Please understand that if a core update impacts a site, it can result in a huge change for that site’s search visibility. So, I do not want to diminish any core updates, including the March core update; those could have been really big for you or the sites you manage.
Data providers on the Google March 2025 core update
If you glance at the Semrush Senor, you can see the overall volatility the tool reported over that time period:
Mordy Oberstein, who sent me the data from Semrush, told me the two were of “similar in size” when comparing the volatility. He sent me this chart showing the volatility of the past two core updates, broken down by vertical. It shows the peak volatility numbers were pretty similar between the two updates:
If you look at overall ranking volatility change comparison, you can see that the Health sector saw a much bigger change, for some reason:
But when you compare this to the baseline rank volatility, both the December and March core updates were within very similar ranges, Mordy Obertstein told us. “There’s a mere .1 difference between the two,” Obertstein added. Obertstein said he has a theory, which he will share at his session at SMX Advanced, on why he thinks that this update hit different verticals differently.
When you dive into the top ten results, you can see a notable change in what ranking changes there were between these two past core updates:
Similarweb. Similarweb’s SERP Seismometer showed the spikes in volatility cooled down with the March update. You can see it get a bit more volatile on March 13th, 14th and 15th but then start to cool again as the core update rolled out.
Darrel Mordechai from SimilarWeb told us the March 2025 core update was not the most volatile core update they’ve seen and compared to the December core update, it showed “similar levels of volatility.”
Here is a chart showing the core update volatility by average position change for the past core updates, as documented by Similarweb:
Here is when you zoom in comparing the March 2025 and December 2024 core updates, they are super close:
The current update showed slightly lower fluctuations in the top three positions but increased volatility across the top five. Here is where you can see that in this chart:
When you compare it by vertical or niche, you can see the volatility the March 2025 core update caused across the health, finance, retail, travel and finance industries. You can see the finance industry showed the highest levels of fluctuation, particularly in the top five results. In contrast, the travel industry experienced notably low volatility in the top three positions.
seoClarity. The folks at seoClarity also sent me some winners and losers reports, showing the biggest winners and losers from February to March 2025:
Other tools. There are a lot of Google search ranking volatility tools. Here is what they looked like after the core update finished rolling out and over the course of the update:
Industry. The initial rollout seemed to kick in within a few days after the update was announced. Some sites saw big swings both up and down, in terms, of ranking improvements or decline. But this update did not seem as widespread as some previous core updates, where it had a wider impact on a more diverse site of sites. That is not to say this update was not big for those who were impacted by it – it 100% was very big for those sites.
During the update, some of the tracking tools were tripped up by some Google Search result page changes. That may make it hard for some to track the impact of this update. But you can use Google Search Console to see your impact for your site and see position changes for your most popular keywords.
What to do if you are hit. Google has given advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. Google has not really given much new advice here.
There aren’t specific actions to take to recover. A negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages.
Google said you can see a bit of a recovery between core updates but the biggest change would be after another core update.
In short, write helpful content for people and not to rank in search engines.
“There’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people. For those that might not be ranking as well, we strongly encourage reading our creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help page,” Google said previously.
Why we care. While the data above shows how sites in general are doing with the last core update, it does not represent how your individual site did with the update. If your site was hit by this past update, it can be devastating. If you were hit by previous updates and so no improvement with this update, then again, devastating once again. But some sites saw big improvements.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/semrush-QW1xTP.png?fit=1694%2C728&ssl=17281694http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-04-01 12:38:472025-04-01 12:38:47Data providers: Google March 2025 core update had similar volatility to the previous update
Automatically sets your bids to get as many clicks as possible within your budget.
Useful for top-of-funnel campaigns where the goal is to drive traffic to a site.
Example: “This campaign is designed to drive as much traffic to our new blog post as possible.”
Enhanced CPC (ECPC)
A semi-automated bidding strategy that adjusts your manual bids to try and get more conversions.
Google Ads adjusts your manual bid up or down based on the likelihood of a conversion.
Example: “We are using manual bidding but want to use Google’s signals to increase conversions where possible.”
Viewable CPM (YouTube)
Focuses on maximizing viewable impressions of your display or skippable in-stream video ads.
Ideal for brand awareness campaigns where the goal is to get your message seen by as many people as possible.
Example: “We want to ensure our brand message is visibly displayed to our target audience on YouTube.”
Cost Per View (YouTube)
Optimizes bids to get the most video views or interactions within your budget.
Best for campaigns focused on driving engagement with your video content.
Example: “We are running a video campaign on YouTube and want to maximize the number of views we receive.”
It’s crucial to understand that while setting a Target CPA or ROAS provides strategic direction, achieving those exact targets isn’t guaranteed.
I’ve had situations where a media planner pushed for an immediate switch to a specific CPA goal.
They wanted the target set at four times and wouldn’t budge or try to understand why the campaign was set at two times.
A common misconception is that simply setting a desired metric will automatically yield the desired results.
In practice, achieving optimal performance often requires a nuanced approach.
This may involve:
Gradual bid adjustments.
A willingness to accept temporary fluctuations in ROAS for broader account health.
A comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors, including budget, historical campaign performance, and keyword strategy.
It’s essential to understand that Smart Bidding strategies, while powerful, require strategic oversight and a holistic understanding of account dynamics.
Success should be measured within the context of overarching account objectives, not solely focusing on individual campaign metrics.
Understanding manual, automated and smart bidding in Google Ads
Manual bidding allows you to control bid adjustments completely, making it ideal for certain industries, such as legal or home services, where fluctuating competition requires ongoing oversight. However, it requires more time and effort.
It’s like driving a car where you control every gear shift and pedal movement.
Automated bidding simplifies bid management by using algorithms to adjust bids.
While automated bidding can save time, its generic approach doesn’t account for nuanced conversion goals.
Think of this as engaging cruise control. You tell the car (Google Ads) your general desired speed (goal), and it adjusts the engine (bids) to maintain that pace.
Smart Bidding, however, takes automated bidding further by using real-time signals and advanced machine learning to predict the likelihood of conversions and their value, tailoring bids to individual auctions.
It’s especially effective for campaigns with clear conversion goals and sufficient historical data.
This is like having a self-driving car with an incredibly sophisticated navigation system.
It’s important to know that while all Smart Bidding is automated, not all automated bidding qualifies as Smart Bidding.
Automated bidding covers a wider range of strategies, some of which are more basic and don’t rely on real-time signals or advanced machine learning.
In essence:
Manual: You control every bid.
Automated: Google’s algorithms handle bid adjustments based on your chosen strategy.
Smart: Google’s machine learning optimizes bids in real-time for conversions and conversion value.
There are significant advantages to using Smart Bidding.
Improved efficiency: Saves time by automating bid adjustments.
