What types of content to rely on before Google’s EMS – and what to avoid

Once Google launches its generative research experimentone thing is certain: the types of content that drive traffic to your website will change significantly.

Plain and simple topics like “How to Create a Social Media Strategy” might not drive as much traffic to your website anymore. Instead, users will find answers to such queries directly on Google thanks to the generative AI snapshot.

It’s an alarming thought. If some of your content is made redundant by generative AI, what could happen to your traffic and leads in a post-EMS world?

Luckily, HubSpot’s SEO team took out some of the guesswork. Here, learn from the SEO experts at HubSpot what types of content you’ll want to start looking at in 2023 to keep driving traffic to your website — and what to avoid.

What types of content to rely on before Google’s EMS

1. Lean on personality-driven, thought-provoking content.

AI has a lot to offer. But, due to his robotic nature, he inherently lacks one thing: perspective.

That’s why you need to make sure you start looking at personality-driven thought leadership content that offers personal lessons, examples, and innovative concepts that drive conversations forward.

As Aja FrostDirector of Global SEO Growth at HubSpot, says, “Due to the evolution of AI, there is an exponential increase in the amount of low-value content written by AI. And, in response to that, Google prioritizes first-person, believable, and personality-driven.

It’s logic. Google needs its AI models to keep improving based on new information on the web. And new information – including new insights and ideas – can only come from real people.

For example, consider what happens when I ask ChatSpot“How can I develop my emotional resilience as an entrepreneur?”

ChatSpot’s answer includes many concrete steps to build resilience. But it lacks the nuance and complexity of real life.

This is why it is more useful for me to turn to this article: “Bounce Back: Five Founders on Building Emotional Resilience”.

In the post, one of the founders, Michael Plisco, says, “As founders, we often find ourselves so deeply committed to our company and its mission that it becomes difficult to distinguish ourselves from what we are building. take a step back and realize that business failure in any situation does not equate to self-failure. »

Plisco then recommends reconnecting with the things that make you happy, from spending time with friends and family to activities you haven’t had time for since starting your business.

Consider that tips vs. ChatSpot tips: “Treat failure as an opportunity for growth and learning, reframing setbacks as stepping stones to success. »

Look at the difference?

In the end, there are many topics that deserve a quick, simple, and simple answer. I turn to ChatSpot all the time for topics such as “Make me a workout plan”, “What’s the best social media platform right now?” and “Please ask me five questions I should ask in an interview about product development and AI.” “

AI cannot move the conversation into new territory with new and fresh ideas. And it cannot fully capture the subtleties and nuances required by many complex subjects. This is where your content can really shine.

2. First-person narratives will become increasingly crucial.

AI can pull together a long list of tools and provide comprehensive analysis of each, but it can’t describe their own unique experience testing the tools.

This is where first-hand insights will become essential.

As HubSpot’s Marketing Manager and SEO Strategist, Bianca (Binks) Andersonsaid, “Productive Perspectives is a term we’ll be adopting at HubSpot to guide our writers ahead of Google’s EMS. For us, that means fully immersing ourselves in the subject and sharing our personal journey through first-person accounts.

She continues, “Our goal is to showcase our hands-on experience by demonstrating the products, software and tools we discuss, truly walking the talk. »

As we prepare for Google’s rollout of SGE, it’s critical that you review your existing strategy and consider where you can incorporate first-hand expertise. Rather than writing “Top 10 Marketing Automation Tools,” maybe use a first-hand angle like “I Tried These 5 Marketing Automation Tools: Here Are My Favorite.”

In addition to helping you rank in a post-EMS world, incorporating first-person expertise also helps you build brand trust. Your readers want to know that you have real-world experience on the topics you write about.

Anderson adds, “We also believe in taking a clear and confident position on an issue, backed by first-hand research and data. »

She continues, “We believe that forming and expressing insightful opinions is the mark of true expertise. With Productive Perspectives, we strive to provide valuable content that resonates with our readers.

3. You will need to integrate EEAT signals into your content.

Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Rating Guidelines consider EEAT – which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness – as critical factors in ensuring your content ranks on Google, and EEAT will become more and more important after the release of Google’s EMS.

That is why rory hopeHead of Content SEO at HubSpot, advises all content creators to look into these factors when creating content.

As he says, “When creating content, you will benefit from writing it through the actual experience of the author, while referencing the author or credentials. of your company to improve the expertise perceived by search engines and users. »

He continues, “To improve authority, backlinks will remain important, so try to include primary research data or citations where possible to make your content linkable and shareable. Depending on the type of content, you should Also add social proof or reviews on the page as this will help build trustworthiness.

To prepare for a post-EMS world, Hope recommends marketers read Google Search Quality Rating Guidelines to develop a deeper understanding of EEAT, which will help improve your post-EMS visibility.

4. Look into long-tail queries.

For quite some time now, marketers have heard about the power of long-tail queries to rank higher in the SERPs.

As a refresher: Leading terms like “blogging” are usually searched frequently and are harder to categorize than long-tail phrases. So when considering your SEO strategy, you’ll want to make a list of long-tail phrases that might help you capture more traffic.

“How to Write a Blog Post: A Beginner’s Guide,” for example, is probably easier to categorize than “blogging.”

Senior SEO Technical Specialist Sylvain Charbit believes this will become increasingly important in a post-EMS world.

As he told me: “Prioritizing long-tail queries will become even more important because Google’s AI answers are generally better in this case. Image and content optimization around these more insights could lead to more visibility into AI-generated responses.”

Be ready for change

Whatever strategy changes you decide are best for your business, one thing is certain: SGE will change the way users search and find information. Which means that once SGE is deployed, it will be essential that your SEO and content strategy teams are ready to test, iterate and experiment to determine what new content works best for your business.

Take a look at The Evolution of SEO: Expert Opinions on the Future Search Landscape if you want to learn more about how SEO will change in 2023 and beyond.