In the SEO world, we’re all familiar with Google’s love of acronyms. Well, in late 2022, the search giant threw another one into the mix and updated their Search Quality Rater Guidelines. They added “Experience” to the existing framework of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (E-A-T).
This wasn’t just a random change. It’s part of Google’s ongoing quest to make sure websites deliver the most helpful, relevant information to users. E-E-A-T, or “Double-E-A-T” as some folks are calling it now, puts a big spotlight on the importance of including firsthand experience on any topic you’re tackling.
So, what does this mean for us as SEO Analysts, how to tweak our content to make it user-centric? We’ll dive into that and more in a bit.
E-E-A-T: How it Impacts My Content and Rankings (Even Though It’s Not Technically a Ranking Factor)
I’ve been digging into these E-E-A-T guidelines, and let me tell you, each part is crucial for knocking content out of the park. Here’s the breakdown:
- Experience: We’re talking about real-world, hands-on knowledge of the topic. You gotta have been there, done that.
- Expertise: Extensive training or that same real-world experience counts here. Basically, you gotta know your stuff.
- Authoritativeness: Certifications or that je-ne-sais-quoi that makes people see you as an authority on the subject. Think Jedi Master of your niche.
- Trust: This is the holy grail, the thing all the above are building towards. Users gotta feel confident that what you’re saying is legit.
So, how does E-E-A-T play into SEO and how my content ranks? Here’s the thing: it’s not a magic ranking factor itself, but it can seriously affect where my content shows up in search results.
Here’s the simplest way I see it: content that does well – the kind that hits the E-E-A-T sweet spot in Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines – checks all these boxes:
- It’s genuinely helpful content.
- Experts created it (or at least lent their credibility with quotes and insights).
- It’s on a website that’s established and authoritative in its field.
- It’s trustworthy – users gotta feel like they can rely on the information.
- It’s kept fresh with regular updates.
This focus on experience makes perfect sense with Google’s whole user-first approach. They’re all about providing those extra details to answer searcher questions with laser precision.
Think about it: if you’re looking for someone to do your taxes, that’s way different than searching for reviews of tax software. You need different info for each.
Google isn’t reinventing the wheel here. They’re just looking deeper, trying to understand the why and how behind user searches. This means us writers who lean heavily on research might need to step up our game. We can include quotes from folks with real-world experience, or even consider handing the reins over to trusted voices who can truly own the content.
Building Expertise in Your Content Creation Process
Expertise is all about showcasing the depth of knowledge your content possesses. To make your expertise shine through, here’s what you should strive for:
- Accuracy and Up-to-date Information: Ensure your content is factually correct and reflects the latest advancements in the field. Cite credible sources like reputable studies and organizations to back up your claims.
- Highlight Credibility: Don’t be shy! Share credentials, relevant experience, and achievements to demonstrate your authority on the subject matter.
- Deep Dives and Thought Leadership: Go beyond the basics. Provide in-depth analysis, explore industry trends, and offer unique perspectives that position you as a thought leader. Aim for content that goes deeper than a typical introductory blog post.
- Leveraging Expertise from Others: Consider user-generated content from qualified individuals with demonstrable knowledge in your field. This can be a great way to add fresh insights and showcase a wider range of expertise.
Think of Policygenius, an insurance industry leader. Their content exemplifies expertise by featuring bylines from experts who have written or reviewed the articles, instantly establishing credibility and trust with the reader.
How can you apply EEAT in SEO Content Creation?
a. Expertise
Expertise is all about demonstrating the depth of knowledge your content possesses. To effectively convey this expertise, there are several key strategies to consider:
- Accuracy and Up-to-date Information: Strive to provide information that is both accurate and current. This means citing reputable sources like studies and reports to back up your claims.
- Credentials Matter: Highlight the credentials, experience, and achievements of your content creators. This builds trust with your audience and positions your content as coming from a reliable source.