Auction-time optimization: Factors in user intent, device, location, and other data points to optimize bids for each auction.
Goal alignment: Customizes bids to match your campaign objectives, whether it’s maximizing volume or focusing on high-value actions.
While Smart Bidding offers significant advantages, missteps in implementation can lead to underwhelming results.
Here’s how to avoid common pitfalls and optimize your campaign performance.
Data dependency
Smart Bidding algorithms rely on robust historical data to make accurate predictions.
Campaigns with fewer than 30 conversions in the last 30 days may struggle to optimize effectively.
Start with manual bidding or Maximize Clicks to build a data foundation before switching to Smart Bidding. Boris Beceric, a Google Ads consultant and coach, said:
“I guess most try Smart Bidding too early – without enough conversion volume. What usually helps: consolidate campaigns so you get more data flowing through a single campaign. Portfolio bidding – kinda the same, but consolidation takes place at the bid strategy level.
“Micro conversions – try to add in the micro conversion that had the most volume and is closest to the ‘real’ conversion. Bonus: Reverse engineer CVR and conv value from micro to macro conversion and adjust tCPA accordingly.”
Goal misalignment
Using the wrong bidding strategy can hinder performance.
For example, applying Target ROAS to a new campaign with limited data can set unrealistic expectations and reduce reach.
Align bidding strategies with your goals.
When prioritizing profitability, use Maximize Conversions for volume and Target ROAS or Target CPA. Harrison Hepp, owner of Industrious Marketing, said:
“I had a client who was hybrid ecommerce and lead gen (they sold products, but high-priced deals were lead gen), and they insisted on tracking purchases and leads in every campaign. We constantly battled major fluctuations in the campaigns as they’d swing back and forth between getting purchases or leads and trying to optimize to both.
“It also made bid strategy selection really hard, as conversion value bidding would deprioritize leads (no value was tracked), but CPA bidding wasn’t efficient for purchases because of differences in product prices. It really showed how aligning your goals and bid strategy is critical for steady performance. It also underlined how the right bidding strategy can prioritize success in campaigns.”
Monitoring is non-negotiable
Despite its automation, Smart Bidding is not a “set it and forget it” tool.
Failing to monitor campaigns can lead to wasted ad spend and missed optimization opportunities.
Regularly review performance metrics, adjust campaign parameters, and stay proactive in managing Smart Bidding strategies.
“Custom columns/Segment views: We want to measure efficiency, so things like conv value/conv, search impression share, etc.” said Ameet Khabra, owner of Hop Skip Media.
Even with the most advanced AI behind Smart Bidding, performance optimization requires vigilance.
Regularly review the following metrics to ensure your strategy is working as intended:
CPA: Is your Target CPA being met?
ROAS: Are the conversions driving sufficient revenue?
Conversion rates: Are conversions coming from the right audience segments? Or are you paying for competitors to download your white papers and marking that down as a lead?
Search term reports: Are irrelevant keywords consuming a significant portion of your budget? Unprofitable keywords can be why a campaign is not meeting goals.
Conversion tracking accuracy: If conversion tracking is improperly implemented, Smart Bidding will optimize based on inaccurate data, reducing effectiveness.
Double-check your conversion tracking setup. Assign accurate values to conversions to reflect their true business impact. Khabra said:
“My favorite saying lately is ‘garbage in, garbage out,’ and that is definitely a large component of conversion tracking. Ensuring that we’ve identified the correct conversions that move the needle is half the battle. Implementing the tracking and double-checking that it is correct – collecting conversions – is the second half.”
Budgetary awareness
Strategies like Maximize Conversions and Maximize Clicks will attempt to spend your entire daily budget.
If your budget is set too high, this can lead to overspending.
Start with smaller daily budgets and gradually increase them while monitoring performance.
Realistic targets
Setting overly aggressive Target CPA or Target ROAS goals can limit your campaign’s reach, as the algorithm will avoid auctions it deems unprofitable.
Begin with realistic targets slightly higher or lower than your current average. Allow time for the algorithm to learn before refining the target.
Best practices for Smart Bidding in Google Ads
To ensure optimal performance, follow these best practices for implementing Smart Bidding in your Google Ads campaigns.
1. Feed accurate data
Ensure your conversion tracking is set up correctly.
Assign meaningful values to conversions – whether it’s a purchase, lead form submission, or newsletter signup.
2. Leverage seasonality adjustments
Use seasonality adjustments in Google Ads to guide Smart Bidding algorithms for short-term changes (e.g., holiday sales or promotions).
This prevents excessive or insufficient bids during periods of fluctuating demand.
3. Start with conservative budgets
Begin with smaller budgets and avoid aggressive bid caps that may limit auction participation. Allow the algorithm to learn and adapt gradually.
4. Prioritize business value over conversion volume
Align your bidding tactics with broader business goals. Instead of focusing solely on conversion volume, consider how each conversion contributes to revenue or lifetime customer value.
5. Test and adapt
Use Google Ads experiments to test different strategies.
For example, compare Target CPA with Target ROAS to identify which delivers better results for your campaigns.
Google Ads Experiments let you directly compare bid strategies in real-world scenarios.
Duplicate your campaign, allocate a split percentage to a new strategy (like comparing Target CPA vs. Target ROAS), and see concrete results with statistical significance.
Final thoughts
Smart Bidding isn’t just about knowing which technical settings to adjust.
It’s about understanding how to make Google’s automated tools align with your business goals.
The digital landscape evolves quickly, so it’s essential to stay adaptable, continuously monitor performance, and make adjustments as needed.
Nail the strategy, stay proactive, and you’ll set yourself up for long-term success.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Understanding-manual-automated-and-smart-bidding-in-Google-Ads-QKjaTQ.jpeg?fit=1472%2C832&ssl=18321472http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-04-01 12:00:002025-04-01 12:00:00Your guide to Google Ads Smart Bidding
Are you tired of your social media efforts not achieving the results you hoped for? It might be time to scale up your social media optimization efforts. Your content might be good, but you could do various enhancements to make it stand out. For instance, your content needs proper metadata for X, Facebook, and the like to appear properly on each platform. Yoast SEO can help you do this quickly.
Sharing your freshly written (or optimized) content on social media is important. It helps you stay in touch with your audience and update them on news about your business and related topics. But to get their attention, you need to optimize your social media posts before you share them.
In this article, we’ll explain how you can optimize your posts for Facebook and X, and how our plugin can help you with that! Lastly, we’ll briefly discuss Pinterest and the use of Rich Pins.
What is social media optimization?
Social media optimization is about improving how you use social media platforms to build your online presence. You do this not only by creating and sharing content for every platform you’d like to be active on but also by optimizing that content in such a way that you get traffic to your site. The goal is to build strong connections with your audience and to keep them engaged.
