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Ask any SEO or content marketing agency what it takes to rank with SEO, and the phrase “high-quality content” will surely be included in whatever answer they give, and for a good reason. While SEO has long been a technical marketing endeavor, the level of content and strategy it takes to rank continues to increase.
But what does it mean to write quality content, and how can you measure it objectively? Surprisingly, one of the best measures comes from the king of content itself: Google.
For content to rank organically, especially in highly competitive environments, two standards must be met. Let’s dive into what they are and how to use them to get more organic traffic.
How Google Measures High-Quality Content and How You Can, Too
Google arguably has the most remarkable content-based algorithm known to man. It scans billions of web pages each second and updates rankings for keywords based on many factors.
But beyond its algorithm, Google also uses real people, called “Search Quality Raters,” who use specific criteria to review selected content and report their findings. These raters use two primary standards when providing feedback to Google: Page Quality and Needs Met.
“Page Quality” Rating
Page Quality is the first standard to consider when creating high-quality content. Understanding the page quality rating will equip you to evaluate your content — and your competitors.
Page Purpose
The first thing a rater will seek to understand is the given purpose of any page it reviews. Some pages are product pages designed to showcase and sell products. Some are articles intended to inform and educate about a specific topic, while others are home pages or forums with unique purposes. Websites with clear, understandable pages are much more likely to be digested by humans and algorithms.
If a rater cannot understand the purpose of a page, or if they feel it intentionally confuses users, they may not be able to give feedback on its content accurately. As long as the purpose is easily understood, no page type gets preference over another (e.g., A blog post doesn’t get priority over a home page simply because it’s a blog).
Potential Harm
Above all, Google wants to show content on its search engine that is helpful to humans and keep harmful content off its search engine. Any content a reviewer feels is spammy or deceitful is given a low-quality rating. That’s why the second thing used to determine Page Quality is whether the content is harmful.
Harmful content can include content with harmful external links, content that is clearly copied/pasted from another website, malicious content designed to deceive readers, or content that is knowingly untrue and makes claims easily known to be false. For instance, an article claiming to help allergies that tells users to drink poisonous substances or a product page selling illegal substances disguised as supplements would be given the lowest possible Page Quality rating.
“Needs Met” Rating
The Needs Met criteria focus on how well the content initially meets the searcher’s intent and how well it answers questions or provides specific information the user seeks.
Intent (often called Search Intent) is a core part of any SEO content strategy. It’s about understanding the purpose behind a search query so that you can create content to satisfy that intent better than anyone else. Sometimes the intent of a search is straightforward. Someone in Cincinnati who searches “Pizza Shops” is looking for pizza shops near their location. However, some searches are ambiguous. If someone searches “Oceans,” they might be looking for a song called Oceans, a movie about Oceans, scientific research about Oceans, or places to visit near an Ocean.
Search Intent
Search intent is where most brands miscalculate their SEO content strategy. When the content you create doesn’t match the user’s intent, it will struggle to rank no matter how good it is. The rater’s job is to determine the best intent of the query and then ensure that ranking pages match that intent correctly and completely.
“Fails to Meet” vs. “Fully Meets”
The next step beyond judging intent is to gauge how complete and robust a piece of content is. Raters examine several criteria: the result’s relevance to the search query, its thoroughness, timeliness, the credibility of its source, and the level of user satisfaction it provides. They continually consider whether users might need to seek additional information.
The rater will give the piece of content one of 5 scores:
| Rating Category | Description |
| Fully Meets (FullyM) | Pertains to specific queries where nearly all users find immediate satisfaction without needing further results. |
| Highly Meets (HM) | Mostly relevant and helpful, though some might look for more information. |
| Moderately Meets (MM) | Useful to a broad audience or highly useful to a niche group; some seek extra results. |
| Slightly Meets (SM) | Only somewhat relevant to the query; many users would want more results. |
| Fails to Meet (FailsM) | Does not satisfy user needs, leading most to seek other results. |
For many queries, raters look to see how completely a piece of content answers the questions and the level of information it provides. A blog that lightly reviews five different products and mainly copies the information about the products from Amazon will be deemed as “Moderately Meets.” An article that reviews 15 products, shows original, hands-on experience with each product, and provides a complete list of pros and cons for each product will be rated as “Highly Meets” or “Fully Meets.”
What About E.E.A.T?
These two standards are part of Google’s overall guidelines when analyzing content. Google also rates quality by reviewing the trustworthiness of the source of the content. They use standards called “EEAT” to grade the validity and strength of a publisher.
EEAT stands for “Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness.” If a brand or author demonstrates they have experience/expertise (credentials) and their content is authoritative and trustworthy, this plays a role in how Google will rank their websites.
| Standard | Description | Example |
| Experience | The first-hand experience of the creator. | A travel blogger who has spent a month in Bali sharing detailed insights about the local culture, food, and attractions, supported by personal photos and anecdotes. |
| Expertise | The expertise of the creator. | A board-certified cardiologist writing an in-depth guide on the implications of high blood pressure, including recent medical advancements and treatments. |
| Authoritativeness | The authoritativeness of the creator, the main content, and the website. | An article about black holes written by a renowned astrophysicist and published on NASA’s official website, referenced in various educational platforms. |
| Trust | The extent to which the page is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable. | A research article discussing the effects of a new drug, published on a peer-reviewed medical journal’s website, accompanied by detailed methodology, results, and sourced citations. |
Why This Matters For Your Company
Both Page Quality and Needs Met must be satisfied to rank your content higher in Google consistently. But meeting these criteria is vital beyond Google and organic traffic.
These crucial factors enable your brand to capture your audience’s attention and convince them to take your recommended action. Content that brings meaningful action, whether selling a product, promoting a piece of research, or answering a complex question, performs best when it meets these standards.
How Sitemap.io Creates Content
SEO firms tend to have a leg up when writing content that gets ranked. Firms like ours take keyword research, intent, and content quality seriously. We don’t pretend to be experts in every field, but we understand the research and work it takes to create content trusted and ranked by search engines before it can be distributed to millions of people. As your authority increases in the content area, your prospective customer will have heightened awareness of your brand and how you can help them.
At Sitemap.io, we respond to each client with a custom plan that fits their unique situation/challenges. We begin by creating a road map from the pain points of your ideal customer to the solution you offer. We use our expertise to help you align your content with your customer’s needs and to build out this content from all angles. You’ll find that each piece of content is strategically developed to move people toward your product or service. Throughout the process, we see ourselves as partners working with you toward a common goal.
