Semantic search knowledge can be a game-changer. In our Fair Marketing Article Series this month we show how you can use it to improve E-A-T.
The buzzword for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness is E-A-T. It is Google’s bid to shape which organizations and entities are authentic.
Despite having worked in search marketing for years, many have started to think about the ways semantic search – retrieval of information that takes into account both the context and the purpose of a query – could enhance a site’s E-A-T. Research delving into the Quality Raters’ Guidelines (QRG) shows how to make this connection.
Contrary to popular belief, Google uses a variety of signals to determine what material is of high quality and relevant to searchers rather than just one ranking component to determine E-A-T. Additionally, marketers can improve websites for this ranking system by using an understanding of semantic search. Several things made possible by Google can be explained with semantic search capacities. Semantic [search] trusts the understanding of the meaning of words and it’s been shown how proud Google has been in their innovations in understanding language.
The relationship between semantic search and E-A-T
Rolled-out in 2013, Google’s Hummingbird algorithm was created to completely restructure how the search engine recognizes and ranks content. The update let Google more accurately assess the authority of websites through semantic search thanks to an improved understanding of intent at its core.
Google’s engine was altered by the Hummingbird algorithm and when it occurred, few SEOs were aware of it. It literally provided Google’s algorithms with the ability to incorporate semantic search.
Before Hummingbird was implemented, Google was largely a lexical search engine, dependent on keywords. These search engines primarily focus on retrieving documents that contain these keywords, using PageRank to establish a hierarchy along the way. While these mechanisms are still in play, the addition of semantic search has changed the game.
Now there is lexical search and semantic search together. No one is sure exactly how Google is applying the combination of these but we know that back in 2013 when Hummingbird came out, they began to have the capacity of doing it well.
SEOs would be wise to study the changes Hummingbird ushered in, especially when it comes to the search engine’s understanding of language.
Enhancing E-A-T through semantic search and knowledge retrieval
The knowledge retrieval capabilities of semantic search can assist marketers in raising the E-A-T of their content. This is because of Google’s Knowledge Graph.
A highly structured database is mined for information using knowledge search. Google’s Knowledge Graph is the finest illustration we have of this. Marketers can better comprehend entity relationships with the use of the knowledge graph. SEOs can make it simpler for Google to connect your content to recognized entities in its Knowledge Graph by optimizing websites in accordance with entities and their relationships (rather than concentrating only on one keyword and its variants).
The way Google employs entities in its Knowledge Graph is remarkable. Based on the information in the QRG, a company can offer recommendations, assuming that Google’s algorithms will somehow achieve these goals. Based on an understanding of semantic search, this is enhancing E-A-T.