Social media optimization starts with well-optimized, highly relevant content that grabs attention. For most platforms, images and video are best suited for this. You can test various formats and ideas to see what your audience prefers. You can use any of the social media analytics tools to do this. Also, find the best times to publish your content to get the best engagement. Your posts should also have metadata for specific platforms like X Cards or OpenGraph for Facebook to help these platforms understand your content.
After posting, remember to engage with your audience. Respond to comments, participate in discussions, and listen to what people say about you and your content. Track your best-performing posts and use data to improve your content to stay relevant and engaging.
Promoting your content on various platforms makes sense in most cases. Remember to share your articles, videos, and other content on whatever social media network makes sense for you and your audience. Read this article if you don’t know where to begin with your social media strategy.
Facebook and other social media
Years ago, Facebook introduced OpenGraph to determine which elements of your page you want to show when someone shares that page. Several social networks and search engines use Facebook’s OpenGraph, but the main reason for adding it is for Facebook itself. Facebook’s OpenGraph support is continuously evolving, but the basics are simple. With a few pieces of metadata, you declare:
What’s the name of the site and the title of the page?
What’s the page about?
Which image/images should be shown when this post or page is shared on Facebook?
Social media preview in Yoast SEO
When you use Yoast SEO, most of the values above are filled out automatically based on your post’s data. It uses the locale of your site, the site’s name, SEO title, the canonical, the meta description value, etc, to fill out most of the required OpenGraph tags. You can see what your post will look like when you click on ‘Social media appearance’ in the Yoast SEO sidebar:
You’ll notice the Social media appearance button in the sidebar opening the modal for the feature
This preview tab allows you to edit how your Facebook post is shown when shared. Our plugin lets you change your social image, title, and description in your preview. This makes your social media optimization much quicker and easier, as you won’t have to leave your post to make these changes.
Make more impact on social media with Yoast SEO Premium!
Get Yoast SEO Premium today and make it quick and easy to manage how your social media snippets look.
If you use the options for social media optimization in Yoast SEO, your Facebook post could look like this when you share the URL of a post or page:
Example of a Facebook post as seen on Yoast’s profile
So what do you need to do?
First, go to Yoast SEO → Settings → Site representation, and fill in your social media accounts.
Afterward, go to Yoast SEO → Settings → Social sharing, and make sure OpenGraph is enabled.
Then, set a good default image under the site basics settings. This image is used when you have a post or page that does not contain an image. It’s important to set this image to ensure that every post or page has an image when shared. Facebook is forgiving when uploading images, but 1200px by 630px should work well.
You can complete all of these steps in a few minutes. After that, Yoast SEO takes all of the work out of your hands. However, it is important to remember that Facebook sometimes doesn’t immediately pick up changes. So, if you want to “debug” how Facebook perceives your page, enter your URL in the Facebook Sharing Debugger and click the Debug button. If the preview that you see there isn’t the latest version, you can try the Scrape again button. But remember that it can take a while for Facebook to see your changes.
OpenGraph for Video Content
If you have video content, you must do more work unless you use our Video SEO plugin. This plugin handles all the needed metadata and lets you share your videos on Facebook.
X
X’s functionality is quite similar to Facebook’s. The name of this functionality is X Cards. X “falls back” on Facebook OpenGraph for several of these values, so we don’t have to include everything. But it still is quite a bit. We’re talking about:
the type of content/type of card
an image
a description
the X account of the site/publisher
the X account of the author
the “name” for the domain to show in an X card
X preview in Yoast SEO
As you might have seen in Yoast SEO, optimizing your X listings is also an option. Simply click that tab to preview how your page appears when it gets shared to X. By default, the plugin uses the title, description and image you enter in the search appearance preview. Of course, this tab allows you to change these for your Twitter post.
Here’s an example of what your post could look like with all the required metadata our plugin helps you add:
An example of a post on Yoast’s X profile
So what do you need to do?
Ensure X card metadata is enabled by going to Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features → Social sharing and activating the X feature. This leaves a couple of values for you to fill out in the settings, which you can do using this guide on activating X Cards in Yoast SEO.
Use templates for social media snippets
Do you spend a lot of time tweaking the preview appearance of each page or post? You’ll be glad to know that Yoast SEO Premium also offers a very helpful feature: the ability to set default templates for your social snippets. With this powerful feature, you can design the ideal social appearance for all your content and feel certain that the output will always look great to whoever is sharing it.
Use variables to set up templates to optimize your social media postings
What about Pinterest?
Pinterest’s Rich Pins allow for OpenGraph markup as well. Add variables like product name, availability, price, and currency to your page to create a rich pin. As this is mainly interesting for products, we decided to add functionalities to create rich pins to our Yoast WooCommerce SEO plugin.
So, go ahead and use Yoast SEO to optimize your social media. It isn’t very hard; it just takes a few minutes of your time, and you will reap the rewards immediately. As these social networks add new features, we’ll keep our plugin and this article up-to-date. So, be sure to update the Yoast SEO plugin regularly.
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Microsoft Advertising will require advertisers to provide explicit user consent signals starting May 5.
First communicated to advertisers a few weeks ago, this change ensures compliance with global privacy regulations while maintaining the ability to gather insights that optimize ad performance.
Why we care. As data privacy concerns grow, businesses face increasing pressure to protect personal information. Microsoft’s enforcement of Consent Mode offers a way to balance privacy with performance, reinforcing trust while meeting regulatory requirements.
What is Consent Mode? Consent Mode is a feature from Microsoft Advertising that respects user privacy preferences while allowing advertisers to track conversions and optimize campaigns. It adjusts cookie access based on user consent, using the ad_storage parameter to either allow or block cookies. This applies to:
Universal Event Tracking (UET) on the Microsoft Advertising Platform.
Universal Pixel, Segment, and Conversion pixels within Microsoft Invest, Curate, or Monetize.
Consent signals can also be shared through the IAB’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) or directly via a Consent Management Platform (CMP).
How to implement Consent Mode. Businesses can send user consent signals using one of these three options:
Direct integration. Implement Consent Mode with UET, Universal Pixel, Segment, or Conversion pixels.
IAB framework. Pass consent signals directly in a TCF 2.0 string or through a CMP.
Third-party tools. Integrate Microsoft’s Consent Mode through tools like Google Tag Manager.
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Google Ads will update its Unfair Advantage Policy to clarify that the restriction on showing more than one ad at a time for the same business, app, or site only applies within a single ad location.
This change, staring April 14, follows recent experiments allowing multiple ads from the same advertiser in different locations on the search results page.
What’s happening.
Double serving now permitted: Advertisers can now run multiple ads for the same business, app, or site on a single search results page—provided they occupy different ad locations. This could potentially increase visibility and clicks for top advertisers but may also intensify competition for smaller players.
