Yet E-E-A-T remains one of the most misunderstood areas of SEO. Many still believe it is possible to “activate” or “add” E-E-A-T to a piece of content.
It doesn’t work that way. Google does not read intent — it reads measurable signals.

This guide explains how Google interprets each dimension of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and how to turn that understanding into high-impact SEO improvements, especially for YMYL sites (Your Money, Your Life).

Understanding What E-E-A-T Really Means

Before anything else, it is essential to clarify what E-E-A-T is — and what it is not:

E-E-A-T represents

• Experience — real-world, first-hand involvement with the topic
• Expertise — technical knowledge, education, or formal specialization
• Authoritativeness — recognition from the market and other entities
• Trust — the reliability, accuracy, and safety conveyed by the content

What E-E-A-T is NOT

• It is not a direct ranking factor.
• It is not a tag, a meta-property, or something you can “switch on.”
• It is not applied instantly to a page.
• It is not built only through text — it involves the entire domain.

E-E-A-T is a quality model used across multiple systems that filter and classify URLs long before ranking is finalized.

John Mueller summarized it perfectly:

“You cannot simply ‘add E-E-A-T’ to a page. You build it over time.”
— John Mueller, Google

How Google Interprets Quality and Trustworthiness

Google does not “read” human credentials. It cannot interpret a diploma, certification, or job title at face value.
What it does understand are:

• patterns
• relationships
• consistency
• citations
• measurable signals

How the process works

1. Google collects signals about content, links, entities, user behavior, and technical factors.
2. Pages are assigned an initial quality tier (high → low).
3. Low-quality, thin, misleading, or untrustworthy pages are filtered out.
4. E-E-A-T signals are evaluated at:
   • the site level,
   • the page level,
   • and the author level.
5. Systems like Navboost reinforce or demote pages based on user interactions (good vs. bad clicks).
6. Continuous re-evaluation updates a site’s reputation and historical quality.

The E-E-A-T Signals Google Actually Evaluates

Documents leaked in 2024 — combined with analysis from experts such as Shaun Anderson — demonstrate that Google quantifies dozens of signals that collectively shape its interpretation of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

These signals operate across three dimensions:

• Site-level signals (reputation, history, scope of topics)
• Page-level signals (depth, originality, effort, structure)
• Author-level signals (identity, consistency, entity strength)

All of this is cross-validated by behavioral systems such as Navboost, which examines how users interact with SERPs.

Summary Table of Key Dimensions

Below is the restructured version of Shaun Anderson’s framework, translated and lightly expanded for clarity:

Experience Signals (E-E-A-T: Experience)

“Experience” expresses first-hand practical knowledge demonstrated directly in the content.

Examples

• A product review with real photos
• A medical article describing your personal recovery process
• A step-by-step guide showing screenshots from your own environment

How Google measures Experience

contentEffort

Quantifies how difficult a piece of content is to replicate.
Low-effort = generic content → lower rankings.

originalContentScore

Measures novelty.
Google prioritizes information that cannot be found elsewhere.

isAuthor / author signals

Identifies whether a real author exists and contributes consistently.

lastSignificantUpdate

Flags genuine updates — not superficial date changes.

docImages

Original photos, screenshots, diagrams, and unique visual evidence improve the experience score.

productReviewPUhqPage

A specific signal used for reviews: depth, authenticity, proof of use.

Expertise Signals (E-E-A-T: Expertise)

Expertise measures technical mastery of a subject — even without personal experience.

Key attributes Google evaluates:

siteFocusScore / siteRadius

Detect how focused or diluted your domain is.
Highly focused sites → stronger expertise signals.

site2vecEmbeddingEncoded

A vector representation of thematic alignment — helps Google classify your site’s niche.

EntityAnnotations & QBST

Measure semantic clarity:
Are entities properly mentioned, contextualized, and connected?

onsiteProminence

The internal linking structure reveals which pages are pillars of your expertise.

ugcDiscussionEffortScore

Depth of user discussions, when relevant.

YMYL health/news scores

Identify content that requires stricter scrutiny.

geotopicality

Evaluates regional relevance for location-specific topics.

Authoritativeness Signals (E-E-A-T: Authority)

Authority is built externally — through recognition, citations, reputation, and historical performance.

Critical authority indicators

siteAuthority & nsrDataProto

Combined reputation metrics (links, mentions, content quality, engagement).

PageRankPerDocData & Homepage PageRank

PageRank still matters — especially at the domain level.

authorityPromotion / unauthoritativeScore

Modifiers that amplify or reduce authority.

queriesForWhichOfficial

One of the most important leaked signals.

Google attempts to identify:

“For which queries is this site the official, definitive, or primary source?”

This is why building a brand is essential.

predictedDefaultNsr

A long-term quality history score.

isLargeChain & siteSiblings

Categorize type and scale of the organization.

Trust Signals (E-E-A-T: Trustworthiness)

Trust is the foundation of all other signals.
Without it, expertise and authority collapse.

Google evaluates both editorial quality and technical integrity.

Key trust signals

scaledSelectionTierRank

Initial quality filter — low-quality pages are discarded early.

pandaDemotion

Old but still active: penalizes thin, duplicated, or shallow content.

GoodClicks / BadClicks (Navboost)

One of the strongest signals:

• Click → Read → Stay → Good
• Click → Immediate Return → Bad

clutterScore

Measures visual noise and UX interference.

spamrank, scamness

Detect manipulative or suspicious patterns.

anchorMismatchDemotion

Punishes deceptive linking practices.

ContentChecksum96

Detects near-duplicates, even if rewritten.

Technical trust signals

• SSL errors
• Broken redirects
• Canonical inconsistencies

brickAndMortarStrength / cluster / hours

Checks if the site represents a real, verifiable business.

Understanding Google’s E-E-A-T Model: A Practical Summary

E-E-A-T is not abstract. It is continuously measured, calculated, and integrated into indexing and ranking systems.

You need:

• Experience → real-world proof
• Expertise → depth and precision
• Authority → external validation
• Trust → safety, accuracy, UX, stability

Mastering these signals is essential for visibility — not only in Google Search but also in AI-driven answer engines built on top of SERPs.

