E-E-A-T is a handy way to remember the key criteria Google uses to rate quality content. Optimising for E-E-A-T will turbo boost your SEO efforts.
For many years, marketers used the E-A-T framework from Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines to demonstrate a brand’s trustworthiness in the eyes of the search engine. More recently, an extra E has been added to the acronym, putting additional emphasis on experience.
So, what do each of the letters stand for and how can they be used to ensure you’re following SEO best practice? Here’s why you should be paying attention to your E-E-A-T signals and the actionable insights you need to implement.
It all started with E-A-T, which stood for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness as a way to evaluate these attributes in web content. In adding an additional E, Google has highlighted the importance it now puts on first-hand experience.
Google uses Search Quality Rater Guidelines to help its human assessors analyse content. They must all be working from the same benchmarks for continuity and signalling that your webpages meet these criteria will help to ensure a good position in search engine results pages (SERPs).
While E-E-A-T are not direct ranking factors, the data from the human assessors is used to influence the development of Google’s algorithms. This is a roundabout way of saying that they matter and should be a key consideration for marketers.
The whole point of Google is to give users the best answer to any specific query they may pose. E-E-A-T is what identifies the highest-quality content and puts it in those top positions. And it’s not just the search engine that benefits either. Creators with genuine expertise receive more traffic and users obtain information they can trust.
This is particularly important with Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics. This is content centred around sensitive and potentially life-altering subjects like health, finances and safety, where misinformation could be harmful. So, here, more than anywhere else, search results must be credible.
One way Google ensures a content creator’s credentials is with the introduction of that extra E. It adds weight via real-world experience, suggesting the author is reliable and trustworthy, positioning them high up in SERPs.
While experience is critical to YMYL content, it’s also valuable in other areas too. It’s this first-person view that sets product reviews and how-to videos apart, demonstrating to users that the content comes from an informed perspective that can be trusted.
Armed with a greater understanding of E-E-A-T, what it stands for and why it’s important, marketers must go forward and use this knowledge to further their brand’s content. Demonstrating E-E-A-T signals means taking each one in turn for maximum impact.
There are a number of approaches you can take that establish to Google and beyond that your content has been created by those with direct experience of the subject matter. They can include the style in which it’s written, the subject matter or on-page clues like author bios.
All content should be well-researched, in depth and accurate, with relevant sources cited. Age old good practice techniques still remain relevant in the digital world, with rewards aplenty for those who don’t cut corners.
Brand authority doesn’t happen overnight and it also isn’t achieved by accident. A comprehensive strategy of consistently high-quality content will build your authority, attract links and ensure you’re adding to your wider reputation.
Establishing trust with your audience is something that, by its very definition, you can’t fabricate. Don’t hide behind your content, but be open and encourage communication, making it easy for users to reach out with their feedback, both good and bad, building your trustworthiness over time.
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