Google's 2024 March Core Update is designed to reduce the amount of spam in search results by targeting manipulation tactics such as expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse, and site reputation abuse. These tactics create content solely for ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), which goes against Google's guidelines. The main goal of the update is to improve search results quality and relevance.
This core update signals the end of thin, search-engine-first content. It encourages websites to produce content that serves an audience's intent, offers expert insights, and is of high quality. Content creators can achieve this by following the E-E-A-T guidelines set out by Google itself.
Google introduced the original concept of E-A-T (which now includes experience) in 2014. The guidelines have been updated in 2022, and they are the key factors human quality search raters use to determine the quality and relevance of content in search results. The E-E-A-T concept comprises four components: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
- Experience demonstrates the author's experience;
- Expertise showcases subject matter expertise;
- Authoritativeness refers to the overall reputation of the site and the author within the industry or niche;
- Trustworthiness refers to how reliable, safe, accurate, and honest the content is.
By focusing on these four components, Google aims to deliver the most relevant and trustworthy search results to its users. Content creators can use these guidelines to help them produce the best content possible while still serving their audience first.
Importance of E-E-A-T in SEO
It’s important to note that E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor. It is not used in any of the algorithms or ranking systems. E-E-A-T was designed for Quality Search Raters to use when they assess pages in the SERPs. According to the Search Quality Rater Guidelines:
“No single rating can directly impact how a particular webpage, website, or result appears in Google Search, nor can it cause specific webpages, websites, or results to move up or down on the SERPs…Instead, search ratings are used to measure how effectively search engines are working to deliver helpful content to people.”
Google’s Helpful Content documentation continues to clarify how E-E-A-T is used:
“Google's automated systems are designed to use many different factors to rank great content. After identifying relevant content, our systems aim to prioritize those that seem most helpful. To do this, they identify a mix of factors that can help determine which content demonstrates aspects of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, or what we call E-E-A-T.”
Despite this, E-E-A-T is still important for SEO since it provides examples of helpful and unhelpful content for different searches. It can also be useful for creators who want to self-assess their content to achieve success in Google Search. E-E-A-T is the standard for helpful content and should be used as such.
The most essential factor of E-E-A-T is trust. Trustworthiness ensures that searchers will not be harmed by reading your content. Experience, Expertise, and Authority contribute to the overall trust of your content. Google states that untrustworthy pages have low E-E-A-T despite the amount of experience, expertise, or authority they show.
Changes in E-E-A-T Assessment Post-2024 March Core Update
Google has always been committed to providing its users with the most satisfactory search results by prioritizing user experience over search engine interests. However, since Google introduced the Helpful Content Update, some SEOs have noticed that forums ranked higher than independent publishers in producing valuable and informative content. There is hope that the March update will align Google’s mission of providing relevant, helpful content with the search results.
The primary objective of the March update is to minimize the amount of low-quality content on Google's SERPs. This type of content is typically considered inadequate, provides no value to users, and is produced solely to rank higher on search engines. Websites that contain such content will experience a significant decline in their search visibility.
The guidelines were updated a few days after the March 2024 core update was released. The new guidelines include additional characteristics of untrustworthy pages, specifically regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the updated guidelines, if a website's terms of use state that "some articles" are generated by AI and may contain errors or be out of date without any indication as to which pages this statement applies, the information in that article is considered untrustworthy and has the lowest E-E-A-T.
Strategies to Enhance E-E-A-T Post-2024 March Core Update
These changes are part of a larger effort to enhance search results and provide users with more relevant and reliable information. So, how can content creators take advantage of these updates?
First, they must focus on producing high-quality, authoritative content. This approach has become more important than ever before. In a time of misinformation, users seek out the most trustworthy sources of information. As the need for reliable content grows, new methods for creating and sharing this type of content emerge. For instance, digital PR has gained popularity among online businesses seeking to bolster their presence in the SERPs. This strategy involves creating data-driven content tailored to specific target audiences.
Understanding user intent is essential to creating authoritative content. This allows you to meet your audience's needs compellingly. You must also be transparent and truthful and prioritize your users' needs by developing content that speaks directly to their interests and requirements.
Another way to establish credibility is to highlight the author's expertise by presenting their credentials and industry affiliations. This information is considered when evaluating pages, as it can help build trust with readers.
Finally, enhancing the page experience by optimizing load times and designing user-friendly navigation can help keep users engaged and satisfied.
However, while these are all strategies that could help increase your site’s visibility, you must keep one important thing in mind:
All of these changes must be implemented with the reader in mind.
Implementing these changes for search engines is not enough. In fact, Google frowns upon it. If there is one thing you take away from this update, it’s that Google prioritizes user satisfaction overall. So, don’t change your site unless you think your users will be better off using it.
By understanding how content is viewed in the new SERPs, website owners and content creators can enhance their E-E-A-T post-2024 March Core Update and improve their chances of appearing at the top of the search engine results pages. Remember, E-E-A-T is the standard for helpful content, and adhering to these guidelines will benefit your site in the long run.
