We hope this email finds you well on this Tuesday morning. This Week in Blogging has another packed edition for you. 

We'll kick things off by sharing everything you need to know about Google's September 2023 Helpful Content Update, and then go from there!

What Do You Need to Know About the Recent Google Update?

Firstly, thanks to the folks in our Facebook community who filled out our poll and how their sites were faring in relation to the update. Of course, some of the changes are seasonal, but it still helps paint a picture of where we're at. 

Here were the results.

Okay, so now that the dust has settled a little bit, what do you need to know about the update?

• It was dubbed the 2023 September Helpful Content Update, and is another attempt from Google to use algorithms to accurately assess what content is indeed helpful for users (and not just web junk). 
• A major shift is how Google is looking at AI and machine learning. Originally, the Helpful Content approach was meant to prioritize content "written by people, for people." 
• Here's the new wording: "Google Search’s helpful content system generates a signal used by our automated ranking systems to better ensure people see original, helpful content created for people in search results.”
  • Reading between the lines, that would seem to suggest that you can use AI in the service of creating better content, but not as a replacement for content itself. Google's stance on AI will change as their hand is forced to, but we'll stay on top of that for you. 

• Google wants to ensure that all content on a website is relevant to the main site's purpose. That's why they've come down hard on hosting third-party content. The example that Search Engine Journal uses is "news media websites hosting third-party credit card affiliate content on a subdomain." 
  • From Google: "if that content is largely independent of the main site’s purpose or produced without close supervision or the involvement of the primary site, we recommend that it should be blocked from being indexed by Google.”

• Google also updated their guidelines for what helpful content consists of. They've added new questions for publishers to use to "self-assess" their content. As we've mentioned before as well, they look for a quality page experience, and a focus on creating content for people, not just search engines. If you've been negatively affected by an update, Google is telling site owners to start by reviewing this list and to make sure you're actually creating the content they want to prioritize. 
• One other thing to mention here - if you're going to be updating an article, you now need to make sure you've added enough to validate an update. If the article has not been genuinely improved, Google doesn't want you updating it to try to capitalize on "content freshness." 
• Lily Ray, Senior Director, SEO and Head of Organic Research at amisive, put together an incredibly thorough article on the update if you want to dive in further. The "Winners & Losers" section was particularly fascinating. Reddit, Quora, dictionary sites, some news, and social seems to have done well. Wikipedia, YouTube, Amazon, and Walmart appear to be the initial big losers. 

Never Ending Algorithm Updates

• Since we're coming right off a Core Algorithm Update, Search Engine Land also compares how the August update looks relative to the March 2023 update.
  
• Google is also still maintaining confidence that their future vision of search and SGE will be a success. Everyone else? Not so much.
• Google's push into AI involves a new LLM called Gemini, and Search Engine Journal shares what is known about this one so far.
• Snippets have been in flux lately, and now How-To snippets are getting the axe on Desktop. This comes after Google had cut them for mobile just a few weeks ago.
• Tech leaders met with Senators in the USA last week to discuss the ongoing concerns over AI and future regulation.
• Naturally, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were both present and made for a rather hilarious photo op considering how they've been fake fighting lately.
• Threads has a new feature this week where you can follow a specific thread without following the user outright.
• The option to send gifts (aka stars) on Reels is expanding to many more markets in Europe and Asia this week. Is anyone making appreciable money with this?
• For those who pay for advertising on Meta, you may be interested to find out they have new ad tools like time-based scheduling. This is specifically designed to help marketers plan around essential holiday spending in Q4.
• X has some new features coming soon like an expanded bio section and, perhaps far more necessary, ID verification for X Premium users.
• It has been no secret that TikTok has been making strides in the music space, but now they have a partnership with Billboard for their own TikTok Top 50 Chart. Honestly, we want more popular music to become available, please.
• Pinterest unveiled numerous developments at their Pinterest Presents event, with some of the more interesting ones focused on those who advertise on the network.
• WhatsApp is expanding to add its group Channels features to more regions (150+ countries!). This could be an interesting one to tap into a new reader base.
• After Apple announced the new iPhone with innovative tech like a USB-C plug, The Verge looks at how you can "reinvent your phone" without buying a new one. This may save you a thousand dollars this week.
• For those who promote affiliate products on Amazon, the fall Prime Day sale has been announced for October 10th and 11th.
• Do you use the Slimstat Analytics plugin? Wordfence is reporting on a vulnerability that affects over 100,000 sites.
• Wordfence is also back with another vulnerability report this week, covering news from September 4th to 11th.
• Want to take a deep dive into GenAI and the Knowledge Graph? Moz has an incredibly technical breakdown you may want to read.
• Problogger shares possible quick wins to get more comments and shares on your blog in this excellent guide.
• Ahrefs has a few new guides this week, including discussing rich snippets and their content audit process.
• Want to improve showing off your E--E-A-T? Search Engine Land shares common issues to quickly fix.
• Finally, TWIB reader Kate asked what novel Q4 spending you've made for your blog to increase your business expenses for the year. Head over to our Facebook group to share your thoughts and help out!

What to Do When You Have a Copycat

With the blogging sphere growing considerably over the years, it should be no surprise that numerous bloggers are now tackling the same niche. 

In some niches, competition has grown so much that some successful bloggers are even starting to have copycats mimic their site- either in terms of style of content or, in some cases, outright copyright infringement!

So in this one, we thought we'd look at what happens when you have a copycat blogger, namely things you should do and things you shouldn't do.

Naturally, this one is heavily dependent on the nature of your copycat to begin with!

What We're Digging This Week

A Fact Worth Sharing

Opportunities

Another week comes another list of opportunities to check out!

1. Family adventure video makers "The Skorys" are looking to hire a Video Editor. 
2. Have a dog? Wyndham is looking for a pup to be the face of Baymont Hotels, and it comes with 5k in cash, plus a 5k travel stipend. 
3. A handful of writing jobs have been listen on 201 Creative.
4. Yelp is looking for an official food photographer. 

That's it for the week! Check your inbox next week for another update from This Week in Blogging®.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to reply directly to this email. It is a rare week where Jeremy and Chris are both at home and at the computer, so naturally, they're one-upping each other by changing the email password to progressively funnier things. Catch them in this ongoing game of hot potato by sending over a question!

-Chris and Jeremy

PS: Our Buy Me a Coffee ☕ is always available if you'd like to chip in too! We also have a tip jar via PayPal, if you prefer that option, too.

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