How to Improve E-E-A-T: A Complete, Actionable Framework

Publish content that cannot be replicated

Examples:

• proprietary data
• internal tables
• screenshots
• original photos
• case studies
• behind-the-scenes insights
• expert interviews
• personal accounts and field experience

If an AI can easily generate something similar, originality signals drop.

Remove or update low-quality content (REAL Content Pruning)

Low-quality pages degrade the entire domain’s perceived value.

Modern SEO winners in 2025 are lean, intentional, high-signal sites.

Build topic clusters

Example for “diabetes”:

• Pillar page: definition, symptoms, risks, treatments
• Clusters:
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Prediabetes
  • Glycemic index
  • Diet guidelines
  • Exercise recommendations
  • Complications

The richer the internal network, the stronger your expertise signal.

Strengthen Authors and Entities

Google wants to know who is speaking.

Actions:

• build robust author pages
• link to external authoritative profiles
• maintain consistent bios
• use structured data (JSON-LD Person/Author)
• show real qualifications
• maintain publishing consistency

Improve UX and technical trust signals

Enhance:

• Core Web Vitals
• page stability
• mobile friendliness
• HTTPS integrity
• navigation clarity
• reduced intrusive ads
• visual cleanliness

Trust begins with how a page feels.

Build brand reputation (the new foundational SEO)

To become authoritative, your brand must exist beyond your own domain.

Invest in:

• citations on trusted sites
• interviews
• PR
• reports
• podcasts
• whitepapers
• natural backlinks
• consistent social presence

Brand is the new backlink.

Why High-Quality Content Powers the Entire E-E-A-T Framework

Google increasingly prioritizes useful content — content that solves problems, clarifies concepts, teaches action steps, and adds verifiable value.

Quality content:

• increases dwell time
• reduces pogo-sticking
• reinforces trust
• supports authority
• strengthens expertise
• stabilizes rankings
• feeds AI answer engines

But quality must be systemic, not isolated.

E-E-A-T is strengthened only when:

• architecture
• technical performance
• UX
• editorial consistency
• author visibility
• brand reputation
• topical coherence

…all work together in long-term alignment.

Even outside YMYL niches, E-E-A-T principles elevate any site’s organic presence.

Brands that prioritize clarity, originality, and depth become natural references — generating backlinks, mentions, citations, and long-term authority.

And when supported by skilled SEO professionals, the process becomes far more strategic and efficient. The search ecosystem is complex; knowing what to prioritize and when can shift months of stagnation into rapid growth.

O post How Google really evaluates your site’s E-E-A-T signals apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.

One of the most efficient ways to achieve this is through automation with RSS feeds in Slack, which allow you to centralize information from multiple sources in one place a news channel in your Slack workspace. In this article, we’ll explain how to create this automation, which types of content to track, and how to maximize the insights generated to drive marketing and content actions.

What is an RSS Feed and why Is It strategic?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a feed format that allows you to receive updates from websites without having to visit them constantly. When a site publishes a new article, news item, or update, the RSS feed automatically sends this information to subscribers.

For marketing, sales, product, or competitive intelligence teams, RSS feeds are strategic for a variety of actions.

Why RSS is strategic for marketing and content

How to set up an RSS Feed in a Slack channel

Slack allows RSS integration either directly or through automations using external tools. Here’s how:

1. Using Native Slack

• Go to the Slack channel where you want to receive updates.
• Click on “Add App or Integration” (or access the App Directory).
• Search for “RSS” and add the official app.
• Configure the RSS feed URL you want to follow.
• Select the channel, and that’s it: new posts appear automatically.

2. Using External Automations
Tools like Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), or IFTTT allow for more complex automations:

• Receive posts from multiple competitors in the same channel.
• Filter content by keyword or category.
• Notify only about articles containing strategic terms.
• Create combined alerts—for example, if your brand is mentioned on blogs or social media, you receive the notification in Slack.

What content should you track?

The content you monitor depends on your company strategy, but here are some useful suggestions:

• Direct competitors: blog posts, product updates, campaigns, and press releases.
• Industry trends: news, reports, market analyses, and trend insights.
• Social media and mentions: alerts for brand or product mentions on social networks.
• Legal and regulatory updates: changes in laws or regulations that affect your sector.
• Customer insights: forums, reviews, and comments that may influence strategy.

Golden tips to optimize your Slack automations

Automation is only useful if you actually use it. Moreover, if a channel is too busy, the content will quickly become background noise. Here are some tips for RSS feed automation in Slack:

• Create specific channels: separate by content type (e.g., #competitors, #trends, #updates).
• Use smart filters: avoid irrelevant notifications by configuring keywords.
• Set summary times: prevent overwhelming your team by scheduling daily or weekly alerts.
• Combine with internal analysis: use the content to generate market intelligence reports.

Transforming Slack into a strategic intelligence hub is simple and highly advantageous. By integrating competitor RSS feeds, industry news, and strategic alerts, your team can receive relevant information in real time, enabling faster and more informed decisions.

It’s not just about tracking the market—it’s about anticipating moves, identifying opportunities, monitoring competitors’ steps, and staying ahead. With the right automations, your Slack stops being just a chat platform and becomes a true competitive intelligence center for marketing, content, and sales teams.

O post Use Slack to monitor competitors using automation apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.

When text is the largest element above the fold, its render path depends on font loading, CSS application, and server delivery. Even a small delay in any of these steps can compromise LCP and negatively affect both SEO and user experience.

Quick fixes like changing the font or installing a cache plugin don’t address the root of the problem. To solve LCP issues in text, you need to optimize the font pipeline, configure font-display, implement Critical CSS, and decide whether fonts should be hosted locally or delivered via Google.

Estratégias superficiais como simplesmente trocar a fonte ou instalar um plugin de cache não resolvem a raiz do problema do LCP no H1. É necessário pensar em pipeline de fontes, configuração de font-display, Critical CSS e decisões arquitetônicas sobre onde hospedar os arquivos.

