This article was sponsored by Trisolute News Dashboard, and the views expressed are solely those of the sponsor.
Have you noticed a sudden drop in your articles’ visibility this year? It might be part of a broader trend. On August 25, 2022, Google initiated an update that could significantly impact news publishers and their visibility. Another core update followed on September 12.
These updates, known as the "Helpful Content Update(s)," aim to:
- Eliminate content created solely to achieve a high ranking.
- Deemphasize articles lacking information or helpfulness.
- Reward content that benefits readers.
Google constantly revises its algorithm to better align content with searchers, which can sometimes greatly affect publishers’ visibility.
Which Google Categories Were Affected?
This article sheds light on how news publishers worldwide were impacted by the Helpful Content Update. We analyzed various Google categories to identify any major changes when the updates occurred, focusing on countries where these effects were evident.
The categories explored were:
- Top Stories
- Country-Specific News
- World News
- Business News
- Science & Technology News
- Entertainment News
- Sports News
- Health News
- COVID-19 News
The data presented here is sourced from Trisolute’s News Dashboard.
Methodology for Assessing Update Impact
To identify the impact, we examined the most visible publishers for trending newsworthy keywords using Google News and Trends. Rankings, based on a 15-minute crawling interval, were filtered on the KPI Dashboard → Mobile News Box using:
- Date Range: July 25, 2022 – September 25, 2022 (Weeks 30–38)
- Top 10 Competitors
- All Ranking Types
- General Keyword Set
This analysis was conducted across various countries worldwide.
Analysis by Category
Top Stories – Mexico
In Mexico, publishers El Financiero and Infobae experienced changes. El Financiero’s visibility increased post-August update but decreased after September, while Infobae’s visibility dropped shortly after the August update.
Country-Specific News – Switzerland
In Switzerland, both 20 Minutes and Blick saw visibility increases post-August update. However, both showed significant drops during the September update week.
World News – Colombia
In Colombia, El Tiempo and Semana saw visibility gains post-August update, but all publishers, including El Espectador, faced stagnation or a drop before the September update.
Business News – Peru
CNN experienced visibility losses between updates but stabilized towards September. RPP gained initially but lost visibility around the September update.
Science & Technology News – France
French publishers maintained or gained visibility post-August update. However, Jeuxvideo and Gamekult saw losses after September, while Le Monde increased visibility.
Entertainment News
- Australia: News.com.au saw visibility increase before August, followed by a steep decline and eventual stabilization.
- United Kingdom: Both the Daily Mail and the Mirror faced visibility drops during the August update.
Sports News – Canada
TSN maintained visibility during August but lost some during September. CBC’s visibility increased significantly before August but decreased around September.
Health News
- Austria: Der Standard and ORF increased in visibility, while Kurier and Vienna.at faced initial losses post-August but recovered after September.
- United States: NPR and The New York Times lost visibility post-August; NPR’s visibility later improved, while the New York Times experienced fluctuations around September.
COVID-19 News
- Brazil: Little change during August, but significant shifts occurred in September.
- Germany: DER SPIEGEL gained visibility before August but lost it during the update, recovering post-September.
Key Conclusions
For most top publishers, the August update had a more substantial impact than the September update. However, the effects were varied, with some benefiting and others facing challenges. Notable observations:
- Publishers from Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Germany experienced visible changes across all categories around the updates.
- Country-Specific News showed anomalies across all countries.
- Brazil showed no significant impact in the Business category.
- The most affected categories were Country-Specific, Business, Science & Technology, Entertainment, and Health News.
- The BBC was the most affected publisher, appearing in top 10 fluctuations across four countries.
Interested in learning more about your visibility in Google News? Consider reaching out for further insights.
Image Credits
Featured image: Courtesy of Trisolute News Dashboard, used with permission.