Shifting auction dynamics: Google’s updated policy leverages different ad locations to run separate auctions, allowing businesses to secure multiple placements. This adjustment aligns with Google’s evolving approach to ads, such as mixing ads with organic results and redefining top ad placements last year.
Why we care. This update opens up opportunities to dominate search results by showing multiple ads for the same business in different ad locations. This could lead to increased visibility, higher click-through rates, and more conversions.
However, it may also drive up competition and costs, especially for smaller advertisers, as larger brands gain more SERP real estate. Understanding this change is crucial for adapting bidding and placement strategies to stay competitive.
Industry reactions. Digital marketing expert Navah Hopkins of Optmyzr noted on LinkedIn:
“Google is officially making it fair game to have more than one spot on the SERP. I have thoughts on this, but I want to see how performance actually shakes out in Q2.”
Digital marketing expert Boris Beceric commented that Google is only chasing the money:
“Another case of Google liking money more than a good user experience…not even talking from an advertiser’s perspective.”
Bigger picture. This policy shift marks another fundamental change in Google Ads’ long-standing practices, raising questions about how SERP real estate and competition will evolve.
Bottom line. This update could create new opportunities for advertisers to dominate search results, but it might also make it harder for smaller businesses to compete. The real impact will become clearer as the industry adapts in the coming months.
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Reddit Ads is introducing a suite of new tools aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) streamline campaign management, optimize ad performance, and improve data accuracy.
Easier Campaign Setup and Management:
Campaign Import. Reddit Ads now allows advertisers to import campaigns directly from Meta in just three steps. After signing into their Meta account within Reddit Ads Manager, users can select an ad account and campaign to import, then customize it to fit Reddit’s platform. This seamless process enables advertisers to leverage high-performing Meta ads on Reddit quickly.
Simplified Campaign QA. A new review page in the Reddit Ads Manager now consolidates all campaign details for a clear overview. Advertisers can easily identify errors or inconsistencies and make edits before publishing.
Enhanced Signal Quality and Conversion Tracking:
1-Click GTM Integration for Reddit Pixel. Setting up Reddit’s website conversions tag just got easier. With the new Google Tag Manager (GTM) integration, advertisers can install the Reddit Pixel in a few clicks, enabling fast and accurate conversion tracking. This simplifies measuring customer journeys and optimizing lower-funnel strategies.
Event Manager QA. The Events Manager’s enhanced Events Overview page now provides a detailed breakdown of conversion events from the Reddit Pixel or Conversions API (CAPI). This update helps advertisers verify event data accuracy, troubleshoot issues, and run effective lower-funnel campaigns.
Why we care. The new Campaign Import feature lets advertisers quickly repurpose high-performing Meta ads on Reddit, saving time and effort. The simplified QA tools helps with quality checking to reduce as many errors as possible before launch, while the 1-click GTM integration and improved Event Manager provide deeper insights into customer behavior and campaign performance
Bottom line.These updates reflect Reddit’s ongoing commitment to making its ad platform more accessible and effective for SMBs. By reducing setup friction and providing better visibility into campaign performance, Reddit Ads aims to help businesses reach niche communities and drive impactful results.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-800x450-I093Gm.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1450800http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-31 14:00:242025-03-31 14:00:24Reddit Ads rolls out new SMB tools to boost campaign performance
With the rise of AI-powered features, search engines are not just directing users to information but delivering answers directly.
This shift is redefining how people interact with the web, raising questions about the future of SEO, content discovery, and digital marketing.
Here’s what’s coming next.
From ChatGPT to Grok 3: The breakneck pace of AI advancements
The world has seen rapid and significant advances in AI technology and large language models (LLMs) within two years.
Looking back just three years ago, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s LLAMA did not exist, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT was later released in late November 2022.
Fast-forward to January 2025, the public was introduced to DeepSeek R1. This open-source large language reasoning model astounded the AI community with its speed, efficiency, and affordability, especially compared to OpenAI’s o1 GPT model.
A few weeks later, Elon Musk’s company xAI launched Grok 3, which impressed users by topping a key AI leaderboard with its complexity and fewer guardrails (see: unhinged mode).
More recently, Anthropic released Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code, an LLM that excels at code creation and debugging to a degree that has made many software engineers a bit uneasy.
These LLMs are just the beginning of AI’s rapid progress, with more breakthroughs on the way.
Google’s AI Mode: A glimpse of the future
AI isn’t just bringing new products – it’s transforming existing ones, too.
Engage with web search in a chat-like manner through multimodal understanding.
Refine long-tail queries in a back-and-forth manner.
AI Mode, powered by Gemini 2.0, enhances research using a “query fan-out” technique to gather real-time data from multiple sources and generate detailed, in-depth summaries.
This may make SEOs uncomfortable, as it potentially reduces clicks to publisher sites and further promotes a zero-click ecosystem.
With Google integrating Gemini 2.0 into its suite of products and its dominance of 89% of the search industry, its AI innovations demand close attention.
These technologies will likely be added to search, and AI Mode offers a preview of what’s ahead.
Two terms for the future of search: Agentic and deep research
We’ll likely hear two terms used more often in the AI and search space:
Deep research models can browse the web and focus on conducting intensive, in-depth research to provide users with informative summaries on complex topics.
Unlike previous LLMs, which use a single-step information retrieval system through RAG (retrieval-augmented generation), deep research and agentic models can:
Conduct multi-step research through a series of actions, pulling information from multiple sources to provide comprehensive summaries to the user.
Take proactive actions, such as executing tasks and complex instructions.
Google’s Project Mariner and OpenAI’s Operator already showcase these capabilities by allowing users to perform tasks within their browsers while understanding multi-modal elements such as text, images, and forms.
Suppose you want to plan a trip to Tokyo and know the best season to go, the weather, and where to stay.
Typically, this type of research takes a few days or weeks, and you gather information from various sources, such as travel websites or YouTube videos.
A deep research model can do the heavy lifting by searching the web, gathering information, and summarizing relevant content, which saves you time.
It can also “read, listen, and watch” various sources to provide a thorough answer.
An agentic model could also book your hotels and flights, navigating checkout flows to complete the purchase.
AI is moving in this direction as companies like Google work toward AGI (artificial general intelligence) – machines that can reason across diverse tasks like humans.
Deep research and agentic models are key milestones in building practical AI solutions for everyday use.
As AI search capabilities advance, users will likely rely even more on AI tools for quick answers rather than clicking through to websites or articles.
AI Mode and future search innovations could accelerate this shift by prioritizing fast, AI-generated summaries over traditional browsing.
As zero-click searches become the norm, you must rethink how you measure value and engagement.
