5. Do you think people often misdiagnose themselves as being hit by the HCU when it’s an older core algorithm or competitor activity?
Yes, I’d say so—I see this happen quite often. The Helpful Content Update (HCU) was a very specific event, and many sites were affected in a distinct way. If the HCU hit your site, you’d likely know by now, as it caused a clear drop in rankings and traffic between September 15 and September 20, 2023.
The complication is that this update was released between two other updates—the September and October Core Updates of 2023. So, many sites impacted by those core updates may think they were affected by the HCU when, in reality, it was one of the surrounding core updates.
To determine which update affected you, use the Google Search Status Dashboard, which provides specific dates and details for each update rollout.
Regarding recovery, my team and I generally follow a similar approach across updates, involving a range of SEO improvements. However, with sites impacted specifically by the HCU, we often find overly aggressive SEO content that needs to be adjusted. While each case has unique elements, the recovery steps follow a comprehensive, multifaceted SEO approach.
