The document discusses 3 insights from a Google engineer about improving SEO. The insights are: 1) Mobile search is now the majority and mobile-first design is crucial, 2) Websites must demonstrate expertise, authority, and trust (E-A-T) through high-quality content, and 3) Google is focused on properly matching search intent to results through understanding queries rather than keywords. The document emphasizes starting with mobile, evaluating content quality honestly, and obsessing over what users actually want to find.

1. Making Good Turns in SEO:
3 Insights from a Google Engineer

2. o VP of Product & Strategy
@ Volume Nine
o SEO
o Marketer
o Skier
o A guy often frustrated
with Google.
Hi, I’m David

3. I love tangible
directions.
Google is
vague.
I love tangible
directions.

4. Meet Paul Haahr
How Google Works:
A Ranking Engineer’s
Perspective:
http://www.stateofdigital.
com/how-google-works/

5. It’s not very often
Google teaches us
new tricks.

6. Mobile isn’t the future.
Mobile is now.
Insight #1

7. Mobile = Majority of Search Queries
(Duh!)
But the gap is going to widen.

8. Ways Google is Going Mobile-Centric:
o SERP Experiments = Majority Mobile
o User’s Location = Different SERPs
o Mobile Site Speed = Crucial (i.e. AMP Pages)
o Google Quality Raters = Mobile First Focus

9. Google Quality Raters = Mobile First
“Needs Met rating asks raters to focus on mobile
users needs and think about how helpful and
satisfying the result is for the mobile users.”
- Google
Example:
Satisfying Results

10. David’s Lesson Learned - Mobile
In everything we do, we need to start
with mobile and work outwards.

11. Google cares deeply
about the quality of
content. Websites
MUST nail ‘E-A-T’.
Insight #2

12. What is E-A-T?
Expertise Authority
Trust

13. So, how good is your content?
Low Quality Pages
• Not much main content
• Author is not an authority or expert
• Negative site-wide reputation
• Is primarily text-based
• Secondary Content is distracting
(i.e. Ads)
High Quality Pages
• A lot of main content
• Demonstrates E-A-T
• Good site-wide reputation
• Uses different mediums
• Has a “satisfying amount” of
high quality content

14. The “Don’t Suck” Test The “Me” Test
Two Quality Tests
Be honest, is this content
actually any good?
Would you engage with this
content on your own time?

15. David’s Lesson Learned - Quality
SEOs need to think of better ways to tactically
evaluate content quality. It is easy to see that
your content sucks but hard to convince a
client their content sucks.

16. Google is obsessed
with properly
matching search
intent to search
results.
Insight #3

17. Google’s Needs Met Scale
Source: https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2015/11/updating-our-search-quality-rating.html
“Does a page usefully answer a user’s query?”

19. The Future of Relevancy
Image Source: http://searchengineland.com/faq-all-about-the-new-google-rankbrain-algorithm-234440
Queries, not Keywords
Customization, not quantity
Learning, not Algorithms

20. Lead with a relevancy story. We
need to obsess over what the
user actually wants.
David’s Final Lesson Learned - Relevancy

21. Links & Resources:
‘How Google Works’ Talk:
http://www.stateofdigital.com/how-
google-works/
Google Quality Guidelines:
https://webmasters.googleblog.com/20
15/11/updating-our-search-quality-
rating.html
Email: Dyarian@v9seo.com