- Go Beyond the Basics: Don’t settle for surface-level information. Aim for in-depth analysis and thought leadership on industry trends and topics. Provide insights that go deeper than the typical “Subject Matter 101” blog post.
- Leveraging User Expertise: In some cases, incorporating user-generated content from qualified users can be a valuable way to showcase expertise. Look for contributions from individuals who are demonstrably knowledgeable within their field.
A great example of expertise in action can be found in content from Policygenius, an insurance industry leader. Their articles often feature bylines from experts who have either written or reviewed the content, lending credibility and showcasing their deep knowledge of the subject matter.
Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines emphasize the importance of recognizing when personal experience is crucial and when information or advice should come from experts. Here are some examples to illustrate these points.
Experience: The New Ingredient in E-A-T
Experience is the fresh face in the world of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). But fear not, it doesn’t mean a complete overhaul of your current strategy.
Experience simply refers to the writer’s first-hand knowledge of the topic at hand. So, how do you showcase this experience?
Here are some effective ways:
- Tap into Subject Matter Expertise (SME): Having a qualified expert write or review your content for accuracy instantly boosts its credibility.
- Expert Quotes and Insights: Integrate quotes and insights from product specialists or industry experts to bolster your content.
- Industry Collaborations: Think beyond your organization and collaborate with established experts. This could involve interviewing industry leaders or co-authoring blog posts. Take a cue from Adobe’s strategy. Their content features creatives who directly use their products, creating Q&A-style blog posts. These real-world experiences, shared through quotes from filmmakers, photographers, and editors, showcase the value of Adobe products.
- Weaving in Expertise: Similar to Chewy, a pet supply company, you can weave experience into your content by including insights and quotes from veterinarians or various animal experts. This adds a layer of trust and authenticity to your content.
b. Authoritativeness
Brand recognition is a big deal, but it’s not the only way to show you know your stuff. Befriending influential people in your field can definitely boost your cred.
However, true authority comes from building a robust digital PR campaign. This means creating high-quality content and getting it seen by the right people, including backlinks from reputable websites. Remember, just churning out hundreds of posts isn’t enough.
Networking and collaborating with other experts and influencers is key. Don’t forget the power of endorsements and positive reviews from real customers who love your product or service.
Want some examples?
Think about websites with a long history or those that have skyrocketed to a position of authority. Maybe it’s the comprehensive pest control library from a company like Orkin.
Here are a few more ideas:
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour website – the official source for all your ticketing and merch info. No need to hunt around, it’s all right there.
- The USDA’s information on beef grades – who better to trust than the folks who set the standards?
c. Trustworthiness
Just having a lot of content isn’t enough. In fact, a flood of unreliable information can be more harmful than no content at all. Content is only valuable if you can trust it. That means it’s current, credible, and accessible.
Here’s how to make sure your content is trustworthy:
- Be transparent and honest. Don’t mislead your audience.
- Offer a secure and user-friendly experience. This applies to both mobile and desktop users (it’s 2023, after all). Everyone deserves a smooth experience, regardless of their device. Accessibility is key here, including making sure your images are accessible to users with visual impairments.
- Maintain a consistent brand voice. This applies across all your content formats, not just written content.
- Regularly update your content. Trustworthy websites prioritize keeping their content accurate, relevant, and informative. A great example is Wirecutter, a New York Times-owned review site.
They combine experience, expertise, and trust by routinely evaluating new products and revising their lists to feature the latest models.
Their comments section is another valuable resource, where you can learn from other users’ experiences with the products they review and recommend.
Elevate Your E-A-T: Pro Tips for Long-Term Success
Mastering E-A-T is a continuous journey, evolving alongside Google’s algorithm updates and new product offerings. However, these core best practices will always steer you in the right direction:
- Become a customer whisperer: Actively listen to customer feedback, reviews, and social media conversations to identify their pain points. Craft content that directly addresses them, providing valuable solutions.
