Accurate content is Google’s new ranking factor

We already know that in order to bring traffic and engagement to our websites, we need to have quality content. But did you know that accuracy is just as important as quality? Accuracy can position your website as a trusted, reputable source on the web, and will also serve as a factor in Google’s new algorithm update.

The importance of accurate content is always as obvious as you might think, but it is even more important than just writing quality content.

Inaccurate content can cripple your entire company, and Google’s update will penalize your company for producing any inaccurate content. Google’s new algorithm will set apart “trusted” websites from other websites by analyzing the accuracy of the website’s content.  If you think you have already been producing accurate content, which I hope you have, you can still take a look at a few pointers to verify that your content is as accurate as it needs to be.

Verify all of your sources. Researching your sources may take a significant amount of time, but will be well worth it in the long run. Publishing information that might not be completely truthful can put a black over your company for a long time, if not leave a permanent scar.

Back up all of your articles with resources. Aside from validating your company as a trustworthy source, Google will notice these sources as verification that your website is accurate and can be trusted. Just make sure your resources have the same validation.

Write in a way that you would have a discussion with friends or colleagues. If you’re forcing yourself to write about a topic you have little knowledge on, you can sound stiff and it comes out sounding like a sales pitch. This type of jargon will set off whistles for Google, because the content will most likely come off sounding inaccurate.

Have a proof reader. Yes, editors can be valuable for simple errors, but they can also tell you if your content seems reputable enough or if you need something extra, like more sources, to make sure it sounds more trustworthy.

If you’re writing an option piece, you need to make that abundantly clear to your readers. If the lines are blurred between fact and opinion, this will give your readers (and Google) the idea that your website is not accurate or trustworthy.

Have your current content audited.

You can hire an auditor to look over your existing content and make any necessary changes to ensure that you’re not only considered trustworthy moving forward, but backlinks verify this as well.