How is business for you?
Could you use more PR? Are you getting the traction you want with your community? Are you building your online authority?
All questions I discuss with clients regularly. We also talk about what they EAT.
I’m not talking about your diet or your Friday night happy hours…cheers!
I’m talking about what Google calls E-A-T. It’s defined as Expertise, highly Authoritative, and highly Trustworthy. The Main Content (MC) of your pages must be regularly updated and well crafted to show your high level of E-A-T in order to earn higher page ranking in Google’s search results.
Google recently released an update to its Search Quality Rater’s Guidelines which gives important insights into the type of sites and content that Google wants to serve at the top of its search results. The document also provides information about what Google considers High Quality and Low Quality Pages.
Among the updates, an emphasis is being placed on High Quality, Main Content on websites. What you post on your pages and in your blog matters… a lot.
“The amount of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) that a webpage/website has is very important. Main Content quality and amount, website information, and website reputation all inform the E-A-T of a website,” states Google.
So what makes a High Quality Page, according to Google? This was another section within the more than 145-page document that got a big rewrite.
Topping the list of High Quality Page characteristics that Google lists is a “High level of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) and, secondly, “A satisfying amount of High Quality MC (main content).”
Another addition to the guide is the focus on video. Google says now videos can provide a high level of E-A-T for a website. The E-A-T should be carefully crafted to match the purpose of each page on your website.
The guide explains what a Low Quality Page is by explaining what it’s lacking. Notice, again, the emphasis on E-A-T and this time Google even places the sentence in italics.
“The author of the page or website does not have enough expertise for the topic of the page and/or the website is not trustworthy or authoritative for the topic. In other words, the page/website is lacking E-A-T.”
Google also writes (their bold emphasis not mine), “We will consider content to be Low quality if it is created without adequate time, effort, expertise, or talent/skill. Pages with low-quality MC do not achieve their purpose well.”
Are you getting the picture?
Your website can’t just be a static place where the content doesn’t change. You have to have high-quality writers producing your content or Google may penalize you in its search results for your lack of E-A-T.
And, think VIDEO…it’s clearly more important than ever to Google, Facebook, and your customers.
Learn more about storytelling, listen to my interview with “women lead RADIO” on Propelling Your Business On To The Airwaves. Click to listen to the replay.
Phoebe launched The Brand Journalism Advantage Podcast in the Fall of 2014, within nine months she was named a Top 50 Podcaster To Follow by Cision for shows on Public Relations, Marketing & Social Media (2015). She also made the list of 35 Outstanding Podcast Picks by Entrepreneurs, Inc.com (2016). Phoebe is an award-winning former TV News Journalist from San Diego who teaches businesses how to Think Like A Journalist and Be The Media. “You no longer have to chase reporters to get your story told. You can tell your OWN brand story using journalistic-storytelling that’s credible and helps you attract and convert leads via your own unique stories. Get a competitive advantage in your marketplace, listen now.
