In this age of E-E-A-T and helpful content, do SEO strategies truly reflect the implications of the latest developments in search engine evolution?
After Penguin hit hard in 2011, the industry shifted from SEO content spam to guest blogs, infographics and content marketing. However, little in the mindset and approach had really changed. Consequently, these were just the same tactics dressed in a slightly fancier suit. People tried carry on in much the same way.
Down the years, there have been various attempts by Google to capture the expertise of content creators within its systems. It created Google+, which failed on that front, and the Knowledge Graph, which did not. Now we have E-E-A-T and the Helpful Content system. Search engines continue to advance in their ability to understand the things that create what they see on the page.
Regardless of all this, for users, trust in the creator or provider of the content has always been key – it’s just that marketers and SEOs remain fixated on algorithms. The problem remains that too many focus on what the content includes and assume this is enough to show ‘expertise’. It’s why I prefer to talk about author credentials. For the user, what is it about your brand, or you as a writer, that will prove to them that they can trust your content?
There’s more to demonstrating that type of evidence on a website than just popping a paragraph in an author profile at the end of your blog post. It means providing proof that the writer and/or the brand can back up their claim to be an expert – qualifications; membership of industry bodies; direct experience. For YMYL topics that impact on user welfare, this is downright essential.
The days of presenting content as highly expert but written by a marketing copywriter who’ll write about anything for an hourly rate, need to end (at least where SEO is concerned). Specialist contributors are the future. Writing an article about DIY? Find a DIY professional, get them to help produce the content and demonstrate their involvement and their credentials.
Further reading:
- Google – https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content#expertise-questions
- Marie Haynes – https://www.mariehaynes.com/resources/eat/
What is SEO Word of the Week?
Once I week, usually on a Monday, I post on LinkedIn about a SEO topic of interest (to me, at least) that allows me to share some knowledge in a format that’s easier to digest, and to write. This could be anything from a concept within search engine algorithms or systems to ideas that marketers can act on. I’ve also decided to collect these posts here to keep an archive that people can refer to without having to sift through the rest of my feed.