report on a topic, be sure to add your own insight/content to the pre-existing information on the web.

Additionally, link your facts and figures to trustworthy sources in order to give your brand, blog, or site a creative, respectable reputation.

Do you have any thoughts on the new update? Any solid tips for producing original content? Let us know in the comments below!

GoogleSEO

Dave Polykoff

Dave Polykoff is the CEO & Founder of Presto Media, a Digital Marketing Agency built on the foundation of premium content and strategy.

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