Day: May 11, 2023

Google recently added an extra “E” to the search quality standards of E-A-T to ensure content is helpful and relevant.

The extra “E” stands for “experience” and precedes the original E-A-T concept – expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. 

We know that E-A-T was already of high importance. Hyung-Jin Kim, VP of Search at Google, confirmed this at SMX Next: 

“E-A-T is a template for how we rate an individual site. We do it to every single query and every single result. It’s pervasive throughout every single thing we do.”

To rank at Google’s SERPs, you must demonstrate E-E-A-T in your content strategy. 

This comprehensive overview will dig deeper into E-E-A-T – specifically what it means, why it matters to SEO, and how to use it to your advantage.

In this article:

E-E-A-T: What does it mean for SEO and why is it important?

Trust is earned by demonstrating experience, expertise and authoritativeness, according to Google’s search quality rater guidelines. 

As a quality signal, E-E-A-T feels more than reasonable. After all, in the real world, we trust sources who are qualified and would prefer to get information or advice from authoritative people.

Google provides a perfect example of this in the Google Search Central Blog, pointing out that if you want to find tax information, you’ll want to see content produced by an accounting expert. 

A tax advisor or accountant would be a highly desirable source since they have experience, expertise and authority on the subject, so we trust what they have to say. We can be sure we’re getting accurate and sound information. 

Google wants to provide accurate information to its users, so to gain traction in SERPs and get your site to the top spots, you need to demonstrate E-E-A-T.

Demonstrating E-E-A-T to Google

SEO is highly accountable for delivering what’s needed to meet E-E-A-T standards, but what does it mean exactly and how do you prove experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness?

The good news is most conscientious website administrators, SEOs, and marketing teams are already doing what they need to and developing E-E-A-T right now.

The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab compiled 10 guidelines for building web credibility based on three-year research with over 4,500 participants.

1. Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site.
2. Show that there’s a real organization behind your site.
3. Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide.
4. Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site.
5. Make it easy to contact you.
6. Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose).
7. Make your site easy to use – and useful.
8. Update your site’s content often (at least show it’s been reviewed recently).
9. Use restraint with any promotional content (e.g., ads, offers).
10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.

– Stanford Web Credibility Research

If the above doesn’t scream, “Be a human, care about your users and your website experience,” I don’t know