In June 2019 Google has announced a new core update, codenamed: June 2019 Core Update

While officially Google has not mentioned what the update is about, it is widely believed that the update relates to improving the quality of content and engagement.

Therefore, as a proactive measure, it is a good idea to audit the SEO content of your website and ensure that it doesn’t violate the parameters set by Google. You can do this easily by using a content quality checklist (below) that helps audit SEO content in a few minutes. This checklist is quite comprehensive for two reasons:

– It is based on the guidelines set by Google’s Search Quality Evaluator that are quite popular among content evaluators globally.

– It incorporates Google’s very own E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) guidelines for content scoring.

Checklist to audit SEO content:
Below are some recommended parameters that you can use to check the quality of your SEO content. You can reach a maximum score of 30 points if you meet all parameters. Even if you reach a score of 27, it means that your content is good enough to be posted.

From an SEO perspective:
– Check whether primary keywords are written in the title and sub-headings.

– Ensure that internal links referencing relevant information on the page are not broken and function properly.

– Review the content to see that it is well structured and formatted with appropriate tags (example: H1, H2, H3, P).

– Make sure that the main content is unique and not copied from any other sources online.

– Check whether all images have Alt tags, titles and descriptions

– Ensure that meta title and description have primary keywords.

– If you are publishing a blog, then a table of contents should be visible.

From Content perspective:
– Whether the title of a content piece corresponds with the content (example: Title: “Dog Grooming Guide”” – content includes “a step by step…”)

– Whether the main content provides a clear topical structure including key points?

– Does the supplementary content supports the key points of the main content?

– If the content is text-based, then does it have images that make it easier to understand the content?

– Check whether the content is promotional, sponsored, or paid. This should be clearly specified on the page. Some common types are advertisement, sponsored article and guest post etc.

– Last but not the least, checked whether the content is relevant and interesting for the audience.

From the perspective of audience satisfaction:
– As the content is meant for the audience, it is important to ensure that it is of high quality and meets their expectations in terms of relevancy and timeliness. It should not be old and picked from other sources, especially when it relates to topics such as education and entertainment.

– The content should make audience read it again and again and should keep them engaged.

– Whether the writing style and font is good enough to make the content legible across multiple devices that include a desktop PC, laptop, tablet and mobile devices.

– The more thought leadership the author exhibits, the higher trustworthiness he or she will establish, and correspondingly higher will be the “connect” that he or she will establish with the audience.

From the perspective of intent:
– It is important to ensure that the main content is well-written and therefore easy- to-read. A reader should be able to locate it easily on a page.

– Take care to ensure that the ads on the page are relevant and not distracting or gaudy.

– Be careful to ensure that the content is neutral and does not provoke readers, or promote hate, violence, deception or political manipulation.

– Ensure that the content does not cause physical or mental harm, and is otherwise not malicious or deceptive.

From the perspective of trust:
– The source of the content should not be anonymous. Check to ensure that the name and Bios of the author is available and easy to find.

– It should be easy to locate the link or the information source that pertains to the business on the page.

– Ensure that there are negative reviews or condemnation of the content. Take care to include only the positive reviews, recommendations and good comments appearing online at other places.

From the perspective of authority:
– The content should have trustworthy citations displaying authority.
– The reader should perceive the content to be legitimate and a source of truth.
– Ensure that as far as possible, the page is cited elsewhere online for the information provided.

From the perspective of expertise:
– It is a best practice to have the content written by a person who has a high level of expertise in the subject.
– Ideally speaking, the author should have a formal education on the topic and in the subject related to the content.
– The author should be an expert in the subject and this should appear elsewhere online.

Conclusion:
In case you are unsure about the quality of content in your post, then this checklist will be ideal for your needs. This audit can be completed in less than 5 minutes per 2000 words and will provide you extensive feedback about your content.

More Resources:
How To Prevent Google Penalties and Achieve A Natural Link Landscape
Publishing New Content On Your Site Can Lead To Extreme Ranking Fluctuations On Google
Debunking an SEO myth that Google gives an Authority score to a website