- Content Variety is King: Cater to diverse audiences by offering a range of content formats. Infographics, blog posts, webinars, podcasts, engaging videos, and social media posts all have a role to play.
- Involve Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): Empower SMEs to contribute to your content creation process. Encourage them to write, provide insightful quotes, or peer-review your work. Always credit them for their valuable contributions.
- Maintain Content Freshness: Schedule regular content audits to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Your audience deserves the most up-to-date information.
- Embrace Structured Data: Schema markup is your friend. Utilize it to enhance your search visibility and make your content more discoverable.
- Build Strategic Collaborations: Partner with reputable websites and influencers to expand your reach and get your content in front of a wider audience.
- Stay Ethical: Black hat SEO tactics have no place in your strategy. Focus on building trust and authority through genuine content.
- The Power of Video: Videos are a fantastic way to repurpose existing content and showcase your expertise, authority, and personality in a captivating format.
E-E-A-T: Busting the Myths
E-E-A-T is often misunderstood, overcomplicated, and ignored. Let’s set the record straight.
Myth #1 – E-E-A-T Isn’t a Ranking Factor
Despite its importance, E-E-A-T isn’t a ranking factor in the way we traditionally think of ranking factors. Instead, think about E-E-A-T as a mindset for creating helpful and people-centric content. It’s about providing what folks expect from your website, which helps them trust you.
Myth #2 – E-E-A-T Isn’t a Checklist
As much as we want it to be, E-E-A-T is more nuanced than a checklist of definitions and action items. Building and demonstrating E-E-A-T doesn’t look the same for any two businesses or niches.
Users browsing different types of content in different niches have different expectations of helpful and trustworthy content.
This couldn’t have been made clearer in December 2022 when Google added an extra “E” to E-A-T to make E-E-A-T. The additional “E” stands for Experience. This meant that Google placed more significance than ever on genuine, personal involvement or practical familiarity with the topic covered in a piece of content.
Why?
Users are hungry for insights from people with actual experience on the topic they’re reading about. But, also, not every topic requires formal expertise for its content to be considered helpful. Often, first-hand experience means just as much, if not more.
For example, epicgardening.com is regarded as one of the top gardening websites in the world. It gets an estimated 563k monthly organic traffic from 630k search rankings.
Yet, the founder, Kevin Espiritu, who had no formal qualifications in horticulture or landscaping, built an audience by sharing what he had learned from experimenting in his garden.
Now, Epic Gardening employs a team of gardening experts to produce content and build upon their E-E-A-T.
When Google introduced E-E-A-T, it also emphasized that the “T” (trust, just in case you forgot) is the foundation of E-E-A-T and holds huge significance. And this makes total sense. Think about it: If users don’t trust your content, what value does it have?
Despite what many think, E-E-A-T isn’t just about demonstrating these four things on your site. It’s also about making sure they’re shown off-site.
A good way to think about showing E-E-A-T is to ensure you share your experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on-site and confirm this with off-page signals.
Being trusted and considered authoritative is as much about what other people say about you as it is about what you say yourself.
Note – When you break down E-E-A-T into on-page and off-page factors, thinking about practical ways to build and demonstrate it becomes much easier.
Bottom Line
E-E-A-T might sound like a whole new set of rules, but it’s really just Google building on what they’ve always wanted: high-quality content that helps people.
The key is to leverage your internal Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to boost your content’s authority. Additionally, stay on top of best practices by learning from reputable marketing professionals and agencies.
By putting in the effort to follow E-E-A-T not just for individual pieces, but for your entire site, you’ll make it much easier for people to find the valuable content you’re creating.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is E-E-A-T in SEO?
Answer: E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a framework used by Google to evaluate the quality of content on websites. “Experience” was added to the existing E-A-T guidelines in late 2022 to emphasize the importance of firsthand knowledge and real-world experience in content creation. These guidelines help ensure that the information provided to users is helpful, accurate, and trustworthy.
