Google SEO
September 2023 — Amsive · Search Engine Land
What changed in the September 2023 Helpful Content Update?
The wording about content being written by humans was removed: AI content could qualify when genuinely useful. The update addressed third-party hosted content and artificial date refreshes. Some websites reported traffic losses of 40–80%.
Further analysis
Use this entry as an audit checkpoint. The cited source establishes the context; the direct answer identifies what to check before choosing an action.
In SFT, this topic relates to Trust. Check whether the signal is visible on the page, connected to the rest of the website and supported by understandable evidence.
Related search terms include Helpful Content 2023, AI content, reputation abuse. Use them to describe the issue in a brief, audit or answer page.
Applying SFT
Trust requires observable evidence: sources, consistency, citations, identifiable authors and verifiable claims.