As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, questions arise about the quality of this content and how it contends with traditionally written content in Google Search rankings. Google’s Search platform has used a sophisticated ranking algorithm for more than a decade. Google’s algorithm rewards reliable, high-quality, and original content that is most likely to help users find the information they are looking for by placing those results at the top of the search results. What’s Google’s advice for AI-generated content? Keep reading to learn more!
To be considered high-quality, content must possess qualities of what Google calls E-E-A-T: Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Experience refers to the writer’s first-hand experience. Similar to experience, expertise determines the qualifications, accreditations, and credentials of a writer. Authoritativeness considers the reputation of the creator, the content, and the website within its industry or niche. The trustworthiness of the creator, the content, and the website is the final component of the quality standard. Trustworthiness can even consider factors like connection security for shopping site payment pages.
To summarize, content will rank higher the more it meets Google’s E-E-A-T criteria, however, it is critical to note that AI cannot produce Google’s first two “E-E” standards. Expertise and Experience are key components of high-quality content and are necessary to stand out in Google Search results.
To stay within the quality guidelines provided by Google, make sure to align your content to the E-E-A-T standards as much as possible. You should also do routine checks of existing content to ensure that content is still accurate and relevant to readers. Creating content for people instead of search rankings is the key to its success. When writing content with a user-first approach, try asking yourself a few questions:
- Is this something my audience is interested in?
- Is it helpful, or does it answer questions my audience has?
- Is this something I would share?
While AI is a growing and improving resource for those looking to streamline content creation, it is wise to be wary of AI-produced content. This content is not inherently categorized as spam, but lack of personalization, plagiarism/originality issues, and inaccuracy often plague copy sourced from AI, especially in lower-cost iterations of the software that may have fewer updates or monitoring. Though a common misconception, it can prove costly when it comes to the SEO ranking of that content. If using AI to write copy, make sure to thoroughly proof content and give specific prompts to ensure you’re getting the best content possible.
User-centered content consistently takes the top spot in Google’s Search rankings. AI use can be helpful in the writing process, but it can’t completely meet Google’s standards without human assistance. Closely monitoring any AI-generated copy and keeping content relevant and on track with E-E-A-T standards will help content rise higher in Google Search rankings. To learn more about Google’s ranking algorithm, click here.