We’ve talked in three previous articles about Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines and how to blend their standards into your content. (I listed those posts at the end of this one for your review.) Those posts were about Quality Pages, but today let's go even further and find out what Google means by Highest Quality Web Pages.
The thing about Google is that their integrity hinges on the quality of the web pages that you find in their search engine. If what’s highly ranked in Google is bad information, poorly written, and/or not credible, you won’t use Google to find answers to your questions.
So the best SEO for your site is to think like Google: quality web pages equals high performing SEO. Today I want to tell you about the Guidelines' section called, “Highest Quality Pages.”
From the Guidelines, “Highest pages are very satisfying pages which achieve their purpose very well. The distinction between High and Highest is based on quality of MC [Main Content] as well as the level of E-A-T [Expertise-Authority-Trustworthiness] and reputation of the website.”
For the Highest Quality a page must have at least one of the following (I’ve paraphrased much from the Guide here):
- Very high or highest quality MC, with demonstrated expertise, talent, and/or skill.
- Very high level of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (page and website) on the topic of the page.
- Very good reputation (website or author) on the topic of the page.
The highest quality page must be created with a high degree of effort and time. Expertise, talent, and skill must be clearly evident. This isn’t to say you have to be an expert. You can be a hobbyist or have everyday knowledge, it all depends on the purpose of the page and type of content.
To clarify, formal expertise is important for topics such as medical, financial, or legal advice. But if you are writing a page about motherhood and relating your experiences with your own kids, you can still get a very high quality rating. Or you’re writing as an amateur chef about the recipes you’ve tried and advising your readers how best to use them.
Reputation is also important in a Highest Quality Rating. Google’s page evaluator looks for prestigious awards or recommendations from known experts or professional societies on the topic of the site. It’s a good idea for you to include the logo or image of any of these on your site, too.
For less formal topics like humor or recipes, popularity, user engagement, and user reviews are considered.
I would love to list some links to examples of the Highest Quality Web Pages from the Guidelines but I am not authorized and can’t get to the pages (there are links only, no site names given). So here are three websites that I think have the Highest Quality Web Pages:
1. The Mayo Clinic site has easy to find, comprehensive information written in a way that anyone can understand. And it meets the standards for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.
2. New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is an award winning website that is best at guiding the user to exactly what they need quickly and efficiently. This is also an excellent example of quality instructional writing. Check out my post on the site here. Also, this post on writing web page instructions.
3. Country Financial is one of the best insurance websites I’ve seen. I enjoy writing for insurance companies and I often refer to this site for ideas. It’s very user friendly with language that’s inviting (and it’s an insurance company!) and easy to understand.
These sites are actually fun to read, informative, and great examples of content writing at its best. Do you know of websites that you think have the highest quality web pages? Let us know in the comments section.
Until next time,
Nick
Three previous posts on Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines that will help you:
The Secrets to Star Quality Webpages
What's a Quality Web Page? Don't Ask Me, Ask Google
3 More Characteristics of High Quality Web Pages
Nick Burns is an SEO web writer specializing in persuasive copywriting and content marketing. He provides clients a winning content strategy plus the special web writing to make it work. You can contact Nick here.
