Good content is like good food.
Where am I going with this? Hear me out.
If you were to visit a restaurant and receive bland, boring, unimaginative food – the same kind of run-of-the-mill dishes you’ve experienced a million times before, that brought (quite literally) nothing new to the table – would you go back? Would you recommend it to friends?
Unlikely. The same can be said for bog-standard content that offers no new perspectives or advice.
Now let’s think of Google as the customer. Serve it well-presented, well thought-out, unique, fresh food (read:content) and it will reward you by telling everyone it knows, and will keep coming back for more. It will love you for it and leave you all the metaphorical five-star TripAdvisor reviews.
‘Regurgitation’ isn’t a word you want to hear when reading a food analogy, but Google HATES regurgitated content (we’re looking at you, ChatGPT – more on that later).
So what does Google love then?
Helpfulness. If its automated rankings systems deem your content helpful and reliable, primarily created to benefit people, your page and website will sit among the top search results.
It’s easy to get hung up on all the factors Google uses to rank great content – of which there are many – but the search engine giant tells creators to simply focus on ensuring that what they’re producing is better than what already exists online. We’ve written a blog about it here, with five questions to ask yourself before you press ‘publish’ on any piece of content.
And here is it straight from the horse’s mouth: “After identifying relevant content, our systems aim to prioritise those that seem most helpful.”
Google’s systems are designed to go looking for content that demonstrates aspects of experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, or what it calls ‘E-E-A-T’.
A recap of ‘E-E-A-T’
We know what it stands for, but what does it mean? Here’s a breakdown of each component:
- Expertise: This refers to the knowledge and expertise of the content creators or authors. It assesses whether the content demonstrates a high level of expertise in the topic being discussed. Expertise can be established through formal education, work experience, certifications, or other indicators of knowledge and skill.
- Experience: High-quality content frequently showcases the author’s firsthand involvement and knowledge in the given subject. This serves as evidence that recommendations have been personally tested and insights are genuine. So, don’t be shy about throwing around some of your personal experiences and opinions – just make sure you back them up with some evidence.
- Authoritativeness: Authoritativeness evaluates the reputation and authority of the website and the authors or content creators. It considers factors such as the credentials, recognition and reputation of the individuals or organisations behind the content. High-quality sources, reputable institutions, and recognised experts tend to have higher authoritativeness.
- Trustworthiness: Trustworthiness evaluates the overall reliability and trustworthiness of the content and the website as a whole. It takes into account factors like accuracy, transparency and the website’s history of providing reliable information. Content that is factually accurate, supported by reliable sources, and transparent in its intentions and sources tends to be considered more trustworthy.
E-E-A-T is particularly relevant for websites and content that provide information on topics related to health, finance, legal matters and other areas where accuracy and trustworthiness are crucial. Your money or your life (YMYL) content is content that could have a potentially serious impact, typically through touching on topics related to future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.
That said, trust is the most important factor regardless of subject matter, as per Google, which says that the other three factors all play into this quality.
Optimising your content and AI
It’s clear that, based on these E-E-A-T principles, the days of quickly bashing together some content in a spare hour are gone – or at least they should be. Save your short-form content for social media and go long on your website, if you want to get on Google’s good side.
The same can be said for thinking you can get away with asking ChatGPT to write for you.
ChatGPT has no expertise. It has access to vast quantities of data, but it’s not an expert in anything. In terms of experience – it’s a computer application, capable of machine learning but not what humans would call experience. It does not have the authority of a qualification or role in a particular field.
As for trustworthiness – it’s a tool, not a person. It obeys the instructions set out for it – and often makes mistakes. ChatGPT is certainly a useful tool for brainstorming, and it might have a role in producing non-YMYL content on less serious topics (subject to human involvement in prompting and checking the copy). However, it’s not going to be a replacement for real writers. For YMYL content, mistakes can result in harm to individuals, not to mention the damage to your brand if you’re offering your customers incorrect or misleading information.
How to check your copy is ticking all the boxes
Expertise:
- Evaluate your own expertise in the topic you are covering. Assess your qualifications, education, professional experience and any other credentials that establish your knowledge and authority.
- Make sure to showcase your expertise in the content by providing in-depth and accurate information. Support your claims with reliable sources and references.
- Consider including an “About” or “Author” page on your website that highlights your expertise and background.
Experience:
- Share anecdotes or personal stories related to the subject matter. Better still, acquire testimonials or references from others who have benefited from your expertise or experiences.
- Offer thoughtful insights and reflections based on your personal encounters or observations. Discuss how your experiences have shaped your perspective and influenced your understanding of the subject.
- If possible, showcase your skills or expertise related to the subject. This could involve performing a task, presenting a project you have worked on, or showcasing any tangible outcomes that reflect your experience.
- Strike a balance between providing enough detail to support your points without overwhelming the audience.
Authoritativeness:
- Assess the reputation and authority of your website or platform. Determine if your website is associated with a trusted organisation or if you have partnerships with reputable sources.
- Build credibility by obtaining backlinks from other authoritative websites in your field.
- Cultivate relationships with recognised experts or influencers who can contribute to your content or provide endorsements.
- Regularly publish high-quality content that demonstrates your expertise and authority in the subject matter.
Trustworthiness:
- Ensure that your content is factually accurate and supported by reliable sources. Avoid spreading misinformation or making exaggerated claims.
- Clearly cite your sources and provide references whenever appropriate.
- Be transparent about your affiliations, sponsored content, or any potential conflicts of interest.
- Establish a positive online reputation by engaging with your audience, addressing their concerns, and responding to feedback and comments.
It’s not only new content that needs to pass the E-E-A-T test – you’ve probably got a whole bank of old content on your website that needs bringing up to date with the latest Google guidelines. So, a thorough audit might be in order.
If that sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it probably is. But, just know, some good karma will come your way from putting in all that effort – your content will start to rise above the rest in the rankings and find a wider audience.
Need some help with that?
If you simply don’t have the time, inclination or capacity to carry out a content audit, we’re right here ready to do it for you. We can just carry out the audit or we can additionally bring it in line with E-E-A-T guidelines, too – you just tell us what you need us to do.
Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Contact
Telephone +44(0)1225720099 | Email: info@qcontent.co.uk