How Google Killed the Blog
And what you can do about it
“Never before in history have 50 designers made decisions that would have an impact on two billion people” — Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google
Google turned 25 in September 2023. Its gift to the world? A giant middle finger to how the internet operates, neatly packaged as the ‘Helpful Content Update.’
Google pitched this update as a noble crusade for quality.
The idea was simple: help the 8 billion searches a day prioritize content created for people, not just for the sake of ranking high in search results.
On paper, it sounded like a digital utopia — a place where the user’s quest for genuine, valuable content would always be satisfied. But beneath this Potemkin Village of user-centric improvement, the update harbored a more complex reality.
It was a response to an endless battle against the deluge of low-quality, search-engine-optimized (SEO) content that clogs the arteries of the internet.
Google was attempting to clean house and bring back a sense of authenticity and reliability to search results.
How did they change how articles appear in search?
- User-first approach
- An emphasis on authenticity and…