Traditional KPIs may no longer accurately reflect user behavior, so focusing on brand visibility and awareness will be more critical than ever.
Increased personalization
LLMs and AI systems are revolutionizing search by personalizing responses with unmatched speed and scale, surpassing traditional algorithms.
Leveraging Google’s vast user data, AI can train on existing information and refine queries in real-time to deliver more tailored results.
As these systems continuously learn, they will become even better at recognizing, remembering, and adapting to individual user preferences.
As AI-driven search becomes more personalized, it’s worth considering whether hyper-niche content is the key to reaching your audience.
Multimodal search
Google’s AI-powered multimodal capabilities are already embedded in many of its products, including Project Astra, an AI assistant unveiled at Google I/O 2024.
During a live demonstration, Astra used multiple tools – such as Google Lens – to identify objects in real time and respond to voice queries.
Distinguished between similar names (“Bob” vs. “Rob”).
Even created a story about the figures.
While some of these advanced features haven’t been integrated into Google Search yet, multimodal search through Google Lens and voice search is already shaping how users submit queries.
As Google develops these capabilities, you should anticipate what’s next, look beyond text-based queries, and optimize for image, video, and audio search.
Commercial queries can still draw users to websites
AI-generated results have reduced clicks for informational queries, but commercial and transactional searches still offer opportunities for website traffic.
During the decision-making process, potential buyers research extensively – comparing products, reading reviews, and exploring multiple channels before making a purchase.
While it’s unclear how AI-generated search will impact this journey, think about how AI can streamline multi-touchpoint decision-making while still driving users to your website.
When users move closer to making a purchase, user-generated content – like reviews – will still play a crucial role in conversions.
Content quality still rules
Despite AI’s growing role in search, one thing remains constant: high-quality content is essential.
Whether users rely on traditional search engines or LLMs, visibility will still depend on the strength of the content itself.
Since both Google Search and LLMs use RAG to pull from vast datasets, ensuring these systems have access to accurate, high-quality information is critical.
Content demonstrating E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) will continue to rank higher in AI-driven search results.
Your brand will also play a bigger role in search visibility, making it essential to create valuable, well-optimized content across multiple formats.
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Pagination is the coding and technical framework on webpages that allows content to be divided across multiple pages while remaining thematically connected to the original parent page.
When a single page contains too much content to load efficiently, pagination helps by breaking it into smaller sections.
This improves user experience and unburdens the client (i.e., web browser) from loading too much information – much of which may not even be reviewed by the user.
Examples of pagination in action
Product listings
One common example of pagination is navigating multiple pages of product results within a single product feed or category.
Let’s look at Virgin Experience Days, a site that sells gifted experiences similar to Red Letter Days.
In the URL, ?page=2 appears as a parameter extension, a common pagination syntax.
Variations include ?p=2 or /page/2/, but the purpose remains the same – allowing users to browse additional pages of listings.
Even major retailers like Amazon use similar pagination structures.
Pagination also helps search engines discover deeply nested products.
If a site is so large that all its products can’t be listed in a single XML sitemap, pagination links provide an additional way for crawlers to access them.
Even when XML sitemaps are in place, internal linking remains important for SEO.
While pagination links aren’t the strongest ranking signal, they serve a foundational role in ensuring content is discoverable.
Why pagination is still important in 2025: The infinite scroll debate
Alternate methods for browsing large amounts of content have emerged over the past couple of decades.
“View more” or “Load more” buttons often appear under comment streams, while infinite scroll or lazy-loaded feeds are common for posts and products.
Some argue these features are more user-friendly.
Originally pioneered by social networks such as Twitter (now X), this form of navigation helped boost social interactions.
Some websites have adopted it, but why isn’t it more widespread?
From an SEO perspective, the issue is that search engine crawlers interact with webpages in a limited way.
While headless browsers may sometimes execute JavaScript-based content during a page load, search crawlers typically don’t “scroll down” to trigger new content.
A search engine bot certainly won’t scroll indefinitely to load everything.
As a result, websites relying solely on infinite scroll or lazy loading risk orphaning articles, products, and comments over time.
For major news brands with strong SEO authority and extensive XML sitemaps, this may not be a concern.
The trade-off between SEO and user experience may be acceptable.
But for most websites, implementing these technologies is likely a bad idea.
Search crawlers may not spend time scrolling through content feeds, but they will click hyperlinks – including pagination links.
How JavaScript can interfere with pagination
Even if your site doesn’t use infinite scroll plugins, JavaScript can still interfere with pagination.
Since July 2024, Google has at least attempted to render JavaScript for all visited pages.
However, details on this remain vague.
Does Google render all pages, including JavaScript, at the time of the crawl?
Or is execution deferred to a separate processing queue?
How does this affect Google’s ranking algorithms?
Does Google make initial determinations before executing JavaScript weeks later?
There are no definitive answers to these questions.
If Google’s effort to execute JavaScript for all crawled pages is progressing well – which seems unlikely given the potential efficiency drawbacks – why are so many sites reverting to a non-dynamic state?
This doesn’t mean JavaScript use is disappearing.
Instead, more sites may be shifting to server-side or edge-side rendering.
If your site uses traditional pagination but JavaScript interferes with pagination links, it can still lead to crawling issues.
For example, your site might use traditional pagination links, but the main content of your page is lazy-loaded.
In turn, the pagination links only appear when a user (or bot) scrolls the page.
How to handle indexing and canonical tags for paginated URLs
SEO professionals often recommend using canonical tags to point paginated URLs to their parent pages, marking them as non-canonical.
This practice was especially common before Google introduced rel=prev/next.
Since Google deprecated rel=prev/next, many SEOs remain uncertain about the best way to handle pagination URLs.
Avoid blocking paginated content via robots.txt or with canonical tags.
Doing so prevents Google from crawling or indexing those pages.
In the case of news posts, certain comment exchanges might be considered valuable by Google, potentially connecting a paginated version of an article with keywords that wouldn’t otherwise be associated with it.
This can generate free traffic – something worth keeping in 2025.
Similarly, restricting the crawling and indexing of paginated product feeds could leave some products effectively soft-orphaned.
In SEO, there’s a tendency to chase perfection and aim for complete crawl control.
But being overly aggressive here can do more harm than good, so tread carefully.
There are cases where it makes sense to de-canonicalize or limit the crawling of paginated URLs.
Before taking that step, make sure you have data showing that crawl-efficiency issues outweigh the potential free traffic gains.
If you don’t have that data, don’t block the URLs. Simple!
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AI models like ChatGPT reflect societal biases that exist in their training data. Here’s a simple way to see this in action:
Ask it to draw a nurse. You’ll likely get a woman.
Now, ask it to draw a CEO. You’ll probably see a man.
