Interpreting ‘Quality’ According to Google (Part 1)

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With over 200 ranking factors, it’s quite difficult to figure out the list of guidelines provided by Google. In the world of SEO, one of the words we often hear or read is the “quality.” We often read about quality content and links, but it’s vague, right?

Google sign

It feels like Google has some explaining to do. Well, Google took time to clarify the word “quality” on an August 01, 2019 blog post. Finally, they decided to release a series of questions to test your website in 4 areas: the content and quality questions, the expertise questions, presentation and production questions, and the comparative questions.

If you are the customer, will you respond positively to the questions? Assume you are answering from the point of view of the customers. Let’s check and answer the questions provided by Google.

The Quality Content

  • The first thing Google said is to focus on providing the best content. Google algorithms will definitely reward websites that are focused on creating high-quality content.
  • As a website owner, evaluate your website honestly if you are truly giving your audience quality content. These are the set of questions Google provided in terms of checking website content:
    • Is the content you provided an original piece, a detailed report, a research, or an in-depth analysis?
    • Does the content provide a comprehensive explanation of the topic
    • Does the content go beyond what is obvious? Is there more to it than meets the eye?
    • If the content inspired by another piece, does it provide more information and not just a rewrite of the original?
    • Does the given title or headline really describe the content or is it just exaggerating?
    • Would you recommend this to a friend or bookmark it yourself?
    • Can you see this piece printed on a book or magazine?

Content Tips:

  • For content, we can clearly see that Google is after the value and significance of the content you publish. So, do your own research of a topic and consider the expert opinions. Go beyond the source article and add your own findings.
  • Page titles and headlines are equally important. You shouldn’t just focus on the body of your blog post. Also, take time to assess the title, the headings, and the word choices. Most importantly, titles should not clickbait or deceive people.

Compare and Contrast

  • As for the comparative section, Google posted these questions:
    • When you compare your content to other search results, does it have more value?
    • Does your content answer the searchers’ questions? Are you merely testing what content works and what doesn’t? Will your searchers’ find your content satisfying? More importantly, did it fulfill the searchers’ intent?

Conclusion

So, there you have it. You also need to analyze your website and compare it with the other websites in the search results. You don’t have to aim to be the “perfect” website. All you have to do is to be better than those top search results. Focus on giving what your users want and provide valuable content than those other sites in the search results.

More questions will be discussed on Interpreting ‘Quality’ According to Google (Part 2)