John Mueller from Google recently responded to a query about how Google’s search algorithm evaluates the credibility and expertise of publishers.
During a Google Webmaster Central hangout on January 22, someone asked:
“Given that the search quality guidelines are an indication of where Google wants its algorithm to go, how does the current algorithm handle measuring the expertise and credibility of publishers?”
Initially, Mueller was momentarily taken aback by this question, responding humorously with “I don’t know” before providing a more detailed explanation.
He explained that there is no technical method for site owners to signal their expertise and credibility to Google. If such a method existed, Google would inform people, Mueller noted.
Previously, tools like authorship markup helped communicate details about an author to Google. However, these tools are no longer in use, and Google now relies on “soft” quality factors.
Mueller elaborates, “We’re trying to figure out how a user might look at [a publisher].”
Regarding expertise and credibility, Mueller advises publishers to concentrate less on technical ranking factors and emphasizes the importance of creating quality content.
Since the release of a revised version of Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines last year, the topic of author expertise has gained significant attention among SEO professionals. The updated guidelines stress the importance of evaluating expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T).
For additional details on how Google’s human quality raters assess E-A-T, please refer to related articles on the topic.
Based on Mueller’s comments, there appear to be no strict signals within Google’s algorithm specifically designed to evaluate a publisher’s E-A-T—at least none that he is currently disclosing.
To hear the complete exchange from the Google hangout, check out the corresponding video, starting at the 33:42 mark:
“I don’t know. I think that’s probably hard to kind of figure out algorithmically. And if there were any technical things that you should do, we would let you know.
So if there are things like authorship markup, that we had at some point, that we think would be useful for something like this we would definitely let you know.
But a lot of things are really more soft quality factors that we try to figure out. And it’s not something technical that you’re either doing, or not doing; it’s more about how we’re trying to figure out how a user might look at it.
So not anything specific that I could point at.”
