What is Site Focus, and How Does It Affect Your SEO?

Few things are more nightmarish for website owners and SEO professionals than waking up to a sudden drop in traffic. However, that was the reality for many sites when Google began its Helpful Content Update (HCU) rollout in September 2023.

One year later, it’s clear that quick fixes like adding more backlinks won’t solve the problem, as this Reddit thread shows.

Google’s attention is now firmly on people-first content. To deliver quality search results, Google wants websites to have a primary focus—a core theme that establishes expertise. The reason is simple: focused websites are better at meeting user needs by providing relevant, in-depth content that aligns with users search intent and Google’s goal of improving the searcher’s experience.

Organizing your content around a specific topic makes it easier for Google to understand your site’s relevance and authority. This focus strengthens your position in the search rankings and protects your website from HCU.

If your site is still struggling with traffic post-HCU, it’s time to revisit your SEO content strategy. In this blog post, we’ll explore how refining your site’s focus can improve SEO performance and keep you competitive.

Why should you worry about Google’s Helpful Content Update?

Imagine a website that offers fitness tips, tech reviews, and gardening tips. At first glance, you might think, “That website is a diverse resource.” However, it seems more like scattered efforts with no clear focus or expertise to Google.

Google has made it very clear how vital website focus is to creating content that is considered “helpful.” The search engine tells you to ask yourself:

• Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?
• Are you producing a lot of content on different topics in the hopes that some of it will perform well in search results?
• Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you’d write about them otherwise for your existing audience?

If your answer to those questions isn’t yes, you could find yourself receiving Google’s HCU penalties.

Remember that Google’s HCU is a site-wide update. It evaluates and impacts the entire website rather than just individual pages. A website without a clear area of expertise will be penalized by Google, even if you have a couple of excellent pages.

Improved site focus is the key to your SEO survival

Site focus refers to how well your content aligns around a core topic or niche. This focus is essential to be regarded as an authority in a specific niche by Google and search engine users. Daniel Huang, founder of Clearscope, made this point on a podcast with Skyword:

“Google has this idea of what they call a site focus score, which is just a fancy way of saying what this website is talking about and how authoritative it is… [Websites] should go much deeper into their niche. It’s not just about the who, what, why, and when of a topic.”

What this means is simple: instead of spreading your content across multiple unrelated subjects, your website should center on a clear, specific theme that you can explore on a deeper level to gain topical authority.

Google’s algorithm has evolved beyond focusing on keywords to understand what’s on a page. It can identify entities–concepts, people, places, events, or things tied to your website’s niche or topics—and help Google deliver relevant search results. You associate your site with these relevant entities by aligning your content with a specific theme.

For example, a blog dedicated to sustainable living that regularly publishes content about eco-friendly products and practices will naturally connect with entities like “climate change,” “sustainable farming,” or “renewable energy.” Google recognizes these connections and forms a more complete understanding of your site’s authority on the subject.

The result? Search engines can better understand the complete picture of what your website is about, leading to improved rankings. When someone searches for topics related to your niche, Google views your site as a trusted resource—and rewards you with more traffic.

But how do you know for sure what your website’s focus is?

Introducing the InLinks Site Focus tool

The InLinks Site Focus tool analyzes your website and understands whether Google sees your content as too broad or focused on a particular niche. With this tool, you can identify areas where your website’s authority might be diluted by covering too many unrelated topics.

So, how does it work? 

You’ll need a site with at least 20 pages for meaningful insights. But the more pages, the better. Once your site is analyzed, the tool generates a straightforward chart that highlights whether your content is too scattered or aligned around a core theme.

Let’s look at an example. A house design website used to enjoy millions of website visits when it focused on house design and architecture. However, after expanding its content to include recipes, its traffic plummeted (as the website owner told us). The site’s visitor count fell to almost zero in just a few months, likely due to its diluted focus and HCU’s impact (at least, that’s what we think)

We ran the website through our Site Focus tool, and the chart below shows what Google thinks of the site’s focus.

This type of analysis gives you a quick and easy snapshot of what Google perceives as your site’s primary focus areas. With this information, you can make strategic adjustments to improve your content’s alignment and overall SEO performance.

InLink’s Site Focus tool isn’t public yet, but if you would like to see a chart showing your site’s focus, feel free to make a request using the chat feature on your screen.

Now you understand the importance of having a clear site focus, here’s how to apply it to your content strategy.

Follow these steps to improve your site’s focus

Maintaining a focused content strategy will help Google recognize your website as an authority in your niche. After discovering and understanding your website’s current focus areas, follow these steps to improve your content strategy and overall performance.

Prioritize topics that align with your site’s main niche

Identify the topics or core themes that best define your site’s niche. When you focus on a core topic, you create a clear association between your website and that topic. This makes it easier for Google to understand your content, categorize it, and see you as an authority on that topic within your niche.

Cut out off-topic content

As you narrow your subject matter areas, you should also eliminate content you’ve created in the past that doesn’t align with your current direction.

For instance, if you started a blog in the sustainable living niche. But after running your website through the InLinks Site Focus tool, you found that there’s a chance Google doesn’t understand your niche due to a series of tech gadget reviews you wrote.

If this happens, you can simply delete the articles or deindex them. You can also rework them to align with your new focus if there’s an opportunity. In this scenario, a tech gadget listicle post could become “5 sustainable tech gadgets for a safer future.” This way, you associate your website with sustainable living, reinforcing your claim to be seen as an authority in that niche by Google.

Cluster your content around the main topic

Topic clusters help websites provide comprehensive information on a single topic to their audience. Clusters also help search engines understand what your website is about and attribute relevance to your website.

When you decide on a new focus for your website, group the topics you wish to discuss under this focus into clusters. For our sustainable living blog, these topics could be sustainable fashion, sustainable technology, and sustainable travel.

When building topic clusters, make sure not to follow the traditional SEO silos model where each cluster is disconnected from others. This reduces the visibility of pages on your website. Instead, use the multi-cluster approach where a page can act as the pillar page of one cluster while simultaneously supporting other clusters.

Refine your internal linking to reinforce your site focus

Now that you’ve cleaned up off-topic content and organized your content into clusters, the next step is strengthening your internal linking to highlight your site’s focus further.

To ensure Google understands your site’s core theme, use InLinks to identify related entities that can boost your content’s relevance across different clusters. 

InLinks helps you identify meaningful connections between your pages and create contextual internal links without the hassle of spreadsheets.

Stay focused to stay ahead

When you focus on a core theme or subject matter for your website, you position your website as a topical authority in that niche, leading to increased trust from users and more traffic from search engines.

The InLinks Site Focus tool can help you understand your current website focus so you can ensure that your content strategy aligns with Google’s expectations.