Barry Schwartz is an SEO legend.
As a pioneering editor and columnist at leading industry publications Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable, Schwartz has spent nearly 20 years reporting on every twist and turn of the ever-evolving search landscape. His insights are followed by millions of professionals and have shaped best practices across the field.
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Schwartz and get his perspective on the state of SEO and where he believes the industry is heading. His main message? The path to organic search success moving forward is paved with quality content, not gaming algorithms.
The Days of Hacking Rankings with Technical Tricks Are Over
There was a time not too long ago when stuffing pages with keywords, spinning content, and building spammy links could reliably land a site at the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages). But Schwartz says those "magic bullet" shortcuts have all but disappeared in recent years.
"If you look at all the Google updates from the past 20 years, all of them, or almost all of them, have been focused on ranking the best and most relevant content for users," explained Schwartz. "Google doesn‘t want to rank websites that are tricking search engines and tricking users, they don‘t want low quality there."
This shift has been underscored by several major algorithm updates focused squarely on content quality, including:
- Panda (2011) – Targeted thin, duplicate, and low-quality content
- Hummingbird (2013) – Improved Google‘s ability to understand the meaning and context behind queries and content
- Fred (2017) – Cracked down on low-value content designed primarily for monetization over helping users
- Medic (2018) – Elevated the importance of E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) for YMYL (your money, your life) topics
- Helpful Content (2022) – Rewarded content demonstrating first-hand expertise and a primary purpose of assisting users
In other words, the days of hacking your way to page one are effectively over. Attempts to fool algorithms in 2023 are not only less effective but increasingly likely to backfire and incur ranking penalties.
A 2022 study by Ahrefs drives home this point. Their analysis of 9 million web pages found a clear correlation between content quality factors and rankings:
- Pages with a word count between 1,000-2,000 ranked 15% higher on average than shorter content
- Articles written by authoritative authors with demonstrated topical expertise ranked 21% better than those without
- "Why" posts providing in-depth answers and analysis ranked 23% higher than surface-level overviews on the same topics
In Schwartz‘s view, this data confirms what he‘s long been saying – comprehensive, genuinely valuable content is what moves the needle. Not so much the technical tips and tricks that used to dominate the SEO conversation.
"Being Too in the Weeds" Is Holding SEOs Back
Despite Google‘s clear prioritization of quality content, Schwartz argues too many SEOs are still spending their time on the wrong things. Namely, fixating on small ranking signals instead of the bigger picture.
"People in the SEO space are just too in the weeds," Schwartz told me. "Sometimes it means producing new content, sometimes it means updating old content, but again – it‘s all about content."
He used the example of page speed, which Google has confirmed is used as a ranking factor. However, Schwartz says fine-tuning performance metrics has a nominal impact compared to improving the substance of what‘s on the page:
"If your site is a second slower or a fraction of a second slower, it‘s really not gonna matter that much – If your content is more relevant and much more on topic for your users."
In fact, a 2023 analysis by Moz found that the difference in load time between pages ranking in the top 3 spots versus those in positions 20-30 was a mere 0.07 seconds. Not exactly a huge competitive advantage.
This isn‘t to say technical SEO is irrelevant. Of course factors like crawlability, indexation, page experience, site structure, and internal linking still contribute to better rankings and visibility.
But in the hierarchy of ranking influence, Schwartz unequivocally puts content at the very top:
"It sounds corny, but it‘s really about how can I write the best content, how can I make the best website…When you look at where the small things are leading towards, it all leads back to the content – How you can make your content better. Content content content!"
Generative AI and the Future of SEO
No discussion of the state of SEO in 2023 would be complete without addressing the transformative impact of artificial intelligence. Tools like ChatGPT have made it possible to automatically generate coherent articles and webpages at unprecedented scale and speed.
Some SEOs have speculated this technology could make their entire profession obsolete. After all, what‘s the point of agonizing over keywords and optimization if you can simply ask an AI to spit out an endless stream of serviceable content?
But Schwartz sees AI as more of an opportunity than a threat for those who can embrace it and adapt:
"AI is going to be the most significant change for the industry now and in the future. But you have to take the attitude of – Alright, AI is here, and it might change search results in a big way, and it might change how I do my job, but you have to be one of the first to adopt it."
In his view, the SEOs who will thrive are the ones proactively experimenting with AI now to understand its potential applications and limitations. That hands-on knowledge will continue to give them an edge even as the technology becomes more advanced and widespread.