The role of fonts in LCP

Font loading is often the main bottleneck when the H1 defines the LCP. Using Google Fonts in their default setup adds external requests and network latency. Hosting fonts locally eliminates this dependency and allows better compression and control.

Font optimization strategies

Critical CSS and early rendering

In many cases, the delay is not in the fonts but in heavy CSS files blocking render. Critical CSS solves this by inlining only the styles needed to render the H1 and other key elements, while loading the rest of the stylesheet asynchronously.

Best practices:

• Inline the critical CSS in the <head>.
• Load the full CSS asynchronously with media="print" + onload.
• Use tools such as Penthouse or Critical to automate CSS extraction.

Example: Preload fonts (self-hosted or Google Fonts with adjustments)

<!-- Preconnect para reduzir latência -->
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>

<!-- Preload da fonte crítica usada no H1 -->
<link rel="preload" href="/fonts/Mulish-Bold.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>

<!-- Importação otimizada do Google Fonts com display=swap -->
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Mulish:wght@700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

<!-- Preconnect para reduzir latência -->
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>

<!-- Preload da fonte crítica usada no H1 -->
<link rel="preload" href="/fonts/Mulish-Bold.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>

<!-- Importação otimizada do Google Fonts com display=swap -->
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Mulish:wght@700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

What happens here:

• The browser connects early to the font server (preconnect).
• The H1 font is downloaded with priority (preload).
• display=swap ensures the headline appears quickly with a fallback font while the custom font finishes loading.

Exemplo de Critical CSS inline + CSS assíncrono

<head>
  <!-- Critical CSS inline (apenas o necessário para renderizar o H1 rápido) -->
  <style>
    h1 {
      font-family: 'Mulish', sans-serif;
      font-weight: 700;
      font-size: 2.5rem;
      color: #111;
      margin: 0;
    }
  </style>

  <!-- CSS completo carregado de forma assíncrona -->
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/styles.css" media="print" onload="this.media='all'">
  <noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/styles.css"></noscript>
</head>

<head>
  <!-- Critical CSS inline (apenas o necessário para renderizar o H1 rápido) -->
  <style>
    h1 {
      font-family: 'Mulish', sans-serif;
      font-weight: 700;
      font-size: 2.5rem;
      color: #111;
      margin: 0;
    }
  </style>

  <!-- CSS completo carregado de forma assíncrona -->
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/styles.css" media="print" onload="this.media='all'">
  <noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/styles.css"></noscript>
</head>

What happens here:

• The browser can already render the H1 immediately with the critical styles.
• The full CSS is downloaded in parallel but only applied afterward (media=print hack).
• If the user has JavaScript disabled, the <noscript> fallback ensures normal loading.

Advanced tip: smart font fallback

Always define a fallback font chain for your H1:

h1 {
  font-family: 'Mulish', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;
}

h1 {
  font-family: 'Mulish', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;
}

If the custom font is delayed, the browser uses a system font, preserving visual consistency and reducing LCP impact.

Checklist to avoid LCP issues in text

• Self-host fonts whenever possible.
• Use WOFF2 + Brotli compression.
• Configure font-display=swap or optional.
• Preload fonts used in the H1 or first viewport.
• Inline Critical CSS for key elements.
• Load non-critical CSS asynchronously.
• Validate results in Lighthouse and CrUX field data.

FAQ about LCP on H1 or texts elements

O post How to Fix LCP Issues in H1 or Textual Elements apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.

Launched in May 2020, Core Web Vitals were created to provide unified guidance on the key quality indicators of a web page. These indicators not only directly influence search engine rankings but also significantly impact user experience—a crucial factor for the success of any website.

If you need help optimizing your site, get in touch with Pink and Brain. We’re true experts when it comes to improving websites through Core Web Vitals metrics.

In this guide, we’ll explore in detail what Core Web Vitals are, how to measure them, which tools to use, and the best practices to optimize your website accordingly.

What Are Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals are a set of standardized Google metrics that measure essential aspects of user experience on a web page. These metrics evaluate three main elements: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Together, they provide a comprehensive view of how users perceive a site’s performance.

The Core Web Vitals consist of three primary metrics:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the time it takes for the largest visible content element on the page to load.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Evaluates how quickly the page responds to a user interaction.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Checks the visual stability of the page by measuring unexpected layout shifts.

Key Core Web Vitals Metrics in 2024

These metrics were chosen by Google because they directly affect user experience, influencing both perceived speed and ease of use.

The First Input Delay (FID) metric was one of the first major UX metrics introduced by Google. It measured the time it took for a page to become interactive after a user’s first action.

However, FID is no longer part of Core Web Vitals as of 2024. Google replaced it with Interaction to Next Paint (INP), which provides a broader and more accurate view of page responsiveness.

Why Core Web Vitals Matter for SEO

Since Google integrated Core Web Vitals into the Page Experience Signals, these metrics have become critical for any SEO strategy.

So why are they so important?

• Ranking improvement: Websites offering better UX are more likely to stand out in search results.
• Lower bounce rates: Slow-loading or unstable pages drive visitors away. Optimizing Core Web Vitals reduces this risk.
• Higher conversion rates: A fast, seamless page is far more likely to turn visitors into customers.

Exploring the Core Web Vitals Metrics

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – Loading the Largest Visible Content

LCP measures the time it takes for the largest visible element on a page to load completely. This element can be an image, a video, or a text block. LCP is crucial because it reflects how users perceive site loading speed.

Common factors that affect LCP:

• Large or unoptimized images
• Slow server response times
• Complex client-side rendering

Recommended optimizations:

• Compress and modernize images (WebP)
• Use CDNs to reduce latency
• Preload critical resources with <link rel="preload">

Google recommends keeping LCP under 2.5 seconds for a good user experience.

Interaction to Next Paint (INP) – Page Interactivity

INP measures how quickly a page responds to a user interaction, such as a click or tap.

Common factors that affect INP:

• Heavy or poorly optimized JavaScript
• Long-running tasks blocking the main thread

Recommended optimizations:

• Minify JavaScript
• Break up long tasks
• Use Web Workers for heavy scripts

Google recommends keeping INP below 200 milliseconds for smooth experiences.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Visual Stability

CLS measures how often elements on a page unexpectedly shift while loading.

