The Biggest Lessons I Learned From the HCU So Far

Posted on July 16, 2025
Source: moz (en-US). Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of Understanding Google’s Helpful Content Update: How Topical Site Cohesion Impacts SEO Visibility

The Helpful Content Update (HCU) evaluates entire websites based on topical cohesion, not just individual pages. Sites with multiple overlapping or off-topic pages risk penalties that reduce overall visibility. Features like Table of Content anchor links can cause duplicate content issues, further harming rankings. Recovery requires a strategic focus on consolidating content and improving sitewide topical alignment.

Optimixed’s Overview: Navigating the Complexities of Google’s Helpful Content Update for Sustainable SEO Success

How Google’s Helpful Content Update Transformed Sitewide SEO Evaluation

Since its rollout in December 2022, Google’s Helpful Content Update (HCU) has shifted SEO focus from optimizing individual pages to managing a website’s entire topical identity. Instead of assessing pages in isolation, Google now measures each page against a domain-wide topical radius, assigning unhelpful tags to pages that are either too similar or too distant from the site’s main topical themes.

Key Findings and Impacts on SEO Strategy

  • Topical Cohesion is Critical: Sites covering multiple related topics must create clear, algorithmically recognizable connections within their content to avoid being flagged for unhelpfulness.
  • Duplicate and Overlapping Content: Multiple pages targeting the same queries—even if not exact duplicates—can cause significant visibility drops. This is exacerbated by the use of Table of Content (TOC) anchor links, which Google treats as separate URLs, leading to false duplicate content signals.
  • News Sites and Special Cases: News websites appear exempt or subject to manual penalties rather than algorithmic ones, reflecting their diverse topical coverage and unique content syndication practices.
  • SEO Recovery Requires Comprehensive Site Audits: Identifying problem pages, grouping overlapping content, consolidating or removing redundant pages, and submitting updated sitemaps for recrawling are essential steps.

Recommended Tactical Approach for Site Owners

To effectively respond to HCU challenges, site owners should:

  • Analyze Search Console Data at Page Level: Filter for impressions, clicks, and URLs containing anchor tags to pinpoint affected pages.
  • Group and Prioritize Overlapping Pages: Identify which pages compete for the same queries and decide which to keep or consolidate.
  • Remove or Revise Off-Topic Content: Eliminate pages that dilute the site’s topical focus.
  • Address Table of Content Link Issues: Consider removing or restructuring TOC links to prevent duplicate content penalties.
  • Resubmit for Indexing Promptly: Actively request indexing of updated pages to accelerate recovery.

Strategic Shift: From Keyword Focus to Topical Strategy

The update underscores the necessity of transitioning from traditional keyword-centric SEO to a holistic topical strategy that emphasizes thematic consistency across the entire website. This approach helps protect against sitewide suppression and aligns with Google’s evolving algorithmic expectations.

Conclusion: Embracing Topical Domain Authority in SEO

Google’s Helpful Content Update marks a fundamental change in how content quality and site relevance are assessed. The concept of “helpful content” is now intrinsically tied to a site’s topical cohesion. By understanding and optimizing the collective thematic footprint of their domains, site owners can minimize penalties, improve visibility, and build lasting SEO resilience.