What is EEAT, and why is it important?
The concept of EEAT originates from Google’s Search Quality Guidelines, which help ensure that search results displayed on the search engine’s SERP are relevant and valuable to audiences.
EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements below.
Experience
Google rewards authentic content that provides value to audiences.
To offer valuable and high-quality content, it is necessary to have experience in a field before sharing information with audiences.
In this AI-driven era, it is more important than ever for content creators to clearly demonstrate that they know what they are talking about. This ensures that their knowledge is based on real experience and not just generated by an AI chatbot.
Expertise
Expertise and experience may seem similar at first glance, but there is a clear distinction between them.
Experience with a specific topic often stems from expertise in a broader field.
For example, if we take this page as an example, I have made it clear that my expertise lies in digital marketing.
On this site, you will find case studies, testimonials, blog posts, and much more that support my expertise in digital marketing and reinforce the credibility of future content.
Authoritativeness
Authority is established when audiences vouch for your content.
This can happen when audiences share or link to your content, or when reputable websites reference your material.
In other words, this signals that your content is valuable and should be regarded as a reliable source by both audiences and search engines.
The more your content is acknowledged and referenced by authoritative sources, the more likely it is that Google will recognize your website as trustworthy and reward it with a higher ranking in search results.
Trustworthiness
The trustworthiness of your content can be established in several ways.
First and foremost, your content must be high-quality and must not contribute to the spread of misinformation. This naturally follows from Google’s requirement for both experience and expertise.
Additionally, increasing accessibility can also enhance your website’s trustworthiness.
This includes clear indications of which other platforms you are present on (such as social media, LinkedIn, or chat functions).
Finally, Google also rewards websites that have an SSL certificate, as this ensures an encrypted and secure connection between the website’s server and the audience’s preferred browser.
This protects audience data and signals that the website is safe and trustworthy to use.
Why does Google focus on EEAT?
Since its founding in 1998, Google’s mission has been to deliver high-quality, relevant content on its SERP so that audiences do not have to spend hours searching through websites to find the information they need.
It is important to remember that Google replaced traditional encyclopedias with the goal of making information search easy and effortless.
Today, Google’s mission is more important than ever, as there is far more content available online than ever before.
The EEAT guidelines, therefore, help improve the relevance and quality of the content that the search engine presents to audiences.
Websites that need to prioritize EEAT
EEAT guidelines are relevant for all types of websites.
However, they are particularly crucial for websites that deal with audiences’ health, well-being, safety, or finances.
Companies operating in these areas fall under the category of YMYL businesses, which stands for “Your Money, Your Life.”
This refers to web content that has a significant impact on audiences (legally, financially, or health-wise), where misinformation could have harmful consequences.
Experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness are critical in this context to build the necessary trust with audiences, ensuring they return and ideally recommend your site to others.
How to optimize your website for EEAT
First and foremost, it is important that the content you produce is original and stays within your area of expertise.
There are likely many topics to cover within your area of expertise, and Google rewards you if you have multiple relevant and high-quality articles or case studies on a given topic.
This helps establish authority on a subject, and it can be further strengthened if you also focus on explaining why you and your company are experts in a specific field—whether through an “About Us” page or by showcasing visible recommendations or customer testimonials.
If your content requires support from other sources, it is essential to ensure that these sources are credible and that you keep your content updated with the latest information.
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