CONTENT = {{tab}}
Self-assess your content for quality and people-first approach
Evaluating your own content against these questions will help you determine if the content you're creating is helpful, reliable, and aligned with a people-first approach. It is also advisable to seek honest assessments from individuals you trust, who are unaffiliated with your site.
Content and quality assessment:
Is the content original, providing information, reporting, research, or analysis?
Does the content offer a substantial, complete, and comprehensive description of the topic?
Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information beyond the obvious?
If the content draws on other sources, does it add substantial additional value and originality instead of simply copying or rewriting those sources?
Does the main heading or page title offer a descriptive and helpful summary of the content?
Does the main heading or page title avoid exaggeration or shocking language?
Is this the type of page you would bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
Would you expect to find this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia, or book?
Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
Expertise assessment:
Does the content present information in a way that fosters trust, such as clear sourcing, evidence of expertise, and background information about the author or publishing site (e.g., links to an author page or an About page)?
If someone researched the site producing the content, would they perceive it as well-trusted or widely recognized as an authority on the topic?
Is the content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably possesses knowledge about the topic?
Does the content contain any easily-verified factual errors?
Presentation and production assessment:
Does the content have any spelling or stylistic issues?
Is the content well-produced, free from sloppiness or hastiness?
Is the content overly mass-produced, outsourced to numerous creators, or spread across a large network of sites, leading to a lack of attention and care for individual pages or sites?
Does the content have an excessive number of ads that distract from the main content?
Does the content display well on mobile devices?
People-first content evaluation:
To evaluate if you're creating people-first content, answer "yes" to the following questions:
Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?
Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and in-depth knowledge, such as from using a product, experiencing a service, or visiting a place?
Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
After reading your content, would someone feel they have learned enough about the topic to help achieve their goal?
Will someone reading your content leave with a satisfying experience?
Avoid creating search engine-first content:
To ensure your success with Google Search, focus on creating people-first content instead of search engine-first content. Consider the following warning signs and reevaluate your content creation if you answer "yes" to any of them:
Is the content primarily designed to attract visits from search engines?
Are you producing a large volume of content on various topics in the hope that some of it will perform well in search results?
Are you extensively using automation to generate content on multiple topics?
Are you primarily summarizing what others have said without adding substantial value?
Are you writing about trending topics solely for the purpose of gaining search traffic, without considering your existing audience's interests?
Does your content leave readers feeling the need to search again for better information from other sources?
Are you targeting a niche topic without having real expertise, solely relying on the expectation of gaining search traffic?
Does your content promise to answer a question that currently has no answer, such as suggesting a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when it has not been confirmed?
Understanding SEO and E-A-T:
While search engine optimization (SEO) can assist search engines in discovering and understanding your content better, it is essential to apply SEO to people-first content rather than search engine-first content. For best practices in SEO, refer to Google's own SEO guide.
Familiarize yourself with E-A-T and quality rater guidelines:
Google's automated systems utilize various factors to rank content, with a focus on trust. Aspects of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, known as E-A-T, contribute to the assessment of content quality. Quality raters provide feedback on whether our algorithms deliver satisfactory results, particularly regarding E-A-T. Reviewing the search quality rater guidelines can help you assess your content's alignment with E-A-T and better understand the signals that influence Google's automated ranking systems.
Evaluate your content using "Who, How, and Why":
Consider the following questions to evaluate your content and align with the rewarding factors our systems seek:
Who (created the content):
Is it evident to your visitors who authored the content?
Do pages feature a byline when expected?
Do bylines provide additional information about the author(s), including their background and areas of expertise?
Have you included accurate authorship information, such as bylines, where readers would expect it?
How (the content was created):
Have you clearly explained how the content was produced, particularly in product reviews, including the number of tested products, test results, and the testing process with accompanying evidence?
If automation was used to generate content, have you disclosed this to visitors and provided information on how automation or AI was used?
Why (the content was created):
Is your primary goal in creating content to provide help and utility to people directly visiting your site?
Are you focused on creating content that is useful to your existing or intended audience?
Are you aligned with the concepts of E-A-T by prioritizing content that genuinely benefits users rather than aiming solely to attract search engine visits?
Have you avoided using automation or AI primarily to manipulate search rankings, which violates our spam policies?