Here’s what I got:
This gender bias isn’t just limited to images. ChatGPT can perpetuate stereotypes and biases around:
Gender roles and professions
Cultural perspectives
Socioeconomic assumptions
Historical narratives
Geographic representation
For example, when asked about “traditional family values” or “successful business practices,” ChatGPT might default to Western, male-dominated perspectives without acknowledging other viewpoints.
What does this mean for you?
Always cross-reference important facts from multiple sources
Be aware that ChatGPT’s responses may reflect societal biases
Ask follow-up questions to get different perspectives
Use ChatGPT as a starting point, not the final authority
Consider whose viewpoints might be missing from its responses
Remember: ChatGPT is an incredibly powerful tool, but it’s trained on human-created data—which means it inherits human biases. So, use it wisely by staying critical and conscious of these limitations.
How to Use ChatGPT: Step-by-Step Beginners Guide
If you’re new to ChatGPT, getting started is easy.
You’ll be using it like a pro in just a few steps.
Step 1: Choose the Right ChatGPT Account Type
There are three ways to access ChatGPT, depending on what you need.
Guest Access
You can try ChatGPT right away with “Guest Access.” No need to sign up.
Turn memory on, and ChatGPT will learn from your past conversations.
You won’t have to repeat yourself every time you start a new chat.
Over time, it’ll remember details and give you more relevant responses.
Turn memory off and every session starts fresh.
This is great if you prefer more privacy.
Or don’t want past conversations influencing future replies.
You can also erase stored memories.
Click “Manage memories” in the “Personalization” window.
And you’ll see a new window where you can erase all memories or delete specific ones.
Personalizing ChatGPT: Make It Work Your Way
ChatGPT doesn’t have to sound the same for everyone.
You can easily customize it.
Just go to “Profile” (at the top right) > “Customize ChatGPT.”
Then, enter basic details like your name and profession.
Next, customize ChatGPT’s personality.
You can specify:
Tone: Friendly, casual, professional?
Response length: Brief and direct or in-depth?
Persona: Strategist, a teacher, or something else?
For example, if you want it to write in Backlinko style, you could type:
Write in the Backlinko writing style. Be direct and cut the fluff. Every sentence should be actionable. Do not use long complicated words when a simpler, shorter word exists.
If you’re not sure what to write, you can ask ChatGPT.
Here’s one way you can do that using your brand’s messaging document.
Upload the brand guide to ChatGPT and write:
Attached is [YOUR BRAND’S] content guideline. In under 1,500 characters, summarize [YOUR BRAND’S] voice, tone, and personality.
Advanced tip: I’ve noticed that ChatGPT doesn’t always stick to the personality I want. If you see that, too, do this:
First, give it this instruction.
“You have different personas. When I write [keyword], use that persona.”
Then, define the persona:
For example, for Backlinko, I write:
“[backlinko]: Be direct. Write clearly. Use short, punchy sentences with a confident tone. Make it easy to skim and focus on real, tested advice. Skip the jargon and write using the active voice. Keep the language simple (6th-grade level).”
Now, whenever I want ChatGPT to respond in Backlinko’s style, I start the chat with [backlinko].
The great thing about this?
You can add multiple personas for different tasks. And then you just add [keyword] to call that persona into the chat.
Some of my favorites include:
[80/20]: Focus only on the 20% of knowledge or actions that drive 80% of results. Prioritize key takeaways.
[teacher]: Break concepts into step-by-step explanations with real-world examples, analogies, and case studies.
The final section in customization is “What should ChatGPT know about you?”
Here, you personalize ChatGPT to your life and work.
What should you add?
Think about how you’ll be using it, then add relevant instructions.
For example, if you’re vegetarian with some dietary restrictions and you often use it for meal planning, you can write:
My family is vegetarian. One of our children has a peanut allergy, and the other doesn’t eat onions. Always make sure that the meals you create follow these restrictions.
Here’s another example if you use ChatGPT for work.
Say you have an ecommerce store.
You could add:
I sell handcrafted plant baskets made from sustainable materials. I have customers all over the world who are eco-conscious. I write in a warm but expert tone. I’m knowledgeable but never preachy. I have a small marketing budget. I do mostly organic content and paid ads.
Control Your Privacy
By default, OpenAI may use your conversations to improve the model.
If you’d rather keep chats private, you can turn this off.
Go to “Profile” > “Settings” > “Data Controls” and toggle “Improve the model for everyone.”
Once you do this, it won’t use your conversations for training.
And that’s it.
Your AI is now customized for you.
Go test ChatGPT with a few questions.
And see how well it adjusts based on your customizations.
Still not customized the way you want it?
Go back to settings and keep refining.
Step 3: Learn to Write Better Prompts
If you want high-quality answers from ChatGPT, you need to write better prompts.
Bland or generic answers usually mean a prompting problem.
Why?
Because when you give ChatGPT a vague question, it has to fill in the gaps.
And from what I’ve seen, it plays it safe by giving you the most generic explanations.
You don’t want that.
So how do you fix it?
Let’s get Google to help.
In its prompting guide, Google states that a good, detailed prompt includes four elements:
Task: What you want ChatGPT to do (explain, analyze, compare)
Context: Relevant background info (who, what, where, why)
Persona: The role ChatGPT should take (expert, teacher, consultant)
Format: How the response should be structured (step-by-step, bullet points, examples)
Adding just task + context makes a big difference.
Use all four, and you get much better answers.
Let me show you the difference in answer quality between a basic and an optimized prompt.
A basic prompt:
Give me unique marketing tips for a tour guide.
What do you get?
A generic list that can work for any tour guide anywhere in the world:
Now, add task + specific context:
Since ChatGPT has specific details to work with, the answer is more relevant.
We’re not done yet.
How about using all four elements using this prompt?
Act as a tourism marketing expert with 20 years of experience. I’ve just started a tour company in Málaga, Spain. The competition is fierce, so I need to stand out. Your task: identify three unique viral marketing strategies. The output should be a numbered list with one real-world example for each.
That level of detail gives you a more hyper-specific answer:
Step 4: Get Better Results With Frameworks
Frameworks help ChatGPT focus its thinking so its response becomes clearer and more organized.
So, instead of saying, “Give me an SEO strategy,” or “Give me content ideas,” specify a framework.
For example, in the Málaga tour guide prompt above, try using the STP framework (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning).
You might say:
Act as a tourism marketing expert with 20 years of experience. Use the STP framework (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) to develop a unique marketing strategy for a tour guide in Málaga, Spain. Identify a specific segment of travelers, explain the best way to target them, and position the tour guide’s services for maximum appeal.
Much. Better. Answer.
But what if you don’t know any frameworks?
No problem.
Just ask ChatGPT.
All you have to do is choose the best one.
