Google keeps changing things up. But what does it all mean for content writers? It means we need to step up the game if we’re going to write great content that stands out against AI-generated content. But I don’t think that will be too difficult.
One More E Between You and Great Content
Now we’ve got an extra E on the long-standing E-A-T quality standard for SEO: Experience.
Why?
Because it’s something AI cannot actually have. It’s Google trying to keep content REAL.
How to Write High Quality Content in the EEAT Framework
This new EEAT targets something else that is important for us human types:
It forces us to work on better writing by focusing on depth over breadth. There are plenty of content mills out there asking for the kind of content AI is superb at pumping out in a matter of seconds. And that content sucks.
Creating well written, meaningful content is going to be crucial to maintaining our position as the human overlords.
So how do we write better than robots and worker-bee writers? Here are four ways to create high quality content in the EEAT framework that will put you miles ahead of any AI.
Write More In-Depth, Experience-Guided Content.
AI Sounds Like Content-Mill Writing.
The kind of stuff where you get paid $20 per article and need 16 of them done by the end of the day. It’s shallow, it’s bland, and it’s basic.
Don’t be basic. Write something that only you could write. That’s how you create high quality content.
Here’s how:
01: Use Your Personal Experiences
Dig into what you’ve actually lived out. If you’re in a different field now, find analogies, metaphors, and stories that connect your past experiences with your present path.
Many of our favorite creators, actors, directors, and musicians are all storytellers. That’s no coincidence.
02: Talk to Subject Area Experts
If you don’t know your topic personally, talk to people who do. Find experts through social media. Email leaders that live in that space. Find news stories that cover creators and innovators within your topic.
Whatever you do, don’t leave it all up to generalizations. Those specific stories make a difference in your authority.
03: Weave Stories Into Data & Statistics
High quality content starts and ends with the narrative. Instead of just spitting out lists and numbers, start connecting your data to stories about how that data plays out in reality.
Talking about the housing market? Tell a story about trying to buy a home or rent an apartment. Writing about the dramatic drop in BitCoin value? Find a story about a self-made millionaire losing it all overnight.
This ties statistics to reality. And that’s where you get people connecting the dots.
04: Go Long with Your Content
600 words used to be the standard. With today’s EEAT framework and the multiple updates to Google’s algorithm, you can triple that number and still have more room to write.
In-depth, high quality content means a firm grasp on the subject. If you can write 2,000 words or more on a single topic, you should be able to cover virtually every angle and objection possible.
That’s authority.
Do Real Research.
AI writers suck at statistics and facts. Especially information more recent than 2017. Use that weakness to your advantage. Dig into your subject area, pull raw data, and build out your argument with numbers to back it up. You’ll stand out from the robots instantly.
Here’s how you can leverage research to write stellar content that AIs can’t compete with:
01: Use Current Sources
Most AI’s don’t have knowledge bases that include anywhere from 3 to 5 years (ChatGPT cuts off at 2021, and Jasper cuts off at 2019).
I discovered this when prompting on current topics and trends. Neither of the generators could give me anything current, but they could get close. It’s a huge advantage for the humans. And it’s the first step in creating high quality content that AIs just can’t replicate.
02: Use Real, Detailed Statistics
AI engines are great with general facts and big ideas. They can even do some more detailed write-ups with the right inputs.
But Jasper’s spokesperson states outright that Jasper will make up statistics just to fill space. There’s no guarantee those statistics with be accurate.
Another point for the humans.
03: Analyze and Evaluate Your Research
Stating facts is basic. Take those facts and start extrapolating some conclusions. Robots don’t come to conclusions. They simply write down facts.
High quality content takes a unique position and defends it with real information. Once again, AI is going to struggle to meet up to the expectations of well-supported and research-based conclusions.
04: Research Stories, Not Just Statistics
The human experience is unique. Writing about actual human experiences will keep you on top of the machines. This is what journalists do differently from most informational blogs or websites. The statistics are there to support a story, but the story is the centerpiece of high quality content that deeply impacts people.
