Businesses aren’t designed to be ‘helpful’
1st October, 2023
Over the last few decades, we’ve seen a shift from traditional, offline business models to digital storefronts and e‑commerce systems. While this transformation has been successful in many respects, a crucial element has often been overlooked: being genuinely helpful to users. Instead, these models focus on driving traffic and converting a fraction of visitors into customers, with little emphasis on solving their core problems.
But the landscape is changing. Google increasingly rewards websites that prioritize user needs above all else. They’re making it clear that the primary function of a webpage — and by extension, a business — should be to provide value. Selling, converting, and advertising are still important, but they should be secondary to offering solutions and helping users navigate their challenges.
This fundamental tension — between the desire to sell and the need to help — is where the SEO industry thrives. Businesses want access to Google’s vast audience, but to earn it, they must evolve. They need to become more user-centric, build robust content strategies, and adopt a publisher’s mindset. To survive in this ecosystem, businesses must embrace concepts like EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and fully integrate them into their digital strategies. While many have taken steps in this direction, for some, the changes might be too little, too late.
We are now entering an era where being helpful isn’t just a strategy — it’s a business imperative. Companies that fail to embed helpfulness into their DNA will face a tough uphill battle. They’ll find themselves losing out to platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and TikTok, where users actively seek advice, recommendations, and solutions from authentic voices. As these businesses struggle to build brand awareness and customer loyalty, they’ll increasingly rely on paid advertising and interruption tactics, which are becoming less effective. In contrast, competitors who are genuinely helpful will naturally build communities of loyal customers who return time and again.
Now is the perfect moment to ask yourself: “Is our website truly and authentically helpful to our audience?” If the answer is no, it’s time to rethink your approach. In the long run, businesses that focus on being helpful won’t just survive — they’ll thrive in a world where authenticity is everything.