2. How does E-E-A-T impact SEO rankings?
Answer: While E-E-A-T itself is not a direct ranking factor, it significantly influences how Google’s algorithms perceive the quality and credibility of content. Content that meets the E-E-A-T criteria is more likely to rank higher in search results because it aligns with Google’s goal of providing users with reliable and valuable information. Content that demonstrates strong E-E-A-T can indirectly lead to improved rankings by gaining user trust, attracting backlinks, and increasing engagement.
3. How can I improve E-E-A-T for my website?
Answer: To improve E-E-A-T on your website, you should:
- Experience: Include content created or reviewed by individuals with firsthand knowledge of the topic. Use quotes and insights from experts.
- Expertise: Ensure your content is accurate, up-to-date, and written by or includes contributions from knowledgeable individuals. Highlight credentials and relevant experience.
- Authoritativeness: Build authority by creating high-quality content, earning backlinks from reputable sites, and collaborating with influencers and experts in your field.
- Trustworthiness: Be transparent and honest, maintain a secure website, and consistently update your content to keep it relevant.
4. Why did Google add ‘Experience’ to E-A-T?
Answer: Google added “Experience” to E-A-T to emphasize the importance of firsthand, real-world knowledge in content creation. This addition reflects Google’s ongoing effort to provide users with the most relevant and reliable information. Content that includes personal experiences and practical insights can offer a more authentic and valuable perspective, which enhances user trust and satisfaction.
5. What types of content benefit most from E-E-A-T?
Answer: Content that benefits most from E-E-A-T includes:
- Medical and Health Information: Requires high expertise and trustworthiness to ensure accuracy and reliability.
- Financial Advice: Needs authoritative and trustworthy sources due to the impact on users’ financial well-being.
- Product Reviews: Benefits from firsthand experience and expertise to provide genuine insights.
- News Articles: Requires authoritative reporting and accurate information to maintain credibility.
- Educational Content: Benefits from expert contributions to ensure the accuracy and depth of information.
6. How can user-generated content improve E-E-A-T?
Answer: User-generated content can enhance E-E-A-T by showcasing diverse perspectives and real-world experiences. When qualified individuals contribute content, it adds authenticity and depth to the information presented. Examples include reviews, testimonials, and forum discussions where users share their firsthand knowledge and experiences, enriching the overall content quality and credibility.
7. What is the role of backlinks in building authoritativeness?
Answer: Backlinks from reputable and authoritative websites signal to search engines that your content is credible and valuable. These links act as endorsements, indicating that other trusted sources recognize your expertise and authority. Earning high-quality backlinks can improve your site’s authority, enhance its reputation, and contribute to higher search rankings.
8. How can I demonstrate trustworthiness on my website?
Answer: To demonstrate trustworthiness on your website:
- Transparency: Be clear about your sources, disclose conflicts of interest, and provide detailed author bios.
- Security: Ensure your website is secure (HTTPS), protect user data, and provide a safe browsing experience.
- Accuracy: Regularly update your content to reflect the latest information and correct any errors.
- User Reviews: Encourage and display genuine user reviews and testimonials to build trust with your audience.
9. What are practical ways to showcase expertise in content?
Answer: Practical ways to showcase expertise in content include:
- Detailed Analysis: Provide in-depth coverage of topics, backed by data and credible sources.
- Expert Contributions: Include insights, quotes, and articles from recognized experts in the field.
- Credentials: Highlight the qualifications and experience of content creators.
- Case Studies: Share real-world examples and case studies to demonstrate practical knowledge and expertise.
10. How does user experience (UX) relate to E-E-A-T?
Answer: User experience (UX) is closely related to E-E-A-T because a positive UX enhances trust and satisfaction. A well-designed, easy-to-navigate website helps users find the information they need quickly and efficiently. Ensuring your site is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and offers a seamless experience across devices contributes to its overall trustworthiness and authority. By prioritizing UX, you can improve user engagement and build a stronger reputation, which aligns with the principles of E-E-A-T.
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