Common factors that affect CLS:

• Images without defined dimensions
• Third-party ads and iframes
• Custom fonts loading asynchronously

Recommended optimizations:

• Always define width and height for media
• Reserve space for ads
• Use optimized web fonts (font-display: swap)

A good CLS score is 0.1 or less.

Tools to Measure Core Web Vitals

There are several tools to measure Core Web Vitals, both from Google and third parties, that help analyze and evaluate these essential metrics. Below are some of the most commonly used tools, many of which are free:

Google PageSpeed Insights

Google PageSpeed Insights is a widely used tool that provides data on Core Web Vitals for both mobile and desktop devices. Besides showing metric scores, it offers detailed suggestions to optimize page performance.

How to use:

1. Visit the PageSpeed Insights website.
2. Enter the URL of the page you want to analyze.
3. Click Analyze and wait for the results.

The report provides an overview of LCP, INP, and CLS scores, along with other performance metrics and improvement suggestions.

Example Analysis from Google PageSpeed Insights for the Express Remoções homepage:
The site previously had multiple loading issues and was built on WordPress using the Elementor plugin, which we do not recommend for projects requiring solid organic traffic. We rebuilt the site from scratch following semantic formatting and SEO best practices, focusing on key Core Web Vitals metrics. Today, the site loads almost instantly.

If you want to learn more, check out our tips for SEO optimization on WordPress sites.

Google Lighthouse

Google Lighthouse is an open-source auditing tool that can be used as a browser extension or directly via Chrome DevTools. Beyond Core Web Vitals, it evaluates other site aspects such as accessibility and SEO best practices.

How to use:

1. Open the page you want to test in Chrome.
2. Right-click and select Inspect.
3. Go to the Lighthouse tab and click Generate Report.

The report provides a detailed analysis of several metrics, including Core Web Vitals, and offers improvement recommendations.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console provides a comprehensive view of Core Web Vitals across all pages on your site. It allows webmasters to identify large-scale issues and monitor performance over time.

How to use:

1. Log in to Google Search Console.
2. Navigate to the Page Experience section in the side menu.
3. Click Core Web Vitals to view a detailed report of your pages’ performance.

Search Console categorizes pages as Good, Needs Improvement, or Poor based on Core Web Vitals. It also highlights which URLs require attention and provides direct links to fix identified issues.

Other Tools to Measure Core Web Vitals

• GTmetrix (PRO Plan): Offers advanced testing features, including Core Web Vitals measurement. Useful for monitoring and improving site performance based on Lighthouse data.
  Price: Plans starting at $10/month.
• Pingdom: Provides insights on page speed and Core Web Vitals monitoring with detailed reports and recommendations.
  Price: Plans starting at $10/month.
• WebPageTest (PRO Plan): Robust web performance analysis tool measuring Core Web Vitals and providing detailed performance data.
  Price: Plans starting at $15/month.
• Semrush (SEO Toolkit with Site Audit): Multifunctional SEO tool including site audit features for Core Web Vitals.
  Price: Plans starting at $129.95/month.
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Paid License): Powerful SEO tool that audits sites and identifies Core Web Vitals issues.
  Price: Paid license from £199/year.

Best Practices for Optimizing Core Web Vitals

Now that we understand the importance and tools to measure Core Web Vitals, it’s essential to know how to optimize your website to achieve good scores. Below are best practices for each metric:

Optimizing Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

• Improve server response times: Choose fast, optimized servers and use CDNs like Cloudflare.
• Load CSS/JS asynchronously: Minimize blocking resources and load scripts/styles asynchronously.
• Prioritize above-the-fold content: Use Lazy Loading for below-the-fold elements and preload the heaviest resources above the fold.
• Optimize images: Use modern formats (e.g., WebP) and specify width and height to avoid reflows.

Optimizing Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

• Reduce heavy JavaScript execution: Minify and compress scripts.
• Use code splitting: Load only the necessary code per page.
• Web Workers: Offload heavy processing to maintain page responsiveness.
• Defer non-critical scripts: Load analytics, social widgets, or other non-essential scripts after initial interactions.

Optimizing Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

• Set dimensions for all media: Define width and height for images and videos.
• Use font-display: swap: Prevent reflows caused by custom fonts.
• Manage ad loading: Reserve layout space for ads and iframes; defer their loading.
• Avoid sudden dynamic content insertion: Animate transitions if adding dynamic elements like pop-ups or banners.

Can WordPress Sites Score Well on Core Web Vitals?

Definitely yes. Even as a PHP-based platform, WordPress can perform excellently when properly optimized. Use lightweight themes, minimal plugins, avoid heavy builders like Elementor, and follow semantic SEO practices.

For example, Pink and Brain rebuilt the Express Remoções website from scratch, achieving near-instant load times and excellent Core Web Vitals scores.

Check out our SEO optimization tips for WordPress sites if you have one.

Continuous Monitoring of Core Web Vitals

Optimizing Core Web Vitals is an ongoing process. As your site grows, new pages and content are added, making regular monitoring essential. Tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics can alert you to performance drops or emerging issues.

Core Web Vitals reflect the actual user experience on your site. Ignoring them risks losing traffic and business opportunities. Optimizing these metrics improves Google rankings, enhances user experience, increases engagement, boosts conversion rates, and positively impacts business results.

If you need help optimizing your website, contact Pink and Brain. We’re experts in site optimization using Core Web Vitals.

O post Core Web Vitals: A Guide to Bookmark in Your Browser apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.

Many businesses still rely on generic ads, with identical headlines across all cities, without exploring the intelligence the platform itself provides. The result? Low CTR, high CPC, and few conversions.

The secret lies in activating dynamic features that make ads more relevant, create a sense of urgency, and add local terms. This directly reflects what customers and patients are searching for at the moment of the query.

What Are Dynamic Features in Google Ads?

