Google\u2019s Helpful Content Update (HCU)<\/a> hit a lot of online businesses hard. That\u2019s why I went behind the scenes with Kelan Kline from The Savvy Couple<\/a>, which has weathered the storm quite well.<\/p>\n Kelan built his online business up from making $50<\/strong> in the first year to now seeing around 500k<\/strong> pageviews a month. That led to his online business making 7-figures last year.<\/p>\n Tune in to Episode 605 of the Side Hustle Show to learn:<\/p>\n Kelan says a strong online brand is essential to surviving Google algorithm updates like the HCU.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to build a brand,\u201d he said, emphasizing the importance of social media, email lists, and video.<\/p>\n Backlinks<\/a> from respected sites still carry weight in rankings. Staying in a niche also helps bloggers become the trusted source their audience relies on.<\/p>\n But brand-building alone isn\u2019t enough in Google\u2019s eyes. Their crackdown demands truly helpful content that provides unique value beyond simply rewriting what\u2019s already out there.<\/p>\n Kelan creates YouTube videos summarizing his blog posts to showcase his authority and experience on each topic. Tools like Heatmapit.com<\/a> and Crazy Egg<\/a> allow him to analyze visitor engagement metrics and optimize content layouts.<\/p>\n He also uses AI writing assistants like SurferSEO<\/a>, Jasper AI<\/a>, and ChatGPT<\/a>. This accelerates production while preserving the human touch of the final product.<\/p>\n Kelan\u2019s team uses Asana<\/a> for content workflow management. For The Savvy Couple, they publish 2-3 new posts per week, with a production cost around $150-200<\/strong> each. For the newer The Savvy Mama<\/a> blog (managed by his wife Brittany), that volume is ramped up to around 4-5 posts weekly.<\/p>\n![\"Kelan](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Kelan-Kline-300.jpg\"\/)
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<\/a> Even well-established and authoritative websites experienced a significant drop in their rankings.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/p>\nBuilding Brand Authority After Google\u2019s HCU<\/span><\/h2>\n
Creating Genuinely Helpful Content<\/span><\/h2>\n
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The Content Production Engine<\/span><\/h2>\n
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