Learn the creatively simple (yet effective) way to increase a trustworthy business image through just one acronym!
So, you may be asking yourself, what is E-E-A-T?
Firstly, the acronym is a developed version of the original concept E-A-T, meaning: expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Yet in 2022, Google added an additional ‘E’, being ‘experience’
Want to know more?
Here’s what they all are about:
Experience: This is all about the practical knowledge or skill that an author or a website has in their field. It’s about how well they understand the topic they are discussing or the service they are providing based on their first-hand experience- which again, is crucial.
Expertise: Expertise is about the level of knowledge or skill in a particular area that is held by the author or brand. This can be formal, like having qualifications, or informal, based on life experiences or self-taught skills, if the topic makes this credible.
Authoritativeness: This refers to the strength of the reputation a website or content creator has within their field. Authoritativeness is often built through recognition by peers, the public, or other authoritative sources.
Trustworthiness: Trust is all about the credibility and reliability of the content, the content creator, and the website. It has to include honesty, transparency, and the accuracy of the information provided.
E-E-A-T doesn’t directly affect website ranking, but it is still valuable for SEO. Why? Because it informs Google’s overall quality rating for the site. Adhering to the principles of E-E-A-T makes it more likely that the search engine will evaluate your content favourably.
Clear and credible E-E-A-T helps improve Google’s understanding of your domain and where you should be rewarded for your experience and expertise.
What does Google recognise from this?
- ‘Experience’ was added as it is crucial for creditability within topics.
- Is a key component of Google’s ‘search quality guidelines’.
- Google uses the data for its algorithms YET is not a direct factor for its algorithms.
- Google is placing renewed emphasis on trust.
- Low trust on a customer’s behalf, results in low E-E-A-T no matter how experienced.
E-E-A-T can be made simple, yet unfortunately, you cannot make it too easy:
In today’s working world, artificial intelligence can make work easier, more intellectual perhaps but it is also very accessible and can lack the area of experience in the acronym itself being ‘experience’.
Google has advised businesses not to include solely just AI especially if human analysis or editing has not occurred later down the line. Although researching and grabbing information to put in your own words are feasible, AI cannot be your only source and only opinion on your written niche.
The passion for your own business and the need for its success started with a human thought, so why not mainly continue that way? Customers love honest opinions and true first-hand experience when reading or watching content they have chosen over many others – try keeping it this way!
Important content to consider and the importance of reliability:
Sensitive and authentic topics will always draw attention to an audience and in the end have the hope of gaining consistent and higher viewings on blogs.
For example, typically everybody will trust a review left by a restaurant yet if negative…make a judgment and most likely not return therefore a person’s judgment taken from a blog post is crucial and can leave a lasting effect on who else it is shared with publicly- if it unveils that a lot is untrue or exaggerated to too far of an extent, the source is then unreliable and will lose customer readings in the future.
-Try not to have a specialist in farming publish important opinions in an area such as struggles of being a doctor without any experience to put empathy into the writing.
The first negative review can be seen by an audience and instantly put somebody off whereas a positive review (unless of high description) is seen on a majority of somebody’s business page.
A short negative review is 10x more powerful than a short positive review. Coincidently it links to my point of how written information must be accurate as if that negative review is not. It has left a damaging impression on new potential customers just out of spite.
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”. – Warren Buffett.
-This quote highlights the importance of customer feedback and online reviews in shaping a brand’s reputation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
- What can I do to gain Google’s trust?
- To gain Google’s trust, keep your SSL certificate up to date, gather good reviews, respond to negative reviews, offer secure payment gateways, and ensure your name, address, and phone number are consistent across the web.
- What does authority mean for a website?
Google considers a website to be an authority if it is seen as a credible source of information and advice on a specific topic or in its industry.
- How can I improve my website’s E-E-A-T?
- ORIGINAL, high-quality content
- Use credible sources
- Focus on user engagement
- Update the website and always be looking to improve
- Transparency and accuracy
To conclude, E-E-A-T should be a fundamental consideration in content strategy. Rather than focusing solely on keywords, you should prioritize creating content demonstrating experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
This might involve strategies such as:
- Highlighting author credentials and experience
- Providing comprehensive coverage of topics
- Including citations and links to reputable sources
- Encouraging and showcasing user reviews and testimonials
- Maintaining a consistent publishing schedule of high-quality content
To wrap it up, a great website needs fresh, high-quality content, reliable sources, and regular updates. By focusing on user engagement, being transparent, and staying accurate, you’ll build trust and keep people coming back.
SEO is key to getting noticed, too. When you focus on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), search engines see your content as reliable, which helps improve your rankings and attract more traffic. Keeping SEO in mind ensures your site grows and stays visible over time.
