24 Jan How to Create High Quality Content using AI and E-E-A-T
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, generative AI has risen to the top of many marketers’ minds — and for good reason. What generative AI can create in mere seconds in terms of text, images, videos, and audio can feel magical and impressive — and it may even seem almost too good to be true.
It can also be very tempting to let AI do all the work. Daily blogs and thousands of words of copy in seconds? Check! But — not so fast. One of the most significant content issues we’re currently seeing in the industry is that companies don’t exactly know how to effectively capitalize on this new world of AI when it comes to high quality content. They may be letting AI do too much — or nothing at all. And it’s all about striking the right balance.
The critical thing to understand when it comes to generative AI for content creation is that you should only use it to assist and possibly enhance human-created content — but never to replace humans entirely.
People-first content — with a human touch — is still vital for brands and content creators to prioritize, especially if they’re leveraging the capabilities of generative AI. High quality content isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about creating value that resonates with your audience. Let’s explore why.
What Is High Quality People-First Content?
According to Google, “People-first content means content that’s created primarily for people, and not to manipulate search engine rankings.”
To determine if you’re producing high quality content, it’s helpful to consider if you can confidently answer “yes” to the following questions:
- Would your existing or intended audience find your content useful or helpful?
- Does your content demonstrate first-hand experience and solid proof of expertise?
- With your content, will a reader feel like they’ve learned enough about a topic to achieve the intended goal?
- Would a reader feel satisfied with the information provided in your content?
What these questions also demonstrate is the importance of the concept of E-E-A-T.
Defining E-E-A-T
The acronym “E-E-A-T” stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness” — and while it’s not a specific ranking factor for Google, it’s an important component of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
Here’s a cheat sheet of what you should think about when considering E-E-A-T in your own brand-specific content marketing guide:
- Experience: Experience encompasses first-hand knowledge or a direct and personal understanding of the topic or respective subject matter. To achieve this, you could directly reference personal stories or showcase “behind the scenes” content. In essence, you’ve been there, done that, and have gained your knowledge through direct involvement.
- Expertise: Expertise is defined as having a proficient command of the subject matter, which can be expressed through author credentials as well as the accuracy and depth of the content. Adding in citations to reputable sources and studies can also help improve expertise.
- Authoritativeness: Consistency is key to authoritative content, as it’s earned through regular publishing of high quality content. It can also be established by achieving coverage and mentions from other respected sites and sources.
- Trustworthiness: Trust is built through transparency, positive reputation, and ethical content practices, as well as clarity in your content and contact information.
Of these four aspects, Google says that trust is the most important. The other three qualities contribute to trust, but the content doesn’t necessarily have to show all of them every single time to be considered valuable.
As you can probably guess, to demonstrate a high level of E-E-A-T, it’s nearly impossible for AI to accomplish without a human behind the people-first, high quality content you want to produce.
Making E-E-A-T Work for You
Recognizing the benefits and limitations of generative AI when it comes to people-first, high quality content is the first step in making E-E-A-T work for you.
For example, AI can help with the research process, an outline, and even a first draft or two of the content. However, the final product should always be reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by a human who can bring emotion and context to the content along with that real-world experience and expertise.
Following this approach ensures you can uphold the E-E-A-T that Google values while increasing efficiency in content production. Producing high quality content that resonates with your audience will not only improve rankings but also build trust and authority in your niche.
Note: If you’re producing YMYL (“Your Money or Your Life”) content, E-E-A-T becomes even more critical, as Google raters apply even higher page quality standards to YMYL topics. That’s because low-quality information could potentially have negative consequences on the health, finances, or safety of people and society if it were to be incorrect or inconsistent.
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For our clients, the integration of Generative AI opens new avenues, but as you can see, it’s essential to navigate this frontier strategically — especially when it comes to content. We invite you to explore this exciting new chapter with The Threadgill Agency. Let’s embrace the future of digital marketing, where every piece of content and every campaign can be a masterpiece crafted by the synergy of human creativity and artificial intelligence. Learn more and contact us today!