As the expert person delivering SEO Copywriting Melbourne, experience is a pillar of virtue for Search Engine rankings.

The truth is, we don’t really know how Google’s PageRank algorithm or AI sorts and displays web pages on its results pages. What they do tell us SEO copywriters is this – we have certain ranking factors that will influence where your page will sit in results.

The “traditional” guidelines for higher rankings were E-A-T: Expertise, Trustworthiness, and Authoritativeness.

Now, Experience is thrown into the mix to give people better results. This is crucial, especially when it comes to “money or your life” topics such as medical advice or financial advice.

Google acknowledges this quite openly: “As a reminder, these guidelines are what are used by our search raters to help evaluate the performance of our various search ranking systems, and they don’t directly influence ranking.”

The idea is to reward higher quality sources with better results on Search Engine Results Pages.

What is Experience in SEO vs. What Is Expertise?

We all have experience with sports. Let’s say our favourite sport is Australian Rules football (Go Saints!) As a 36-year-old male who has played “lunchtime football” occasionally and attends at least four to five St. Kilda home games per year, this gives me experience with Australian Rules football.

A writer – whether they are human or Generative AI – who has not actually been to a match, heard crowds roar “Ball!”, or dropped sauce on their shirt while eating a hot pie – will not have any real-world experience of Australian rules football, at least from a professional-grade standpoint. I can demonstrate this with social media posts, pictures, and describing how I came across this information.

Also, as a casual observer, this does not make me an expert. An expert would need to have accumulated original research or amassed so much knowledge about a topic, they are considered the human source for that topic of information.

In Google’s view, having experience with caring for newborn babies does not make one an expert midwife; a midwife must undergo rigorous training and accreditation before they are allowed to practice their craft. This can be evidenced by diplomas or degrees and being listed as such on hospital or clinic websites as employees.

However, depending on the topic, you may rate experience over expertise. As a man who may have contracted testicular cancer, you may want support from other men who have gone through it. An oncologist may be an expert, but they may not know what it’s like to actually live with such a condition.

Google says this in their December 2022 Quality Rater Guidelines:

For example, if you’re looking for information on how to correctly fill out your tax returns, that’s probably a situation where you want to see content produced by an expert in the field of accounting. But if you’re looking for reviews of a tax preparation software, you might be looking for a different kind of information—maybe it’s a forum discussion from people who have experience with different services.

Elizabeth Tucker, Google

Trustworthiness: The Rule That Binds SEO & SEO Copywriting

Above all, Google and most other search engines rate Trustworthiness above all other factors.

If an end user can trust your content as timely, relevant, and factually accurate, it will likely rank higher than content that is not.

This is why backlinking from other trustworthy sources is so crucial in enhancing your SEO efforts. This network building of trust takes cues from real-life human interaction. You are more likely to trust a referral from someone you already implicitly trust; and backlinking works in the same way, to a fashion.

As someone who has over 15 years experience as an SEO copywriter (I was writing SEO copy as a junior in a small firm – in someone’s pool room!) and expertise as a researcher and writer (having a Master’s degree in communication and journalism) I should be trusted by others to have relevant and factually correct information about my field above a newbie or a faceless, nameless AI who has been asked such questions on the fly.

When it does come to “your money or your life” I think it’s reasonable to assume the higher search engine result will have your best interests at heart – don’t you?

To get your own E-E-A-T driven SEO copywriting and content, contact me below!