The Google algorithm determines which websites rank high on the search engine results page (SERP). But with billions of web pages to crawl and evaluate, Google needs a little help to ensure it delivers the most relevant and high-quality results to its users. This is where quality raters come in.
Google employs thousands of quality raters worldwide who manually review websites and provide feedback to help improve Google’s search algorithm. Quality raters follow a set of guidelines called the Quality Rater Guidelines.
Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG) provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating the quality of websites and content. These guidelines provide valuable insights into how Google views and ranks websites.
They also offer a wealth of information for website owners, content creators, digital marketers, and SEO outsourcing companies looking to improve their website’s visibility and ranking. It can help businesses like yours understand what it takes to rank higher on Google’s SERPs.
By understanding the principles that Google’s quality raters use to assess websites, you can develop a solid strategy for improving your website’s content and overall user experience.
The E-E-A-T Guideline
E-E-A-T is an acronym that stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Its concept is part of the QRG, a document that helps quality raters evaluate the quality of a website’s content.
Google rewards websites that demonstrate high levels of E-E-A-T. This means that if your website has content that is produced with some degree of experience, expertly written, cited by authoritative sources, and trustworthy, it is more likely to rank higher in search results. This makes E-E-A-T an important factor to consider when optimizing a website for search engine optimization (SEO).
Before E-E-A-T, this guideline was known as E-A-T. On December 2022, Google made major changes to the QRG, adding another E for experience in the E-A-T.
With this updated guideline, materials that show some level of experience will also be given a higher value. Experience may be depicted by actual product use, actual travel to a location, or communication of what a person experienced. This additional criterion emphasizes the value of content written by someone with firsthand knowledge of the subject at hand.
Moreover, Google has also moved “trust” to the center of the page quality factors. It demonstrates that no matter how experienced, expert or authoritative a website may appear to be, unreliable pages will have low E-E-A-T. A financial scam, for instance, is untrustworthy even if the content provider is very skilled.
Understanding E-E-A-T
Experience
This takes into account the degree to which the content developer has relevant personal or professional experience. Content written by somebody with considerable firsthand experience makes the pages more reliable. For example, a product review from a user who has really used the product is more believable than a person who hasn’t.
Expertise
This criterion considers how much the content producer knows or can do about the subject., Different topics require various degrees and types of expertise to be trustworthy.
Suppose a trained electrician advised you on rewiring your home’s electrical system. Wouldn’t you take their advice above that of an enthusiast for old houses who is unfamiliar with electrical systems?
Authoritativeness
This takes into account how well-known the website or the content writer is as a good source on the subject. Many topics lack a single authoritative website or content producer. But when there is, those sources are frequently among the most dependable and trustworthy. For instance, the only legitimate and reliable source for passport renewal is the official government portal for applying for a passport.
Trustworthiness
Google evaluates a site’s trustworthiness using a variety of signals. It considers the author, the content, and the website.
Assessing trustworthiness may be as straightforward as a website’s technological reliability through the presence of an SSL connection. It may also involve checking for online debates about your company or your online review-replying strategy.
Practice E-E-A-T on Your Website
Having a strong online presence and ranking high on search engines is an advantage no one should pass up on. But with the ever-changing algorithm and countless websites aiming for the top spot, it can be challenging to know how to optimize your website to stand out from the crowd.
Fortunately, with Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines, businesses employing SEO can better plan and assess their content and strategies. Particularly, E-E-A-T provides insight into what Google values in terms of websites, user experience, and content quality.
Following this guidance can make it easier for your website and business to appear in Google search results. It can also help avoid being negatively affected by any algorithm changes or other penalties.
Do you need help developing a website that observes Google’s best practices? Work with a team of experts at Digital Marketing Philippines (DMP), a top SEO agency Philippines.
Contact us at https://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/contact/ to learn more.
References:
https://searchengineland.com/google-search-quality-rater-guidelines-changes-december-2022-390350
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.