There’s a moment I come back to often: sitting across from a small business owner, coffee in hand, listening as they share how their site traffic dropped overnight. “I haven’t changed anything,” they say. “It was working fine... until it wasn’t.” That sinking feeling? It’s what happens when a new Google algorithm rolls out and tosses a wrench into your digital presence. For small business owners especially, it can feel like trying to hit a moving target — one that's constantly changing shape.
Google’s 2023 Helpful Content Update was designed to root out websites with low-value or unoriginal content. But its ripple effects went far beyond the usual suspects. Many small local businesses, even those with honest intentions and decent websites, saw drops in visibility they didn’t anticipate. This post is a deep dive into how this update impacted small business SEO, why it happened, and most importantly, what to do about it. Whether you’re running a one-person candle shop or a ten-person landscaping team, these shifts in the algorithm affect how your audience finds — or doesn’t find — you online.
The Helpful Content Update, first introduced by Google in August 2022 and further intensified in late 2023, aimed to “reward content where visitors feel they've had a satisfying experience.” That’s Google's way of saying: if your content is clearly written to rank, but not to help, we’re coming for you.
Unlike keyword-stuffed blog spam — which most businesses have gotten better at avoiding — this update digs deeper. It evaluates how original and people-first your content really is. Think of it like a home appraisal. Sure, the paint looks nice, but now the inspectors are checking the plumbing, the wiring, and whether you’re hiding a closet full of Christmas lights instead of a water heater. Flashy on the outside, but lacking substance underneath? That’s what this algorithm targets.
This update wasn’t limited to blog content. It evaluated entire websites, including service pages, product descriptions, and even homepage copy. If large chunks of your site seemed like they were written just to manipulate rankings instead of serving actual human readers, Google took notice.
One business I worked with — a Franklin-based roofing company — had solid local SEO results for years. Their site was full of SEO-friendly H1s, internal linking, and all the usual on-page tricks. But it had little original content about their process, team, or customer experience. Their rankings slipped during the update. After rewriting some key service pages with actual photos and stories from their crew out on the job, ranking began to recover.
Big businesses can absorb sudden changes. They’ve got entire marketing teams, multiple channels driving traffic, and digital infrastructures built to weather storms. Small businesses, on the other hand, often rely on a narrow stream of Google searches to bring in consistent leads. So when that faucet gets turned down even slightly, it feels catastrophic.
Most small businesses aren’t churning out fresh, newsworthy content weekly. They’re busy running an actual business — servicing customers, managing invoices, answering phones. As a result, their content strategy is often treated like a “set it and forget it” situation. Unfortunately, that static strategy is now at odds with a search engine that wants freshness, originality, and utility over everything.
A home organizer I consult with published several “10 Tips to Declutter” blog posts in 2019. They kept ranking for a while, until the Helpful Content Update re-scanned her site. Suddenly, traffic dipped. Why? The content wasn’t inaccurate, but it was cookie-cutter compared to more recent posts that included personal anecdotes, unique decluttering philosophies, and guided videos — all signals of real utility.
Many small businesses start out on Wix or Squarespace using pre-built templates. While these platforms make launching a website easier, they can also lead to formulaic content that lacks distinctiveness. Google’s update doesn’t punish users of these platforms directly, but template-driven structures make it harder to stand out unless you go the extra mile to inject your business’s voice into the site copy.
I once worked with a therapist whose site, built on Squarespace, looked beautiful but sounded like every other mental health website. The moment we rewrote her content with the stories and phrasing she actually used with her clients — more raw, less corporate — her local SEO saw improvement within three weeks. Google rewards authenticity because readers do too.
Let’s talk real. Google uses robots, but it’s trying to model human behavior. And humans crave things that feel personal, actionable, and trustworthy.