Dynamic features in Google Ads are tools that allow you to automatically personalize ads according to the user’s search, profile, or context. Instead of manually creating dozens of variations of headlines and descriptions, you configure dynamic fields that Google fills in real time with information like the searched keyword, the user’s city, or the time left for a promotion. The result is a more relevant, attractive ad that feels tailor-made for each person.

Beyond saving time, these features improve campaign performance by reducing the gap between search intent and the displayed message. This translates into higher CTRs, lower CPCs, and greater conversion rates. It’s a way of aligning the scale of Google Ads with the personalization users expect—without complicating campaign management.

To illustrate how this works in practice, let’s use the example of Essencial Hearing Aids, a reference clinic in hearing health that applies these features to improve its ads and attract more patients.

1. Keyword Insertion

What it is
The {KeyWord:Default Text} command is a dynamic feature in Google Ads. Here’s how it works:

• If the keyword doesn’t fit (due to size) or isn’t compatible, it shows the default text you placed after the colon (:).
• You define a generic headline but leave a “slot” for Google to replace with the exact term the user searched.
• If the user’s query matches one of your keywords, Google automatically inserts it into the headline.

Benefits

• Higher CTR: the user sees exactly what they typed.
• Less effort: no need to create dozens of ad variations.

Where to set it up
In Google Ads, create or edit a responsive search ad. In the headline field, type:

Hearing Aids {KeyWord:Essencial}

Practical example (Essencial Hearing Aids):

• Search: “hearing aids in São Paulo” → Hearing Aids in São Paulo
• Search: “invisible hearing aids” → Invisible Hearing Aids
• Search: “hearing aid clinic” → Hearing Aids Clinic
• If it doesn’t fit or match → Essencial Hearing Aids

2. Countdown

What it is
Automatically inserts a countdown of days, hours, or minutes into the ad. Perfect for health fairs, discounts on check-ups, or seasonal campaigns.

Benefits

• Creates immediate urgency.
• Boosts CTR and conversions.
• Updates automatically—no daily adjustments.

Where to set it up
In the headline or description, type:

Promotion ends in {=COUNTDOWN("2025/10/15 23:59:59")}

Practical example (Essencial Hearing Aids):

• Today → “Promotion ends in 3 days”
• Tomorrow → “Promotion ends in 2 days”
• Last day → “Promotion ends in 5 hours”

Pro tip: don’t start the countdown too early. Ideally, activate it in the final days of the promotion to reinforce urgency. If the timer is too long, conversions may instantly drop since users tend to come back later.

3. Location Insertion

What it is
Automatically inserts the user’s location (city, state, or neighborhood) into the ad. This brings the brand closer to the audience and builds trust.

Benefits

• Instant proximity with the patient.
• More clicks on local searches.
• Scalability: one campaign can cover multiple cities.

Where to set it up
In the headline or description, type:

Hearing Aids in {Location:near you}

Practical example (Essencial Hearing Aids):

• User in Campinas → Hearing Aids in Campinas
• User in São Paulo → Hearing Aids in São Paulo
• User in Sorocaba → Hearing Aids in Sorocaba

Small Adjustments, Big Results

Many companies still invest in Google Ads without realizing they’re leaving conversions on the table. Features like Keyword Insertion, Countdown, and Location Insertion can increase CTR by up to +35%, lower CPC, and expand the number of leads and appointments.

For Essencial Hearing Aids, using these features means creating ads that speak directly to the patient’s needs: highlighting their city, showing a promotion that ends in a few days, or displaying the exact type of device they searched for.

Bonus Tip: Always Run A/B Tests

Create one ad with dynamic insertion (Keyword or Location) and another generic one. Within a few weeks, the numbers will reveal the impact. In the chart above, we can see a significant improvement in conversions with fewer impressions and clicks—in other words, lower costs and greater effectiveness in capturing leads.

Stay tuned for powerful Google Ads and performance media strategies here in the Pink and Brain lab.

O post Dynamic Features in Google Ads That Almost No One Uses (But Should) apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.

These longer searches, often 10 words or more, tend to reveal specific intent, complex questions, and even potential prompts used in AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity. While there’s no direct tool yet to track when your brand appears in AI-generated responses, these queries can be strong indicators that your content is being referenced behind the scenes.

By analyzing these terms, you not only understand how users are finding you, but also how your content might be shaping automated answers in a digital landscape increasingly driven by artificial intelligence. It’s a smart way to look beyond the click and recognize the strategic role your site may be playing in the broader ecosystem.

In this post, we’ll show you a highly effective method to identify long-tail keywords using regular expressions in Google Search Console—and how to turn that data into competitive advantage.

What are Long-Tail Keywords?

Long-tail keywords are search queries that are longer, more specific, and usually signal a clear intent. While they typically have lower search volume, they deliver higher conversion rates because users know exactly what they are looking for.

Examples

In today’s landscape, where AI-powered search assistants dominate, these long queries often mirror the type of prompts users feed into ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity. If your site is being discovered through such queries, there’s a good chance your content is indirectly fueling AI-generated answers.

Regex Technique to Identify Long-Tail Queries in GSC

Google Search Console (GSC) allows the use of regex filters to analyze queries. With the right pattern, you can filter queries by the number of words and isolate searches with strong intent.

Regex Pattern for 10+ Words

([^” “]*\s){9,}

([^” “]*\s){9,}

Breaking It Down

• ([^” “]*\s) → captures a “word” followed by a space
• {9,} → repeat at least 10 times
• Together → only matches queries with 10 words or more

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Go to Google Search Console → Performance → Search Results.
2. Click on + New → Query → Custom (Regex).
3. Paste the regex above and adjust the number of words (e.g., {7,} for 8+ words).
4. Review the filtered list to uncover queries that drove traffic to your site.

These queries often highlight highly specific needs, niche questions, or even hints of AI prompts.

How to Leverage These Insights

Spotting long-tail queries is more than an SEO hack — it’s a way of understanding how real users (and AI systems) are interpreting your content.

• Create ultra-targeted articles: Answer the exact questions your audience is asking.
• Strengthen topical authority: Fill content gaps competitors aren’t covering.
• Improve CTR: Craft titles that directly match the detailed search.
• Predict trends: Long queries often signal emerging topics before they go mainstream.

