Evaluate sources by matching source type to claim type.
A reputable-looking article can still be the wrong source for a precise claim.
Use official documentation for platform rules, product capabilities, and technical requirements. Use an applicable law or regulator for a legal statement, then seek professional review where the business needs an interpretation. Use your own project records for your process and deliverables. Use a customer-approved record for their quote or result.
A third-party marketing blog can offer a useful perspective, but it should not be the sole basis for a claim about how Google, a platform, or a law works. Follow its citation back to the primary source. If that source does not say what the blog says, do not repeat the claim.
Check the exact scope.
Suppose a source says structured data can make a page eligible for a rich result. That does not support “schema will improve your ranking.” Google’s structured-data guidance explicitly says appearance is not guaranteed. Write the narrower claim the evidence actually supports.
Pay attention to dates, geography, platform versions, audience, and conditions. A case study about one business cannot establish an average result for all clients. A rule for physical storefronts may not apply to remote digital services.
Record what you learned.
A source note can be short: claim, exact URL or internal record, access date, relevant passage or finding, owner, and refresh trigger. The published copy may link to the official source where that helps the reader verify a factual statement. Do not fill the page with citations for ordinary advice, but make important mutable claims traceable.
If the source is a customer record, keep private details in the proper internal system. Public copy should include only approved information. An internal folder name is not a public citation.
Handle uncertainty without padding.
When you lack evidence, avoid a fabricated statistic or generic “studies show.” You can explain the decision process instead. “We review your current pages and identify the questions they answer” is a method statement. “This doubles qualified leads” is an outcome claim that needs a real, attributable basis.
If the page cannot answer a material question without a missing fact, hold the claim or narrow the page. More words do not solve missing evidence.
Resolve conflicting source claims.
Two official pages may describe different versions of a product or different scopes of a rule. Do not average them into a broad claim. Check dates, applicability, and the exact feature or jurisdiction. If the conflict remains, write only the part both sources support or leave the claim out until an accountable person can resolve it. This is especially important for pages about privacy, regulated industries, platform integrations, and pricing. An honest gap is less damaging than a polished assertion that sends a customer toward the wrong decision.
Map the sources behind ten claims on one page.
Choose ten claims from a high-value page. For each, mark primary source, internal verified source, customer-approved source, or unsupported. Repair the unsupported claims before polishing the headline. SEO content writing can use that evidence map to make the page more specific and credible.
