The Future of Search: How Google AI is Changing the Legal Marketing Landscape

by Robert Wilson | Last updated Jul-10-23

Google’s Policy on AI Content and E-E-A-T: Implications for Legal Marketing

(Prompt used for image: a high-tech futuristic robot typing a blog –ar 16:9)

This article highlights Google’s philosophy towards search results, AI generated content, and its impact on legal marketing.

In the spirit of this article, all images were created from text-to-image AI platforms.

What is EEAT?  

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a concept used by Google to evaluate the quality of content on websites. E-E-A-T is part of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, which are used by real people known as Quality Raters to evaluate the quality of search results. Although E-E-A-T is not a direct Google ranking factor, Google wants to serve results with strong E-E-A-T, so it is an important concept in SEO. High E-E-A-T can improve user trust and lead to more conversions on a website. The concept of E-E-A-T was first introduced in 2014, and the extra “E” for “Experience” was added in late 2022. 

The concept of E-E-A-T is important in legal marketing as it can affect a law firm’s search engine rankings. Law firms that demonstrate expertise, authority, trustworthiness, and experience in their content are more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). E-E-A-T is particularly relevant in the context of AI-generated content, which can raise concerns about bias and reliability. While AI technology can create content that is optimized for search engines and user behavior, it is important to ensure that the content meets the same quality standards as human-generated content.

In search engine results pages (SERPs), law firms that exhibit expertise, authority, trustworthiness, and experience in their material are more likely to rank higher. (Prompt used for website: albert einstein acting like an attorney in court and is laughing and smiling hysterically while standing in front of futuristic desktop doing Google search –ar 16:9)

Google does not distinguish between AI-generated content and human-generated content. 

What matters most to Google is the quality of the content, regardless of how it was produced. Google’s focus is on the quality of the content, not on whether it was produced by humans or machines. This is because Google’s ranking systems aim to identify content that demonstrates E-E-A-T, which means that content should demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Regardless of whether their work was produced by humans or machines, the quality of the content is the most important factor in determining its ranking.

The use of AI-generated content for legal marketing purposes can have both pros and cons. On the one hand, AI technology can create content that is optimized for search engines and user behavior, which can yield significant benefits when used responsibly alongside skilled professionals. On the other hand, lawyers relying wholly on AI-generated content for marketing purposes may find themselves inadvertently perpetuating negative biases. While AI-generated content is not explicitly prohibited, it must meet the same quality standards as human-generated content to avoid being penalized by Google’s search engine algorithms. Therefore, law firms and lawyers must focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to their audience, whether it is generated by humans or AI tools.

The most crucial element in deciding a piece of content’s rating is its quality, regardless of whether it was created by a human or a automated intelligence machine. (Prompt used for image: a courtroom full of robots –ar 16:9 –v 5.2)

Google does not label AI-generated content.

Google does not differentiate between AI-generated content and human-generated content. It places more emphasis on the content’s quality, rather than how it was produced or labeled. Labeling content as AI-generated or human-generated is not relevant to Google’s ranking system. Therefore, creators should focus on producing high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T, regardless of whether it was generated by humans or machines.

Law firms can use AI-generated content for marketing purposes without fear of being penalized by Google’s search engine algorithms. However, law firms must focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to their audience, whether it is generated by humans or AI tools, and maintain a balance between efficiency gains offered by AI-generated content tools while ensuring human effort is not entirely replaced.

Labeling content as AI-generated or human-generated does not affect Google’s ranking system. (Prompt used for this image: Google does not label AI-generated content –ar 16:9)

Google advises creators to produce original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T.

Google advises creators to focus on producing high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T. This means that content should demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Creators should aim to produce original content that meets the needs of the user. This is similar to the concept of customer-centricity, where the focus is on creating products and services that meet the needs of the customer.

To elaborate on this point, it is important to understand that Google’s algorithms are designed to identify content that is relevant, informative, and trustworthy. Therefore, creators should focus on producing high-quality content that meets the needs of the user. This means that content should be original, informative, and trustworthy. Creators should also aim to provide a positive user experience, by making their content easy to read and navigate.

Google urges content producers to concentrate on creating high-quality, user-focused material that exhibits E-E-A-T. (Prompt used for image: an example image to describe Google advises creators to produce original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T –ar 16:9)

Google’s policy on AI content and E-E-A-T is still evolving.

Google is forming a policy on AI content and E-E-A-T, but it is still evolving, and it is not clear what the policy will entail. This is similar to the concept of ongoing research and development. As new technologies and ideas emerge, policies and practices must evolve to keep up with the changing landscape.

To elaborate on this point, it is important to understand that Google’s policies and practices are constantly evolving to keep up with the changing scene of the internet. As new technologies and ideas emerge, Google must adapt its policies and practices to ensure that its search results are relevant, informative, and trustworthy. Therefore, creators should stay up-to-date with Google’s policies and practices, and adapt their content accordingly.

As the internet landscape changes, Google’s policies and procedures also have to adapt. (Prompt used for image: 8K, AI content is still evolving, legal, law, evolution, retro future conepts –ar 3:2 –v 5.2)

Here are some examples of high-quality, people-first content that a law firm could produce that integrates Google’s E-E-A-T philosophy on AI-generated blog posts:

• Use AI to generate outlines and briefs for blog posts, but have a human writer review and edit the content to ensure it meets the firm’s standards for quality and accuracy. This approach can help make content creation more efficient while ensuring that the content is compliant with professional ethics and does not inadvertently hurt the firm’s rankings in the SERPs.
• Use AI to identify trending topics and keywords related to the firm’s practice areas, but have a human writer create the content. This approach can help ensure that the content is written for the target audience first and foremost, not just for search engines, and that it demonstrates the firm’s experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
• Use AI to generate visual assets, such as infographics, but have a human designer review and edit the content to ensure it is visually appealing and easy to understand. This approach can help make content creation more efficient while ensuring that the content is compliant with professional ethics and does not inadvertently hurt the firm’s rankings in the SERPs.
• Use AI to analyze the firm’s existing content and identify areas for improvement, but have a human writer make the necessary changes. This approach can help ensure that the content is high-quality, people-first content that showcases the firm’s experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Overall, it is important to maintain a balance between efficiency gains offered by AI-generated content while ensuring human effort is not entirely replaced. By producing high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T, law firms can build their reputation, increase their visibility, and attract new clients.

It is critical to strike a balance between the efficiency improvements given by AI-generated content and ensuring that the human hand is not completely displaced. Prompt used for image: (lady of justice typing on laptop, scales of justice, artificial intelligence–ar 3:2 –v 5.2)

Conclusion: Google will prioritize content quality with a focus on their E-E-A-T philosophy

In conclusion, the article emphasizes that Google’s focus is on the quality of the content, regardless of whether it was generated by humans or machines. Creators should focus on producing high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T. While Google is forming a policy on AI content and E-E-A-T, it is clear that the policy will prioritize content quality. Creators in the competitive personal injury leads vertical should aim to produce original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T, regardless of whether it was generated by humans or machines. As Google’s policies and practices continue to evolve, creators should stay up-to-date and adapt their content accordingly.

Other AI Generated Images