Don’t just string together numbers and statistics. Tell stories that have emotional impact.
Which brings me to the next big factor in creating high quality content that’s better than AI…
Write With Emotion.
Machines don’t have feelings (although one anonymous ex-Google AI researcher claims otherwise). And they certainly don’t write with feelings. Sure, they can persuade, but they can’t emote. Write your human experience and point of view.
Here’s how:
01: Urgency Drives Action.
Speak to your reader’s FOMO. At least, just a little bit. Make it clear that taking action now will benefit them. And that waiting to act could cost them.
02: Make Your Reader the Hero.
Don’t talk about you or your company or even your product as much as you talk about how it will change your readers daily. Make it clear that what you’re writing about is going to change their lives.
03: Show, Don’t Tell.
Describe vividly, but make sure it’s not just listing facts. Get your reader into tue moment by painting a picture of your subject.
04: Write Benefits, Not Features.
It’s easy to tell someone what your product does. But first tell them how it will help them meet their goals or erase their pain points.
Your goal is to lead your reader into the story, to put them in the lead role, and to guide them on a journey that connects deeply to their emotions.
Give Your Opinion.
Boring writing takes no position. It just drops a few facts in front of the reader. Exposition is the AI sweet spot. Extrapolation still takes human eyes, human thinking, and human relationship. Don’t worry about ticking someone off. Worry about having no impact at all.
Here’s how:
01: Use Data to Make Predictions.
Robots can handle collecting information. But robots don’t do data, and they don’t do predictions. Find unique insights that lead to assertions. Be brave enough to make claims with the information you have on hand.
AI writers are designed to regurgitate and rearrange past information. They’re not supposed to guess what’s coming next. That’s far too human for them.
02: Combine Facts and Feelings.
Get into the tall grass and start talking about your feelings. Connect your personal emotions with the facts that you’re describing. Put your reactions into words. Capture the moments you had realizations or changes of heart because of what you’re learning.
Machines will be able to string together pieces of a story into a relatively cohesive narrative. But they won’t be able to inject true emotion into the experiences. Again, that’s too human for them.
03: Be Bold with Claims.
Make your claims big. The bigger the better. Why? Because hyperbole still works for humans. We can exaggerate, overstate, and overpromise and it still turns out alright. The robots don’t do that. They sit in a safe zone that barely makes any claim at all, let alone a bold one. It’s incredibly human to shout an answer we think is right, even when it’s wrong.
04: Offend Someone.
Go ahead. Say it. You know you want to.
If you want to make a memorable impact, take a shot at something other people care about. It doesn’t have to be incredibly ugly, but standing by a strong opinion that makes others angry, frustrated, or bitter still nets you more engagement.
Be memorable. Be bold. And be slightly irritating. Nothing like good old anger to get the emotions going.
Be Friendly With The Machines, But Don’t Give Up Yet
Whether you think they’re on our side or not, machine learning technologies will revolutionize our workflows and job descriptions.
But in the midst of all the speculation, one thing is becoming clear:
The true measure of content quality is holistic, not modular.
And that seems to be the most human way to determine value. Seeing things in complex webs instead of isolated elements.
Our job as writers, marketers, and strategists? To dissect, analyze, and reassemble what it takes, piece by piece, to establish Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness…
New machines will definitely help with this (just as new machines, materials, and techniques made it possible to build skyscrapers). But they won’t replace the ingenuity and evaluation we as humans possess.
But the companies that rely on shallow content or shallow online presence will be lost in the new standards.
Even in 2012, when Google’s Panda update was rolled out, the algorithm was always adjusted to favor high quality content over the mass production of low-quality junk content. That update disrupted several business models, but it didn’t eliminate the blatant attempts to cheat the system. It just made it more complicated to do.
It’s nothing new, but hopefully it’ll work even better this time.
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Want more tricks to push back the singularity and keep the flesh bags in power? Join my mailing list or connect with me on LinkedIn. I’ve got plenty more where this came from…
