As of 2022, Google updated E-A-T by adding an extra E, making it: E-E-A-T. Sadly, all my previous puns about food make no sense. So what’s the extra E for? And actually, what was (E-)E-A-T to begin with?
All will be revealed. Here’s what we’re covering:
What’s E-E-A-T?
According to MOZ, it’s a component of Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG). It isn’t strictly a ranking factor but rather a guide for quality assessment.
Here’s what E-E-A-T stands for:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trustworthiness
When we create content, we ask ourselves this: can we offer examples of firsthand experience? Are we providing insights that demonstrate our knowledge and expertise? If we can do those things, we will garner authority in our field and build trust.
Side note: in the context of E-E-A-T, Google and your clients are interchangeable. In other words, when I say ‘Google wants’ take that to also mean ‘your website visitors want’ because Google is ultimately concerned with providing the best user experience (so they can maintain their monopoly and make loads more cash).
Experience.
The first E in E-E-A-T is for experience. Let’s suppose someone is fed up with their bastard of a husband and they’re googling the legalities of divorce. It’s most likely they’ll need advice from a family law solicitor, in which case, that comes under the expertise banner. But, if a woman contemplating divorce wants to understand how it will impact family life, she might seek out people with personal experience.
Your professional experience is sought after in a similar way. For example, if you’ve been freelancing for some time, that knowledge is precious to those just starting out. Any wealth of business knowledge you gain is invaluable. Your clients want your input. They want to find out just how right for the job you are. Customer experience is also something to think about. Feedback from clients who have hired you or used your product will help potential customers make their buying decisions.
Side note: since the helpful content update, Google has gone off-piste somewhat. Some SEOs report that experience is being favoured over expertise. (Not so helpful after all!) As with any algo tweak, things go a bit screwy before settling down. The key is to keep calm and NOT throw out your entire SEO strategy.
Expertise.
You probably don’t think of yourself as an expert, so let’s think of you like this: you’re qualified to do the job you do. Maybe you have formal qualifications and you display them on your bio. Perhaps you have hundreds of clients who can attest to just how expert you are. The more content you create around your mastery (without sounding like an arrogant prick), the more your website becomes a place to visit. People notice if you’re that person who [INSERT RELEVANT DESCRIPTION HERE] and that’s what you want. In summary, you can have professional accreditation AND years of firsthand experience. In that sense, experience and expertise are intertwined.
Google expects your content to be relevant. That makes sense. If you’re targeting keywords that bear no resemblance to the content they point to, you’re doing shit wrong.
4 different keyword types to know for SEO.
But Google also expects your content to be correct. That seems like a given, of course, you’re fact-checking the guff you publish, right?
Phew!
Your Money or Your Life (YMYL).
All this relevant, factually accurate content is building authority and ultimately, trust. Google and their eagled-eyed quality content raters are assessing what kind of expertise your website offers. They do that, in part, by reviewing how much your content might impact a user’s life.
Blimey.
Lawyers, doctors and government officials require academic qualifications and licensing——they’re the YMYL crowd and must provide official proof of expertise. However, your claims should be credible if you’re selling products promoting wealth, health and happiness. What you don’t want is to cause harm to your clients——and Google doesn’t want that either. No matter what you say on your website, be honest and transparent because SEO hates a bullshitter.
Authoritativeness.
The A in E-E-A-T is for authoritativeness. When we’re talking websites, there is such a thing called domain authority (DA). That’s the rank strength you gain over time. Usually, older, more established sites rank better because they’ve been around longer. But a huge DA driver is down to how many quality backlinks your website has.
You can read more about domain authority >>HERE<<
When you add consistent, relevant and truthful content you’ll be helping to improve your ranking ability but you’ll also gain the respect of your peers. If they value what you do, they’ll cite your articles——hello, backlinks! There’s nothing sweeter than colleagues viewing you as a reputable and expert individual.
Trustworthiness.
Experience and expertise culminate in building trust. When you include blogs and pages that demonstrate the two E’s of E-E-A-T, along with testimonials and case studies, you’re saying to Google, look here, I know what I’m talking about and I have the experience and expertise to prove it! If you’ve done just that, Google’s content assessors think, yes, ok, we agree! And with any luck, your clients also agree and they’re no longer getting splinters in the arse, sitting on the fence thinking about hiring you. Huzzah!
More about trust.
Aside from the experience and expertise goodness, websites should include other practical elements to bolster trust. A few straightforward bits of web design will go a long way to make Google confident you’re not an idiot.
Authorship.
Google will expect to know who the author of your content is. Use author bios below each post, especially if multiple writers publish on your site.
Side note: with the recent Google algo leak (May 2024), SEOs have been learning many things. Those many things are, of course, speculative because we ain’t never gonna know for sure, still, we can steal some clues. One commentator seems to think content authorship and website ownership will prove to be important as we continue to develop and use AI tools. It all comes back to trust and it potentially confirms what we’ve known about SEO all along and indeed what E-E-A-T preaches. You can read that article >>HERE<<
Secure site notice.
It amazes me how many websites are not secure. If yours is, you’ll have a locked padlock symbol in the top left of your site’s URL or something like this:
This is especially reassuring to users if you take payments through your website. However, if your site says ‘Not Secure’ you need to update your SSL certificate.
GDPR.
Your website has to comply with data protection laws. To make matters worse, they vary depending on where you do business. Most sites collect data. Once you establish the kind of data you collect, and how you use it, you can install a cookie banner. (I would avoid a popup, they are so annoying.) I would also suggest publishing a cookie/privacy policy on your website.
Side note: Google is phasing out third-party cookies for Chrome users. Third-party cookies track your internet use for the purpose of selling you shit. You can read more about Google’s plans >>HERE<<
In summary.
Be honest, upfront and transparent. Proudly demonstrate your skills and knowledge and provide evidence that supports your qualifications and claims.
Article updated, 14th June 2024.
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