The short answer: good SEO is people-focused SEO.

It's that simple. Good SEO benefits your customers, who are humans. Bad SEO only tries to please algorithms, which aren't human – despite what some ex-Google employees might think.

Why, then, does the debate rage on? Why are there so many people arguing about what makes SEO good?

These arguments, we should add, are often contradictory – and are debated with the passion of a thousand fiery software engineers.

And this is despite the fact that Google has outright told us what good SEO looks like.

Back in August 2022, Google announced its Helpful Content Update. This follows on from similar spam-fighting updates like Panda and Penguin.

The Helpful Content Update tweaked Google's search algorithm to – and we quote – "better reward content where visitors feel they've had a satisfying experience. […] Content that doesn't meet a visitor's expectations won't perform as well."

Google wants eyeballs on the good stuff. The content that does its research, checks its facts and tells a good story. Google has a name for it, too: "people-first content".

So why the debate? The reason, we think, is that Google's words are open to interpretation.

On one side, you have the wait-and-see brigade. They stick to old techniques because they've worked in the past and – to some extent – still do.

These old hands interpret Google's words to mean, "as long as it's not harming anyone, it's OK". Sure, they might have crowbarred that keyword into their copy a few too many times, but it's hardly going to ruin anyone's day, is it?

On the other side? The bridge burners. They see Google's statement as the death knell for SEO. "Don't even think about SEO," they wail, clanging a funereal gong, "just create stuff".

As you might have guessed, our interpretation sits somewhere in the middle. We don't think SEO is dead – after all, Google has talked openly about its own SEO strategy. But, at the same time, we're totally on board with the people-first approach.

The two concepts are not mutually exclusive. Good SEO puts people first but is still SEO. It takes people out for a romantic, candlelight dinner, yet takes the time to step outside and give Google a quick phone call. You know, just to check in.

"But," you might be thinking, "I remember what you said 400-ish words ago. You said that good SEO sets out to please humans, not algorithms. How can you please humans while still tipping your hat to Google? Isn't that contradictory?"

No. And it all comes down to a simple question.

How to tell if SEO is good SEO

Say you're doing some SEO. Maybe you're working on some copy or tweaking the internal link structure of your website.

It's fine to do this with Google's almighty algorithm in mind. But you should always ask yourself, "is this also going to improve things for my website visitors?"

That's the test. Good SEO makes people and Google happy. Bad SEO tries to score goals in the Google game by rough-tackling its own user base.

This question – "does it benefit both? – is at the heart of our SEO philosophy. We ask ourselves the question, consciously or not, dozens of times every day.

And it works. Our clients see impressive search gains and their users enjoy swift, easy-to-use websites packed with well-researched content. (Yes, we're tooting our own horn. Sorry-not-sorry.)

Now you know the magic question, let's put it to the test with some common SEO scenarios.

Scenario one: creating thin location pages

You sell humane spider traps. (OK, you probably don't. Just play along.)

You sell humane spider traps and you have a burgeoning empire of humane-spider-trap shops in various locations across the UK.

Your keyword research tells you there's local interest in your products. You've seen healthy search volume for queries like "humane spider traps leeds" and "buy humane spider trap glasgow".

Naturally, you want these potential customers to know you exist. So you start creating content that targets these geographic queries. Soon, Glasgow's spiders will be hailing you as their personal saviour.

But is this good SEO? Does it benefit users and search engines?

The answer is probably "no". You've created these pages with Google in mind. They won't provide much value for users in Leeds or Glasgow or anywhere else.

And, inevitably, you'll have to mine the same quarry of information to create content for each location. This means the content will be thin, repetitive and only tangentially related to the location it targets.

The verdict? Bad SEO.

Scenario two: switching to a faster website host

Users have complained that Spider-B-Free.com is too slow. You decide to switch to a different hosting provider to help grease the wheels.

Does this benefit users and search engines? No brainer – yes it does.

Users love snappy websites – or, rather, they hate slow websites. Research has shown that 57% of mobile website visits are abandoned if the site takes longer than three seconds to load.

And Google adores fast websites too. It's well known that site speed is a ranking factor – in other words, faster sites tend to perform better in Google search results.

The verdict: good SEO.

Scenario three: writing blogs based on "FAQ keywords"

Things are looking up. You've ditched the spammy location pages, supercharged your site and are about to launch a brand-new blog. Exciting!

But what should you write about? Again, you turn to keyword research for the answer.

You notice people are asking questions related to your products. They're searching for things like "how do humane spider traps work?" and "what's the best humane trap for false widow spiders?"

These seem like good places to start. But you're hesitant. If you target these keywords, aren't you putting Google before your customers?

That depends.

If you wrote some thin, keyword-stuffed blog posts that used lots of words to say very little, then… yes. That would be putting Google first. It wouldn't add much value for users of your website.

But you don't do that. You're the UK's preeminent spider-catching expert. You know your stuff, so you write engaging articles that are full of unique insights and time-honoured tips. Customers love them – and Google takes note of their quality too.

The verdict: good SEO – if you write targeted content that adds value for users.

Now you know our secret, let's put it into action. At My Digital Hero, we've helped businesses of all stripes get great results with people-focused SEO. Learn more about our heroic white-hat SEO services or get in touch and we'll swoop in to help.