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Kersa Haughey is Director of Marketing + Business Development at INK Communications Co. <\/a> <\/p>\n As you delve into annual planning for the coming year, you’ll want to take a little extra time to update your SEO strategy and the marketing communications activities that feed into and flow from it. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n The culprit for this growing need is, predictably, Google. Over the past few months, the company has released a series of updates closely tied to the emergence of generative AI. The updates are aimed at increasing high-quality content, including the <\/span>Search Generative Experience (SGE)<\/span><\/a>the <\/span>Outlook filter<\/span><\/a>the <\/span>Useful content update<\/span><\/a> and October 2023 <\/span>Basic upgrade<\/span><\/a>. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n These advancements are improving the Google Search user experience, placing SGE at the top of the page to answer queries and adjusting the results section to provide more detailed information from individual experts and industry leaders. thought In other words, Google is significantly changing the way people access information and discover brand content, setting the stage for a more nuanced and people-centric SEO strategy in 2024.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n These changes don’t mean you need to do a total overhaul of your SEO strategy, but rather a reprioritization of tactics. Based on Google’s recent moves, domain authority and quality content are emerging as the likely cornerstones on which to base your program strategy.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Domain authority reimagined<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Domain Authority measures a web domain’s ranking on search engine results pages. It’s not a new concept, but the road to achieving it has some new twists and turns. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n While backlinks were once an important factor affecting rankings, Google <\/span>confirmed<\/span><\/a> last month that they are losing importance. This stemmed in part from the manipulation of search results using paid backlinks. However, it is more tied to technological advances such as machine learning, natural language processing and generative artificial intelligence, along with increased engagement between brands and people through social channels and forums, which makes Google now consider many other ranking signals. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Even the inventor of Domain Authority, Moz, recognizes that the elements that influence ranking are increasingly complex and intrinsically tied to a company’s broader marketing communications program. In response, Moz has recently developed <\/span>Brand authority<\/span><\/a>, a new score that measures the overall brand strength of a domain. While Domain Authority measures your ability to rank in search engines, Brand Authority measures your influence in marketing channels. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Achieving both Modern Domain Authority and Brand Authority is deeply tied to creating high-quality content. Great content helps increase your site’s domain authority by providing valuable information that people want to share and discuss. Having a high domain authority tells people and search engines that your site is a place to find reliable information, helping your content get the attention it deserves. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Quality content defined<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Google has long said that quality content is the #1 signal for ranking, crawling and indexing. But as low-quality AI-generated content has saturated the Internet this year, Google’s emphasis on accurately identifying and prioritizing high-quality content has increased significantly.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n What is included in Google’s definition of quality can be a bit fuzzy. The company tends to be coy about sharing the exact factors it uses to judge content, but some key posts about <\/span>Google Search Central<\/span><\/a> give solid indications of what matters most. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n The first is the <\/span>EEAT framework<\/span><\/a>. Google’s original framework for evaluating the quality of its website content was EAT: Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Late last year, Google added a new “E,” Experience, which considers whether the content was produced by someone who has actual experience with the topic they’re writing about. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n EEAT serves as the basis for the next useful resource, that of Google <\/span>Content self-evaluation<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> which includes a long list of questions you can use to assess the quality of your content. Based on the questions included, here’s a breakdown of the key factors Google uses to judge quality: <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n originality<\/span> – Provides unique insights, reports, research or analysis. <\/span> <\/span> Steps to take now<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n There is a clear synergy between domain authority and quality content. As you strengthen one, you inherently strengthen the other, creating a virtuous cycle of increased visibility and credibility. Here’s how you can align your marketing communications strategies to feed both: <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nExhaustiveness<\/span> \u2013 Demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject and first-hand knowledge. <\/span> <\/span>
\nAccuracy + confidence<\/span> \u2013 It is factually correct, has a clear source and is well produced with no spelling or stylistic problems.<\/span> <\/span>
\nUser experience<\/span> – Provides a good page experience beyond text, including images, video, layout, presentation and page speed.<\/span> <\/span>
\ntransparency<\/span> – Disclosure of authorship.<\/span> <\/span>
\nUser-centric<\/span> \u2013 Prioritize delivering real value to readers over search engine manipulation.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n