Some current ways AI can enhance SEO and content creation include:
- Conducting keyword and topical research to identify high-value opportunities
- Analyzing top-ranking content to uncover structural and formatting commonalities
- Generating varied title tag and meta description options to test for click-through rate
- Identifying questions and subtopics to cover based on search data
- Automating data analysis and content optimization recommendations
- Creating content briefs and outlines to ensure comprehensive topic coverage
- Drafting portions of content that are then fact-checked and refined by human experts
- Personalizing content and messaging for different search intents and audience segments
The key is to view AI as a tool to augment subject matter expertise, not a complete replacement for it. Today‘s generative models are incredibly sophisticated, but still prone to inaccuracies, outdated information, and surface-level outputs.
Editorial oversight, original insight, and real-world experience will be essential to stand out in an AI-powered content landscape. But those who can figure out how to leverage the technology to scale quality will be well-positioned to claim a disproportionate share of search traffic.
"Start using AI, see how it works, what it can and can't do. Make your mistakes early," advises Schwartz. "This way, you can say: I got better because of AI, I‘m using this to my advantage, as opposed to it destroying me."
How to Create Quality Content for SEO Success: A 5-Step Framework
Knowing that you need to create top-notch content is one thing. Actually doing it consistently is quite another, especially when standards keep rising and competition for search visibility is fiercer than ever.
So what exactly constitutes "quality content" by today‘s SEO standards? Based on Schwartz‘s guidance and Google‘s own Search Quality Rater Guidelines, here is a framework you can follow:
- Demonstrate E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness)
- Be written by subject matter experts with real-world experience on the topic
- Cite credible sources and link to authoritative references
- Provide original research, reporting, testing, or analysis to back up claims
- Include author bios and attributions highlighting relevant credentials
- Align with search intent and satisfy the query thoroughly
- Understand the intent behind the keyword (informational, transactional, local, etc.)
- Cover the topic comprehensively in line with top-ranking pages
- Directly answer the question or search query
- Provide supplementary information and next steps a searcher would find useful
- Deliver a great page experience and user experience
- Be easy to read and navigate with clear headings, short paragraphs, and plain language
- Look professional and load quickly on all devices
- Not be obstructed by ads, popups, or other interruptive elements
- Help users complete their objective efficiently
- Be up-to-date, accurate, and well-maintained
- Provide the most current information and remove anything obsolete or disproven
- Fix any broken links, images, or formatting issues
- Update older content periodically with new developments or data
- Show a recent publication or last updated date
- Offer a uniquely valuable perspective or resource
- Not just summarize information readily available elsewhere
- Provide first-hand insights, opinions, takeaways, or recommendations
- Include supplementary materials like charts, infographics, video, or audio content
- Go above and beyond what other pages offer on the topic
The more of these boxes your content can check, the more likely it is to be recognized by search algorithms as legitimately valuable.
Of course, it‘s unrealistic to hit every one of these points for every single piece of content. The key is to align your efforts with the overall objective – creating something that is truly helpful for users and can be trusted as accurate and authoritative information on the subject. Even if you fall short in a few specific areas, content that succeeds in that bigger mission will still tend to perform well over time.
Conclusion: Embracing a Quality Content Mindset
In many ways, Barry Schwartz‘s advice for modern SEO success boils down to a simple premise: stop trying to outsmart search engines and start trying to genuinely help searchers.
For years, the SEO industry was consumed with finding new loopholes and workarounds to exploit for better rankings without adding much actual value in the process. But as Google‘s algorithms have gotten exponentially more effective at judging and rewarding content quality, those shortcuts have largely dried up.
"I know it sounds boring, but the way to rank well is to have the best possible content for the query," Schwartz told me. "There‘s no magic tag or configuration that‘s going to suddenly propel you to the top if your information isn‘t great."
That‘s not to say there aren‘t still important technical foundations and on-page optimizations that can give you an edge. But the days of hacking your way to SEO success through tricks are effectively over.
In their place is a new content-centric paradigm – one where the best way to consistently rank is by consistently putting out exceptional content. Not just high volume, but high caliber. Quality over quantity. E-E-A-T over empty words.
And while that‘s a much harder and less predictable path than the "cheat codes" of the past, Schwartz believes it‘s also a more sustainable and lucrative one:
"Will it take more thought and effort to make great webpages that really serve a visitor‘s needs? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, that‘s what Google wants to rank at the top, and they‘re only going to get better at doing so. You can either resist that reality or embrace it."
The good news is, for those willing to put in the hard work, the rewards promise to be substantial. While anyone can churn out generic posts, far fewer are equipped to craft content that stands out as uniquely authoritative and helpful. By doing so, you can turn SEO from an endless hamster wheel into an evergreen growth engine.
So if you‘ve been looking for permission to ignore the latest overhyped ranking factor and redirect that energy toward making something remarkable – consider this your sign. As Schwartz makes clear, the sites that win moving forward will be the ones providing the most value on the page, not the ones most adept at optimizing behind the scenes.