The beauty? You’re not just optimizing for Google anymore — you’re positioning your site to be a trusted data source for AI assistants.

Practical Example: Events Production Industry Leader

When analyzing GSC for a leading events company, we spotted searches like:

• “company that sets up stage, sound, lighting, and generator for outdoor events in New York”
• “wedding DJ specialized in both ceremony and after-party with customized playlists”
• “corporate sound rental with line array speakers and wireless mics for keynote presentations”

These hyper-specific queries revealed not just user intent, but also the type of input likely being used inside generative AI platforms.

Benefits of Tracking Long-Tail Queries

The exemplo above, for a Event Pruction Business, we could change service copy including terms that we don’t index so well.

Final Thoughts

Your next breakthrough content idea might be hiding in a long-tail query you’ve never paid attention to.

This isn’t just about SEO — it’s about understanding the subconscious of your audience. Long queries show how people actually think and ask. They expose needs before users even know how to articulate them.

When you start connecting those dots, you’re not just ranking better — you’re becoming part of the knowledge base that both people and AI rely on.

César Canteiro, Digital Strategist at Pink and Brain

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It’s no longer necessary to debate whether AI platforms are here to stay. The web has already changed. People are now reaching websites via AI-generated answers, often with refined intent and expectations to confirm, compare, or complete an action.

Current Scenario for AI Platform Data Analysis

Lately, assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Copilot have become a new layer of discovery: they answer questions, cite and link content, and many users arrive at your site from these responses (or return after copying/pasting the link). This is traffic with pre-refined intent, influencing content strategy, SEO, UX, and even paid performance. If you don’t measure it, you miss demand signals and optimization opportunities.

With this shift, it’s essential to track traffic coming from these platforms. This traffic is valuable but still “invisible” in traditional reports: GA4 and GSC don’t yet offer a native AI channel. Without isolating these visits, they get lumped into “referral,” “direct,” or even “organic,” distorting editorial, SEO, and media decisions. The practical solution today is to map the referrers/sources from these platforms, create a dedicated GA4 channel, and monitor it in Looker Studio.

We’ve already shared tips on identifying long-tail queries in Google Search Console generated from AI interactions.

Today, let’s see how to extract insights via GA4, and consequently in Looker Studio. The strategy is simple: capture sessions where the medium is “referral” and the source matches the domains of these AI platforms. With a consistent filter and a dashboard comparing trends, landing pages, and conversions, you can understand the role of AI in content discovery and business generation.

What You Can Measure Today in GA4

In GA4, the quickest shortcut is to create a Comparison in Acquisition reports: keep only sessions where the medium is referral and the source matches a pattern of AI domains. This immediately provides insights on sessions, users, landing pages, and events. If you track conversions on another domain (booking engine, checkout, portal), enable cross-domain tracking to preserve attribution.

How to Turn It Into Its Own Channel (“AI Referrals”) in GA4

To avoid reapplying filters across every report, create a custom channel grouping. Duplicate the default grouping, add a rule called AI Referrals, and set it so that whenever the source matches AI domain patterns (and optionally the medium is referral), GA4 classifies it in this channel. From then on, AI Referrals appears alongside Organic, Direct, Social, Paid, etc., including in first-click and last-click attribution reports.

Step-by-step to create the AI Referrals channel in GA4:

1. Admin (gear icon in footer) → Data Settings → Channel Groups.
2. Click Create Channel Group (or + New).
3. Copy from the Default Group (recommended) and give it a clear name, e.g., “Channels – with AI Referrals.”
4. In the builder, click Add Channel.
   • Channel Name: AI Referrals
   • Condition 1 (SOURCE):
     • Field: Source
     • Operator: matches RegExp
     • Value (regex): see code below
     • Case-insensitive: enabled (if option available)
   • Condition 2 (optional, but useful):
     • Field: Medium
     • Operator: exactly matches
     • Value: Referral
5. Drag the AI Referrals channel above “Referral” in the list (order matters; evaluation is top-down).
6. Save and publish the channel group.

Note: This group doesn’t replace the default. You can choose which to use in reports.

Accessing AI Traffic in Reports

• Open any acquisition report, filter by source, and the data will appear.
• At the top of tables, in the dimension selector (usually “Default Channel Grouping”), switch to your custom group: Channels – with AI Referrals.

Important Tips:

• Cross-domain tracking: if conversion occurs on another domain (booking engine/checkout), configure cross-domain measurement to maintain attribution.
• Retroactivity: custom channel groups classify reports (including previous periods) as GA4 processes data; they don’t alter raw data or Ads integrations.

How to Measure AI Traffic in Looker Studio

In Looker Studio, replicate the same logic directly in a chart or table: a filter that includes medium = referral and source matches the regex below. This allows you to build a clean view over time, by AI source, landing page, first vs last click, engagement, and conversions.

Example: Simple daily pageviews chart for users coming from AI platforms

Regex to filter AI platforms in Looker Studio and GA4:

.*chatgpt.com.*|.*perplexity.*|.*edgepilot.*|.*edgeservices.*|.*copilot.microsoft.com.*|.*openai.com.*|.*gemini.google.com.*|.*nimble.ai.*|.*iask.ai.*|.*claude.ai.*|.*aitastic.app.*|.*bnngpt.com.*|.*writesonic.com.*|.*copy.ai.*|.*chat-gpt.org.*

.*chatgpt.com.*|.*perplexity.*|.*edgepilot.*|.*edgeservices.*|.*copilot.microsoft.com.*|.*openai.com.*|.*gemini.google.com.*|.*nimble.ai.*|.*iask.ai.*|.*claude.ai.*|.*aitastic.app.*|.*bnngpt.com.*|.*writesonic.com.*|.*copy.ai.*|.*chat-gpt.org.*

Case-insensitive and update as new sources appear.

Even without a native channel, you can answer practical questions: how much traffic comes from AI, which pages they prefer to cite, how this audience behaves, and how much converts. This is enough to guide content strategy, SEO, and UX with real data while preparing for when GA4 and GSC officially support this category.