Step 5: Refine ChatGPT’s Responses with Follow-Ups
ChatGPT’s first answer isn’t always the best, especially for complex topics.
How do you improve it?
Keep asking questions.
Here’s what I mean.
Imagine you’re a social media manager launching a smart water bottle that reminds users to drink.
Your first prompt might be:
Give me a list of interactive social media campaign ideas. Context: We’re launching a new product: a smart water bottle that reminds users to drink. You’re a social media strategist with 10 years of experience.
ChatGPT gives you a list:
It’s a good start.
But it’s not enough to have a clear launch strategy.
So, you dig deeper.
If the reply is too generic, ask for more details.
If the answer is too theoretical, ask for clear, actionable steps.
Or you can focus on one thing in the list.
Keep refining your questions until you have everything you need.
By doing this, ChatGPT becomes more of a collaborative partner.
And you get a final output that’s a blend of AI and your knowledge and topical expertise.
Why not add everything in one big prompt?
You could.
But it’s not always the best approach.
Yes, some prompts are simple enough that they don’t need iterative refining.
But for complex ideas, refining step by step gives you more control over the output.
Personal insight: When conversations with ChatGPT get longer, it can go into a rabbit hole and lose track of the original task. When this happens, I bring it back with a prompt like:
“Go back to the original task. Do you remember it?”
If the response shows that it has forgotten some details from the original prompt, remind it explicitly:
“We were working on [ORIGINAL TASK]. Pick up from where we left off.”
This helps bring the conversation back to the task you set out to do.
Fun Ways to Use ChatGPT for Life and Work
One of the most powerful things about ChatGPT?
It can take on different roles.
It can be your personal assistant, researcher, strategist, problem-solver, and more.
ChatGPT as 24-7 Personal Assistant
ChatGPT can be your assistant for work and daily life.
Need help with life planning, SEO, or optimizing your habits?
Done.
For example, you can use it to review legal documents.
Upload a PDF, like a client agreement, and ask it to explain the legal jargon. Or point out unfair clauses.
It’s great for mundane tasks, too. Like cleaning up video transcripts.
Paste (or upload) the transcript.
And ask ChatGPT to organize it better.
Saves you so much time.
Personal insight: I recently used ChatGPT to help me organize my Obsidian vault (Obsidian is a personal knowledge management tool.)
I wanted a clean, scalable folder structure that matched my use case.
So, off to ChatGPT I went and wrote this prompt:
Create a folder structure for Obsidian that helps organize personal insights, research, and notes. The folder structure should make finding and linking notes easy while keeping things simple and scalable. Strictly limit to five main folders. Make sure it’s organized so it’s easy to expand over time. Your output should be in a clear, hierarchical bullet format.
This response gave me a solid starting point to structure my folders.
It also saved me time by giving me a clear framework to customize instead of figuring it all out from scratch.
ChatGPT as Your Analyst
ChatGPT is also great for processing and analyzing data.
A few things it can do:
Clean up raw data
Identify patterns
Extract insights
Side note: Data analysis works best with the paid plan. The free version may not always deliver the same level of detail.
Here’s a great example of how you can use its data analysis capabilities for digital marketing.
Let’s say you run an online store.
You want to analyze your competitor’s Google Shopping Ads using the Product Listing Ads (PLAs) data you got from Semrush.
Do this:
Upload the data to ChatGPT and use this prompt:
Analyze this Product Listing Ad (PLA) data for BestBuy.com from Semrush. Give me the top five takeaways that will help me. Show your work.
Just like that, ChatGPT will identify patterns and trends from the Semrush data:
Expert tip: Want to double-check the analysis? Add “Show your work” to your prompt. This tells ChatGPT to explain its thought process so you can verify and refine the answer.
ChatGPT as a Thought Partner
ChatGPT is great for learning and skill development.
For example, you can use it as a conversation partner when learning a new language.
You can also use ChatGPT to stress-test your thinking.
It can challenge your assumptions and poke holes in your reasoning.
I even use it to analyze my content outlines for writing projects.
Fun fact: Being nice to ChatGPT can lead to better responses. Research shows that using polite, supportive prompts leads to better answers.
http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png00http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-31 11:43:412025-03-31 11:43:41How to Use ChatGPT to Get 10X Better Answers
Writing quality content should be a key aspect of every SEO strategy. But when is your content considered good or high-quality? And does quality mean the same for your users as for Google? In this article, we’ll discuss creating content and how you can make sure it hits the mark. It will require some creative writing skills. But don’t worry, you don’t have to become the next big author! By focusing on the right things, you can create high-ranking quality content that your users will happily read.
What is quality content?
That is the million-dollar question. Knowing how to write good content helps you get more visitors, higher conversions, and lower bounce rates. But who determines the quality of your content? The easy answer: your users. However, this also makes creating the right content more difficult. Because every user is different and has a different search intent. They have, however, one thing in common: every user knows what they want.
Although your users eventually determine the quality of your content, you can take a few steps to ensure you end up with well-thought-out, readable, and attractive content. In other words, content that’s eligible to be considered high-quality by your users and search engines. Luckily, a lot of the aspects that users will appreciate about your content are the same as the aspects search engines look for in quality content.
How search engines determine quality content
Search engines want to present their users with the exact content they seek. Content that is helpful, reliable and people-first and aligns with their current search intent. To help you create good content, Google has an acronym that you can consult: E-E-A-T.
Search engines decide on what is content quality by assessing a number of things – relevance, clarity and helpfulness, credibility and uniqueness. This all ties into the importance of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in any strategy around brand or topical authority.
Alex Moss – Principal SEO at Yoast
The acronym E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. In their ongoing search for the best content, Google has added this acronym to their search quality raters guidelines. They use this to assess and judge the quality of online content. Although it’s especially important for so-called YMYL websites (“Your Money Your Life” – sites that are related to well-being, health, finances or safety), these guidelines apply to all content out there.
Why is quality content important?
Quality content is the foundation of a strong brand, helping you establish authority and expertise in your industry. Well-crafted content speaks directly to the needs of your audience, providing valuable insights that position your brand as a reliable source. Whether it’s through blog posts, social media, or in-depth guides, delivering high-quality content builds long-term relationships with customers, fosters engagement, and strengthens brand credibility.
Beyond its impact on branding, quality content plays a crucial role in SEO. As mentioned above, search engines prioritize helpful, well-structured, and informative content that truly benefits users. By focusing on producing valuable content that answers queries effectively, you can achieve higher rankings in the search results. This leads to increased visibility, organic traffic, and better engagement, which will help you grow your website sustainably. To scale content creation effectively, check out this guide on scaling content. Additionally, if you mainly write content for your clients’ website, make sure to check out our article on writing valuable content that your clients will love.
