E-E-A-T: The New SEO

Just when you thought you were starting to master some of the recommended SEO techniques, Google is throwing out a new digital marketing acronym that can have a huge impact on your web presence health. 

E-E-A-T 

Maybe you’ve already seen this term being thrown around, but more likely, E-E-A-T looks like some secret code triggering a new wave of business owner anxiety. What is it? Do I have it? Do I need it? Thankfully, E-E-A-T is a relatively simple strategy that business owners can incorporate into their already existing marketing and website content. 

Simple Acronym for Impactful Content

If you have a business website and you’ve already started incorporating SEO practices to improve website traffic, engagement, and conversions, you can think of this simple acronym as just a common sense guide to keep things on track or implement improvements for even better results. 

E-E-A-T is used by Google to represent a website’s Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These are qualities that go beyond simply evaluating keyword volume and placement on a site, which is the foundation of most SEO practices. Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines uses E-E-A-T principals in addition to traditional SEO practices to ensure that content being published on your site is safe, impactful, and reaches a maximum audience.

Unlike most SEO criteria, E-E-A-T isn’t evaluated through an algorithm that produces ranking results. Rather, this is a guideline that is used by human quality raters and Google then uses the information to evaluate the overall quality of search results.

Why It Matters

The intention of quality ratings is to ensure that the most trustworthy and useful content is being suggested to searchers each time they input a search query. Google is constantly trying to improve results and users’ experience. 

Not only does E-E-A-T help provide better search results for users, it also benefits the brands and content creators who have already invested time and money in creating authentic expertise and subject authority. These types of businesses and creators deserve to get traffic and rank high in search results.

It’s also important that certain types of content have a high standard of safety and reliability. This type of content is usually referred to as Your Money Your Life content. YMYL sites provide readers with advice and information on critical topics that require a high level of Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness. 

Let’s break down each aspect of this criteria and learn how you can better implement these ideas into new and already existing content. 

Experience 

Site owners and content creators need to show that content is being written by individuals who have direct experience in the topic field. This can easily be accomplished by adding author bios with content that highlights experience or by mentioning relevant experience in the body of the content. 

Expertise

Content should demonstrate expertise through accuracy of information and factual credentials of the author. You can also show expertise by using an abundance of resources, cited material, and studies that come from legitimate reliable sources. 

Authoritativeness 

Subject authority will be built over time as you continue to publish consistent quality content. There is no shortcut for building this aspect of E-E-A-T. When you earn coverage through mentions and collaboration with other respected creators or sites, this can build your credibility substantially as well. 

Trustworthiness 

Trustworthiness in content creation, like in other realms of life, is never a simple formula. Trust is built over time through consistent positive interaction and engagement. If you are consistently transparent about who creates content and their credentials, followers and readers will start to rely on your site as a source of trustworthy information. It’s also important for your brand as a whole to always maintain a positive reputation in your community or industry.  

Creating a web presence that is healthy and useful takes time and knowledge. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the digital marketing details, NTH Media can help. Contact us today to learn more.