You have a website and you want it to rank well in search engines such as Google, but how can you achieve this with a few simple steps? In SEO land there is a lot of talk about the E-A-T. This is part of the Google Guidelines and is used to assess the relevance and quality of search results. Why is E-A-T such an important ranking factor, and how do you apply this to your website?
In a moment more about the importance and how to implement E-A-T, but before we go deeper into this topic, let’s give a brief explanation. The E-A-T principle assesses content on expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. That means the following:
Expertise – Google is getting better at detecting knowledge and experience. Points on which the score is partly determined are jargon, the author (how much does he/she write about a subject), and credibility of the content.
Authority – Authority says something about how others see your company or website. If the outside world sees your website as an important source, then a lot is probably written about you or linked to you. Authority is measured by Google by counting the number of backlinks. Something that plays a role in this respect is the authority of the website or page that links to your website. Collecting relevant backlinks was already an important aspect of SEO and will only become more important with the E-A-T principle.
Trustworthiness – The website must be reliable, handle privacy-sensitive information, and a functional user experience.
Implementing the E-A-T principles in your content not only helps you with your ranking but also helps you build trust with your visitors.
Following the E-A-T principles is very sensible. It contributes to the quality of your content. Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines state that content is one of the top three factors in search rankings. High-quality content ensures better findability and the E-A-T principle is one of the most important pillars for determining high quality in SEO.
Recent updates from Google show that websites with low credibility and those that are hardly “eatable” have fallen the most. As a result, experts conclude that Google is increasingly attaching value to credibility. How does Google do that?
There are two factors that determine whether your content is credible and therefore scores well on the E-A-T principles. First of all, Google’s algorithm.
This algorithm has been determining how high you can be found in the search results for years. This algorithm is constantly evolving and capable of learning. In addition to the algorithm, Google hires evaluators to analyze content. They rate your content from websites on a scale from “lowest” to “highest” quality. Of course, they don’t do that for all websites, but their input helps Google to evaluate the updates to the algorithm.
Now I hear you think: “I am an authority in my field. My website contains correct content, based on facts and knowledge that show expertise. Then why am I so low in search results?” Google not only assesses whether your content is correct but also how much you write about a subject and how many people see you as an authority by, for example, linking to your content. Those backlinks are therefore an important indicator. The more backlinks, the greater your online authority is estimated.
Let’s say you are an expert on astronomy. You write a constant flow of blog articles about the universe and its contents. One day I, Josien, SEO Specialist, write an article in which I link to your site. I’m no expert in astronomy, but I do think you are. With this link, I basically recommend you to Google as an astronomy expert.
Now, the same example as above, but this time it’s not me linking to your website. This time it is NASA linking to your website. NASA knows everything there is to know about astronomy, so a link (read: recommendation) coming from them, will be even better for your ranking in Google.
The example above is also an explanation of Domain Authority. NASA has clearly a highly DA than me on the subject of astronomy. So a website with a high DA linking to your website is always good for SEO in terms of the E-A-T principle.
There are several ways to get others to link to your page and there will be a whole other blog article on that topic later. But creating content is still the best way to generate natural and reliable backlinks.
Note: of course you cannot do that in one day. You will have to publish new content regularly. Expertise is also determined by how much you write about a topic.
Credible and qualitative content is important to the E-A-T principle. With the SEO tips below you can get started to create credible and qualitative content for an E-A-T proof page.
Make sure research and statistics support your overall message. For example, if you sell rain ponchos, you could support the importance of such a poncho with a study showing that nowadays it rains more and more at times when people cycle to and from work. Include a link to this research in a logical place in the text. Do this, for example, by hyperlinking the name of a study.
If you are using a source, make sure it is a credible source. Research respected information sources within your industry. Government sources are also doing well, as are professional organizations at the forefront of your industry. For example the link at the beginning of this article to The Google Guidelines.
When you include a source in your content, use the original. This research may be news and therefore covered on news sites and/or forums. Do not quote the news site or forums, always quote the original source.
Nice that you use, write, and share certain content, but make sure that the information is up to date. There is no point in sharing a 1995 study if we want to know what the current situation is like.
There is no better reference than satisfied customers. Therefore, motivate your customers to share their positive experiences. Share this success case on your own website so that you can also display your own product.
Everyone rather plays with the NBA winner than with a minor League player. Share with the outside world when you have won an award. After all, there is nowhere more authority than awards. Positive press releases or important certifications are also worth sharing.
Add to the content of your page a short biography of the author at the top or bottom of the page to emphasize their authority. This is especially important for YMYL pages. For example, with medical content, it is important that this is written by a medical professional. If it concerns an internal writer, link from the bio to his professional page.
Preferably both, of course. Your content should mean something to your audience. Your content should answer the question of your audience. Preferably in a fun way as much as possible.
Your content can be really good and valuable for the reader; poor grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation immediately destroy credibility. Prevent this by having multiple eyes read before you publish content.
I have now given you some tips on how you can work on your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. Get started with this as soon as possible. Remember, you need patience. Compare it with your career, you are not a leading boss overnight. To gain authority you will have to invest energy and time.