Make good use of it!

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As a business builder committed to long-term growth, here’s my contribution: advertising and digital agencies don’t have the best professionals. The best minds are either working inside companies or building their own ventures. That’s why hiring them may not be your best move.

Considering Hiring an SEO Agency?

⚠️ Be careful!

Before you take that next step, read this carefully. You might be about to fall into a trap that could cost your business dearly — and I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking about wasted time, frustrated expectations, and weak, inconsistent work that simply doesn’t deliver.

SEO agencies love to promise the world, but do they really deliver?

More often than not, you end up paying a lot for results that never come. Behind the shiny surface, many agencies rely on misleading practices, abusive contracts, and professionals who aren’t truly prepared to handle your business needs — because they’re juggling 10+ clients at the same time. (Back in 2014/2015, I personally had to split my time across 15 accounts.)

Before signing any contract, ask yourself: is this agency really invested in the success of my project, or are they just chasing their next client? Will you get the attention and dedication you need — or will you just be another number in their spreadsheet?

No advertising agency, digital marketing firm, or even those specialized in SEO will allocate senior-level talent to your project. Honestly… they don’t even have those resources. Professionals like me and Marcelino are either working inside companies or building our own ventures—just like we are now.
That’s why it’s better to hire true partners. People without corporate strings attached, who work for the satisfaction of seeing things grow, not just to fatten the agency’s bottom line. Sure, that growth might benefit us indirectly, but first and foremost, we need to put the client’s business in the spotlight.

César Canteiro, Digital Strategist at Pink and Brain

This post might ruffle some feathers among agencies that call themselves “SEO experts,” but I’m not afraid to share my methodology, my concerns, and the experiences I’ve had working as an analyst inside the agencies I’ve been part of.

This article will show you the three crucial reasons why you shouldn’t hire a traditional SEO agency, and what you can do instead to truly ensure your business succeeds online.

Keep reading and avoid a trap that could slow down your company’s growth.

SEO Agencies Are Driven by Recurring Revenue, Not Results

The main goal of many SEO agencies isn’t the success of your case it’s maximizing monthly revenue.

They operate with large sales teams focused on closing new contracts, without ensuring their internal SEO teams have the proper structure to deliver solid results. This creates an imbalance: while the client list grows, the SEO teams don’t scale proportionally, which ends up hurting service quality.

One employee might be handling 10 or more clients at once, meaning your project will receive superficial attention.

Strategies tend to be standardized and lack innovation, leading to generic, low-impact results.

Comparison: SEO Agency Service vs. Strategic Partnership

You’re Paying for Junior or Mid-Level Professionals Marketed as Senior

The best minds in SEO rarely stay in agencies. Top professionals know the environment is stressful, growth is slow, and the focus is on financial targets—not innovation. That means, more often than not, what you’re actually paying for are junior or mid-level professionals marketed as senior.

These professionals may have some technical knowledge, but they lack the experience and depth needed to craft solid, embedded, omnichannel, and sophisticated strategies that deliver results in a competitive market. You’re paying a premium for a team that’s still learning.

Comparison: Agency Professionals vs. Independent Specialists

Locked Contracts, Slow Results, and Outdated Methodologies

Traditional SEO agencies often rely on rigid contracts with loyalty clauses, cancellation fees, and long minimum terms. Many still follow outdated methodologies and rigid processes that don’t keep pace with Google’s algorithm updates or market trends.

Results take too long to show because work tends to follow fixed calendars and bureaucratic workflows.

Upselling is common—agencies push additional services you don’t necessarily need.

Often, data is dressed up to justify slow progress, creating the illusion of advancement when things could be moving much faster.

A Smarter Alternative: Freelancers or Partnerships with Renowned Specialists (like us at Pink and Brain)

Now that you understand the pitfalls of hiring a traditional SEO agency, let me introduce the solution: partnerships with independent specialists—like us at Pink and Brain. We’re a team of advertisers, marketers, developers, and digital strategists with a holistic approach that goes far beyond SEO.

We don’t work with locked contracts, there are no penalties, and you’re not paying for junior or mid-level talent disguised as senior. Instead, you’re hiring brilliant minds who master SEO, branding, inbound marketing, PPC, digital development, and more.

Case Study: DJ Agency and Event Production Company in São Paulo

We’ve helped dominate the event market in São Paulo with a production company that grew over 5000% between 2014 and 2024. What started with just two transport vehicles and two equipment kits has evolved into a fleet of over 20 vehicles and the capacity to run 50 simultaneous event setups—from weddings to corporate parties.

In other words: it began with two DJs doing weekend gigs, and over time, they scaled up. We helped shape their entire strategy—from branding and development to technology and operations. Today, after a decade of growth, they have a team of 28 professional DJs and a sales department with more than 10 people.

PS: Back then, they were the sales team themselves.

Case Study: Hearing Aid Market

Another market we dominated in just one year: hearing aids. A client from the sector came to us with a Wix site and—guess what? They’d been fed a bunch of nonsense.

They signed with us, and we built a site from scratch, focused on inbound strategy and showcasing their products and models clearly and effectively.

One year later? BOOM. Market visibility, traffic, and conversions exploded.

Case Study: Diagnostic Medicine Market

Another powerful example comes from the diagnostic medicine sector. A group specializing in acquiring struggling diagnostic units reached out to us with a bold request: to create a whitelabel strategy that would unify all the brands under their umbrella—including one of São Paulo’s largest players.

They now dominate search visibility for nearly every exam, vaccine, and imaging procedure across all cities where they operate. Just search for something like “dengue vaccine” and you’ll see them leading the results.

This wasn’t just about SEO—it was a full-stack transformation. We helped them build a scalable digital framework, consolidate brand presence, and position themselves as the go-to reference in preventive and diagnostic healthcare.

Let me know if you’d like to turn this into a visual case study or add metrics like traffic growth, lead generation, or conversion rates.

Case Study: INSS Payroll Loan Market

Still new to the game, one of our partners has been with us for just two years—but in that short time, they’ve gone from zero to shaking up the industry. Even though they’re not a direct competitor in loan products, they’ve built a powerful comparison platform for financial institutions and interest rates.