7 steps to start creating high-quality content
To ensure the quality of your content, there are 7 steps that you can follow. Let’s go into them in more detail.
1. Write for your readers, not yourself
If you have an ecommerce site, you want readers to know about the products or services you offer. If you’re a blogger, you want readers to get to know you and the topics that interest you. However, it’s also important to consider what your users want to read about. What interests do they have? What events or news do they follow that you can relate to your business? And what ‘problems’ are they trying to fix that have led them to your site?
The first step in creating high-quality content is ensuring it contains the information your audience is looking for. To find out what your users are looking for, you have to conduct proper keyword research. This will help you determine what subjects to write about and what words your audience uses. Keyword research also helps your rankings, as more visitors and lower bounce rates tell Google that your page is a good result to show in their search results.
2. Think about search intent and your goal
Search intent is the reason why someone conducts a specific search. It’s the term used to describe their purpose. For example, do they have a question they need answered? Or do they want to buy something online? Someone’s search intent makes a difference in how they consider the quality of your content. If it fits their need at that moment, then they will stay on your page longer. But if they need an answer to a question and the page they land on only tries to sell them products, they’ll be gone before you know it.
Match goals to different search intents
It’s important to consider search intent while creating content for a specific page. That’s why we advise you to match your goals to users’ different search intents. Is one of your goals to increase newsletter subscriptions? Then, you should add that subscription button to pages where users with an informational intent land. Does a visitor have a transactional intent (meaning: they want to buy something)? Make sure they land on a product or category page dedicated to the product they are looking for.
Of course, experience tells us it’s not always that black and white. Still, it’s good to consider your users’ search intent. It helps you determine the focus of your content and what call-to-actions you want to add. A great way to get started is by adopting a content design mindset. This mindset helps you produce user-centered content based on real needs. Also, we recommend looking at the search results for some input to create great content.
3. Make your content readable and engaging
Do you want to get your message across? And do you want people to read your entire blog post or page? Then, make your content easy to read. This means that you should:
Think about the structure of your text and the words you use. Too much text without any headings or paragraphs, also known as a wall of text, tends to scare people off. Use headings and whitespace to give your readers some air while reading.
Try to limit the use of difficult words and be cautious of the length of your sentences. Both can make your content harder to understand, which will slow down and frustrate your reader.
Variation in your text will make it engaging. Use synonyms and alternate longer sentences with shorter ones to mix it up.
Another important thing to focus on: Have fun! And be conversational in your writing. This helps you write high-quality content that is different from your competitors’ and helps users get to know you and your brand.
Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness can all be used to improve your content. So how can you make sure to include these in your writing? We’ll go through them one by one and give you some pointers.
Share your experience
Although the acronym started as E-A-T, they added another E shortly after. This newly added E stands for experience. They prefer content that showcases knowledge or skills gained through first-hand experience. This can be gained through personal involvement or observations related to the topic at hand. To give an example, someone who has worked as an optician for many years will be experienced in the topic of eyesight. Or someone who has a prescription themselves will also have experience on the topic.
The second E in E-E-A-T stands for expertise. Although it makes sense that this would be an important factor in determining the quality of content, it is trickier to evaluate. So what Google does is find out what it can about the author itself. What is their reputation when it comes to the topic at hand? What is their background? And what other (reliable) sources are they referring to? When it comes to this criterion, it will pay off to be clear about your expertise and where it comes from online.
Related to expertise, the next letter stands for authoritativeness. An authority can be defined as a person or organization having power or control in a particular area. When you’re an authority on a topic, you often have the proper knowledge on it. That’s why official websites often have a higher chance of being perceived as the authority on a topic. But also aspects like qualifications and being associated with well-known organizations count towards this. If this one is tricky for you, don’t worry. It’s just one of the aspects Google looks for when determining quality. If this one doesn’t fit your blog or business, just focus more on the other letters in the acronym.
The last one probably doesn’t come as a surprise, as this is something we all look for when browsing online. The trustworthiness of the content before you. Whether it’s for a product you want to buy or information that you’re looking for, trust plays a big role in how serious you take online content. If it doesn’t feel right, a user will hesitate in the best case and leave your website in the worst. Google’s guidelines are quite clear on how they determine the trustworthiness of a website: “An unsatisfying amount of any of the following is a reason to give a page a low-quality rating: customer service information, contact information, information about who is responsible for the website or information about who created the content.” So make sure to be clear on these and look for other opportunities to show your trustworthiness.
Another key element of writing high-quality content is ensuring it’s up-to-date and relevant. This means you have to update your content occasionally to ensure people can find the right information. But why is this so important? It shows your users that you’re on top of recent developments and can always provide them with accurate information. In other words, it builds trust and keeps your audience returning to your site.
Keeping your website and blog posts updated is also important for SEO, as this shows Google that your site is ‘alive’ and relevant. So, make sure you schedule a time to update your content regularly.
The five steps we’ve discussed so far will help you write content that is easy to read and user-centered. Now, we’d like to highlight an equally important step: working on your site structure. It’s important because it will help users and search engines find your content.
Site structure refers to the way you organize your site’s content. When you structure your site well, search engines can index your URLs better. It helps Google determine the importance of your pages and which ones are related to each other. A good site structure allows users to find their way around your site more easily. It will help them find quality content in the search results and on your website. That’s why there’s much to gain from perfecting your site structure.
7. Use Yoast SEO to perfect your content
The last tip I want to share is the content analysis in our very own Yoast SEO plugin. This feature gives you real-time feedback on your content while you’re editing your page in the backend. It monitors whether you use your chosen keyword often enough and in the right places, it looks at text length and gives you feedback on readability. For example, it tells you when you use the passive voice too much, whether you’re using enough subheadings, gives you feedback on word complexity and the use of transition words. All of this and more is available in the free version to help you improve the readability and quality of your content.
The content analysis in Yoast SEO Premium goes a bit further and also does the following:
Allows you to optimize your text for related keyphrases and synonyms
Recognizes different forms of your keyphrase, so you can focus on writing naturally
Recognizes singular and plural, and also tenses of verbs
Gives access to our AI features, like Yoast AI Optimize, suggesting changes in your content
Gives you access to all the Yoast SEO academy courses, including our SEO copywriting training!
Buy Yoast SEO Premium now!
Unlock powerful features and much more for your WordPress site with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin!
Good, high-quality content will positively affect your SEO in the long run. So, before publishing post after post (or page after page), make sure to keep the following in mind. Make sure to write for your readers, make your content readable, match search intent with your goals, be trustworthy, keep your content up to date, and work on your site structure.
The result? Good content that your readers will appreciate. This will positively affect your number of visitors, conversions and eventual revenue. If you want to learn more tips and tricks, make sure to read our guide to SEO copywriting!
