Home / Explained: How to Incorporate E-E-A-T Into Marketing Content
SEO never stops evolving. Just as quickly as SEO pros figure out a way to harness the power of Google’s algorithms and make them work in their favour, the search giant flips a switch and changes everything overnight.
It might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s just part and parcel of working in SEO or content marketing. You can never rest on your laurels for long, because sooner or later, Google is going to come along and throw a spanner in the works.
The thing is, though, Google doesn’t just do this out of spite. They’re not trying to make our lives harder just because they can. They’re genuinely trying to make search work better for people, showing them more relevant and more helpful results each and every time they submit a query.
That’s where E-E-A-T comes in. First introduced back in 2022, this all-important SEO standard has become the benchmark that all marketing content is measured against. If the content you’re writing doesn’t embody the principles of E-E-A-T, it’s unlikely to rank at all – bad news for brands looking to flourish.
To help you get your head around E-E-A-T, why it’s so important and how you can use it to your advantage, we’ve put together a guide covering everything you need to know. So, don your napkin, grab yourself a plate and get ready to eeeeaaattt up all this juicy info. That was terrible wasn’t it.
Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness. That’s what Google’s E-E-A-T guideline stands for, and straight away, these four words probably give you a good idea of why this acronym is so important.
What do you look for from a piece of content? Preferably, you want it to be written by somebody with previous experience. You want them to have relevant expertise and authority in their field, and you want them (and the brand they’re writing for) to be trustworthy.
Although E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor, that doesn’t mean it’s not important. Those four words outline what Google expects from a piece of content, and if those elements are missing, chances are you won’t be ranking any time soon.
That’s because the E-E-A-T guidelines aren’t just used by an algorithm, they’re used by human search quality raters to determine the quality of a piece of content. Your work might impress the algorithm, but if it doesn’t tick the E-E-A-T box, it won’t hang around at the top of the SERPs for long.
It’s worth noting that E-E-A-T used to just be E-A-T, which made the dreadful pun a few paragraphs up a little easier to execute. Google added the second E (for Experience) in a December 2022 update, further clarifying what’s expected of SEOs and content writers.
Now you know what E-E-A-T stands for and why it’s so important, let’s take a closer look at each component.
You have two similar articles written on the same topic, side by side. One has a clearly identified author at the top, with a short biography that covers their decades of industry experience and hands-on knowledge of the subject matter. The other doesn’t have an author named at all. Which article are you going to trust?
It’s an easy question to answer, and it’s why experience is so important to Google. They need to know that you can be trusted to write about a particular topic and that you’re not just winging it.
So, you can prove you’ve worked in a particular industry for a number of years – but which relevant qualifications do you have? What kind of results have you delivered for clients? Which awards have you won? The more evidence you can provide to demonstrate your level of expertise, the better.
It’s one thing to be experienced in a particular industry and to have the qualifications to prove it. But it’s quite another to offer a unique point of view, present new information or share in-depth industry knowledge that’s not already been shared by competitors.
Establishing yourself (and your brand) as an authority within your sector can go a long way towards climbing up the SERPs. Instead of creating a pastiche of what’s already out there, try to forge your own path and create content that brings something new to the table and showcases your authority. Opinion pieces are great for this.
This final point is largely about consistency. If you regularly deliver quality content that appeals to your audience and contains helpful, relevant and accurate information, you’re on the right track.
But there’s more to trustworthiness than just the words you write on your blog or your product pages: it’s about the appearance of your website as a whole. Do you have author bios and a ‘meet the team’ page? Is it clear where your company is based and how people can get in contact with you? If you want to impress Google, you’ve got to come across as a trustworthy brand.
Earlier, we said that E-E-A-T wasn’t a ranking factor, and that’s true. Whether or not your content ticks the E-E-A-T box won’t have a direct impact on how highly it ranks straight away, because an algorithm isn’t making the decision here – a human is.
A ranking factor is something that is determined entirely by an algorithm. Because E-E-A-T is scored manually by humans, it technically isn’t classified as a ranking factor – but it may as well be one. If one of Google’s Search Quality Raters takes a look at your content and deems it untrustworthy or inaccurate, they have the power to bump it down the SERPs.
Likewise, if you really abide by Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines and fill your website with quality content, those same human raters could potentially bump your rankings up a few positions, rewarding your efforts.
The reason why E-E-A-T isn’t a ranking factor (in the traditional sense) is because it’s too complex and multifaceted for an algorithm to reliably measure and score. However, if you’re determined to out-rank your competitors, E-E-A-T is an essential framework to keep in mind whenever you write a piece of content for your site.
Ever heard of the abbreviation ‘YMYL’? It stands for ‘Your Money or Your Life’, and is yet another behind-the-scenes factor Google takes into consideration when it’s ranking web pages.
YMYL content deemed as being content that could affect someone’s health and wellbeing, safety or finances. In simple terms, if you’re writing about a topic that falls under the YMYL umbrella, you’d better make sure you get your facts right.
That’s because Google has even stricter requirements for content of this nature, and it’s easy to see why. If its search engine repeatedly serves up dodgy financial advice or inaccurate information about a health condition, people’s lives could be impacted in a very real way.
But why are we talking about this in an article about E-E-A-T? In a nutshell, E-E-A-T becomes even more important for brands working in sectors like finance, law or healthcare. We’re not saying E-E-A-T doesn’t matter for brands that don’t cover YMYL topics – it’s just even more important for brands that do.
Searching for a quick and easy E-E-A-T checklist to help you get started? Here are some handy tips.
Want to learn more about how you can strengthen your website’s authority and start climbing up Google’s rankings? With more than 25 years’ experience in SEO and content marketing, Brave is here to help your brand take the spotlight. Learn more about what we do or discover some of our recent success stories today.
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