Not officially, but functionally, yes. Think about how you search: you’re not just typing in “Franklin web design.” You’re asking: “Who can help me finally launch this site I’ve been procrastinating on for 6 months?” You want to feel seen, understood. Sites that mirror those emotions — with messages that say “We get where you are, and we can help” — tend to convert more users. Now, they also tend to rank better.
Google’s algorithms are learning to reward content that not only answers a query, but does so conversationally — not coldly. This is why AI-generated content, unless edited with care and real voice, has started to fall short. It often sounds like it read a guide about people, not written by one.
A mistake I see businesses make often: trading clarity for cleverness. Do you really need to say “bespoke digital solutions tailored to scale” when you could just say: “We build websites that grow with your business”? Through user engagement metrics, Google sees when people bounce off sites full of marketing jargon. That bounce tells it: “This wasn’t helpful.”
Instead of trying to “impress” search engines with high-concept language, imagine explaining your service to a friend over coffee. That tone tends to work better — in writing and in rankings.
Take inventory of your entire site. Page by page. Ask yourself:
Tools like Ahrefs Site Audit and Screaming Frog can help flag thin or spammy content. But judgment matters too — read your content out loud. If it sounds generic, it probably is.
Focus first on:
These are your prime real estate. Infuse them with real insights, examples, or client journeys. If you’re a Webflow developer, talk about a time you helped a brand replatform smoothly. If you’re running a bakery, include the story of your grandmother’s recipe that inspired your signature loaf. These stories aren’t fluff — they're differentiators.
Don’t just blog because the calendar says “It’s the 15th.” Create content based on gaps your customers are asking you about. One HVAC company I helped realized people kept asking about installing smart thermostats. So we wrote a detailed post comparing three brands, based on installations they’d done for local clients. It ranks now — not just because it was keyword-optimized, but because it was useful.
The Helpful Content Update also refined how Google identifies “local intent” — in other words, queries meant to find services nearby. For small businesses, this is an opportunity to get ultra-relevant traffic. But only if your content aligns with very specific search behavior.
Instead of stuffing “plumber Franklin TN” into every header, use sentences like: “We’ve been fixing leaks in Franklin homes — particularly newer builds near Berry Farms — for over 12 years.” This tells Google (and your reader) that you are rooted in the area, not just mentioning it.
If you serve multiple service areas, resist the “copy-paste” temptation. Google catches on fast. Instead:
I know a wedding photographer who copied her Nashville landing page to Clarksville with just a name swap. It tanked in Clarksville. We rewrote it to speak to Clarksville’s venues, client types, and local wedding trends. Instant ranking and lead alignment.
For businesses who've “felt the sting” of the update, it’s tempting to overcorrect — to publish faster, write longer, or get caught in the hamster wheel of keyword hysteria. But the better approach is thoughtful, strategic growth that prioritizes human connection first.
Businesses who chase algorithms are always one step behind. Those who focus on serving users tend to adapt better over time, regardless of Google’s fluctuations. Invest in understanding your customers: what they worry about, what they misunderstand, what they’re surprised to learn. Build your content around that. That’s what Google now wants — and probably what it wanted all along.
Instead of just tracking rankings, track:
I’ve seen businesses who lost traffic but gained better clients because their refreshed content filtered out tire-kickers and drew in readers who resonated more deeply. Helpful content might not always mean higher volume — but it often means higher quality.
The Helpful Content Update wasn’t built to punish. It was built to shift the internet back toward utility and authenticity — something small businesses already have a running head start on, if they're willing to dig in.
You don't need 100 blog posts. You need 10 great pieces that sound like only you could have written them. You don’t need to rival a tech giant. You need to tightly serve your specific community with content that feels personal and proactive.
And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, like the world of SEO is just one more hat you didn’t ask to wear — I get it. I’ve watched clients feel like they’re falling behind, just because they didn’t post weekly or rank above Amazon. But real impact isn’t measured in search volume alone. It’s measured by who reads your content, and thinks: “Finally — someone who gets it.”
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