And believe me—we kicked the door open and entered one of the most aggressive, competitive markets out there.

Today, they’re making noise among the biggest players in the INSS payroll loan space, proving that with the right strategy, even newcomers can disrupt legacy giants.

Case Study: CNN Brasil in the Publishing Market

In addition to CNN Brasil—which we’ve mentioned here a few times—we were one of the key drivers behind the company’s organic growth between 2020 and 2022.

Our strategic involvement helped CNN Brasil establish a strong digital presence in a highly competitive news landscape. From SEO architecture to editorial planning and performance optimization, we played a pivotal role in scaling their visibility and reach.

This wasn’t just about traffic—it was about positioning CNN Brasil as a top-of-mind source for news and information, leveraging organic acquisition as a long-term growth engine.

We’ve got cases in tourism, finance (plenty—after all, we’re Pink and Brain because we worked together at BTG and Exame, and that’s where the nickname stuck… lol), publishing, e-commerce, product comparison platforms, apps—you name it.

So come grab a digital coffee with us, and let’s talk about business, not just SEO.

Don’t Fall for the SEO Agency Trap

Instead, consider a strategic partnership with specialists like Pink and Brain, who offer:

• Experienced professionals, fully dedicated and focused on your business
• Flexible contracts, free from abusive clauses
• Fast, consistent results through innovative, customized strategies

Here, you’re not just hiring SEO. You’re hiring minds that deeply understand marketing, digital development, branding, and innovation. That’s the future of digital success.

O post Thinking of Hiring an SEO Agency? Think Twice apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, a practice that involves a set of techniques used to improve the ranking of web pages in search engines like Google. The main goal is to have content appear among the top organic results—that is, without paying for ads.

The topic gained momentum as search engines became indispensable tools in everyday life. With the rapid growth of the internet, the number of websites and pages also increased, requiring more refined criteria to organize and rank results.

When Did SEO Begin??

SEO began to be used around 1997, when the first search engines started indexing websites in a more automated way. At that time, optimization basically meant using keywords strategically and ensuring that content was visible to search engine bots.

As algorithms became more sophisticated, SEO practices evolved as well. Today, factors like content quality, user experience, and relevance are key to achieving strong rankings.

Nowadays, SEO goes far beyond keyword selection. It involves technical aspects such as site structure, loading speed, use of structured data, and the creation of useful, trustworthy, and well-written content.

At Pink and Brain, we’ve closely followed this evolution and helped companies stand out in an increasingly competitive environment using SEO as a strategic positioning tool and a driver of digital authority. Below, you’ll find a complete overview of what has made sense since the early days of SEO, and what’s trending in the field today.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization—a set of techniques used to improve the visibility of web pages in search engines like Google. The goal is to appear among the top organic results, without paying for ads. As search engines became essential tools in daily life, SEO grew in importance. With the explosion of websites, ranking criteria became more refined and competitive.

After hundreds of audits and thousands of optimized pages, the team at Pink and Brain shares 17 practical lessons that continue to make sense in today’s AI-driven search landscape.

17 Lessons from the Field

1. Technical SEO is the foundation of everything

If your site can’t be crawled, it won’t be found. Content without a solid technical base risks invisibility—not just to Google, but to generative AI systems too.

2. JavaScript can be a trap

Powerful but risky. JS-heavy sites may look great but can block bots from indexing content. Less JS = more visibility. If using frameworks like React, Vue, or NextJS, prioritize SEO from the start.

3. Crawl budget matters (in specific cases)

Large or frequently updated sites must manage crawl budget wisely. Optimize sitemaps, block irrelevant pages, and focus on strategic URLs.

4. Server logs reveal the invisible

Logs show how bots interact with your site—what they crawl, what they skip, and where they waste time. This data is gold for optimization.

5. Core Web Vitals matter a lot

Focus on user experience metrics like LCP, FID, and CLS. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights to improve performance, but don’t obsess—balance is key.

6. Structured data boosts visibility

It adds context for search engines and enables rich results. Especially vital for e-commerce and AI-powered shopping experiences.

7. On-page SEO drives organic growth

Headings, titles, descriptions, and content structure matter. On-page optimization is under your control—and delivers consistent results.

8. Keyword research must be strategic

Don’t chase popularity. Focus on search intent, user journey, and balance between volume and competition. Quality beats quantity.

9. Keywords aren’t everything

Google now values entities, semantics, and usefulness. Since 2022, helpful content trumps keyword stuffing.

10. Internal links are the cherry on top

They connect content, distribute authority, and guide bots. A smart linking strategy can boost key pages effortlessly.

11. Backlinks aren’t that important

They help, but aren’t the holy grail. Quality content and technical excellence often outperform link-chasing. Still, when great content gets shared, the impact is huge.

12. Content optimization has changed

Forget the old playbook. Write naturally, use keyword variations, and show real expertise. Authenticity wins.

13. SEO plugins don’t tell the whole truth

Tools like Yoast and RankMath are helpful, but not infallible. Green lights don’t guarantee rankings—use them critically.

14. The right KPIs reshape your strategy

Traffic, conversions, AI visibility… Each goal needs different metrics. Choosing wisely prevents diluted strategies and poor results.

15. Attribution is hard but essential

With multiple touchpoints, tracking conversions is tricky. Use UTMs and analytics tools to measure accurately and optimize investments.

16. Black hat has a short shelf life

Tricks may work temporarily, but penalties follow. Sustainable SEO means following best practices and adapting to algorithm changes.

17. Doing the basics well brings lasting results

Before chasing hacks, master the fundamentals: crawlability, useful content, fast site. That’s the real path to the top.

In 2025, the market finally understands SEO, and it’s hotter than ever. Whether you’re optimizing for Google or preparing for AI-driven search, these lessons remain timeless.

Want help applying these insights to your own site? I’d be happy to guide you through a personalized SEO audit or content strategy.

O post 17 SEO Lessons Learned from Over 15 Years of Experience apareceu primeiro em Pink and Brain.