What is Google E-E-A-T?
Google E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These aren’t direct ranking factors but guidelines that Google’s search quality evaluators use to help improve its search results ranking algorithms by evaluating the quality of web content.
How can these guidelines elevate your content?
You can also utilise Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines in your business’s SEO strategy when optimising your content for improved quality and lasting results.
Our experts show they can be used to effectively guide your content marketing strategy to success, increasing visibility and engagement for lasting results.
Experience
The latest update to Google's original E-A-T guidelines added experience to the mix. These experience guidelines evaluate content by looking for evidence that it was produced with some level of experience with the topic written.
For example, if you want to learn about Google Search Ads, you would want to read a blog post from an expert, such as one of the SEO team at Hydra Creative, who has Google Search Ad certifications and experience optimising client content. This ensures that the information is both expert and authoritative and grounded in real-world experience, making it more reliable and valuable to readers. This is where you start to see crossovers between the E-E-A-T guidelines and how using them to optimise your content can produce high-quality results.
How to optimise your content for Experience.
The aim here is for you (as the content creator) to showcase your reliability by demonstrating your first-hand experience with the topic you have written about:
- When writing your content, whether industry insight or a brand-focused blog post, make sure to write from your own experience. Share your opinions or perspectives up close; this way, you can show that your experience is authentic and reliable.
- Include photos or videos that show your involvement in your written topic, which helps enhance your content's relevance.
- Apply your experience to content that educates and guides others, such as how-tos and tutorials.
- Write about relevant events you have attended or people related to the subject you have worked with.
- Use this as an opportunity to include your audience—use testimonials showing experience with your brand or case studies that prove your business is successful in the work you say you’re experienced in.
Expertise
This refers to the content creator’s knowledge of their written topic. It does have some overlapping traits with experience but is closer to showcasing skills and academic experience. This is important as online users will be drawn to your content for its relevance and reliability, as they are most likely seeking information from those with expertise in the subject.
How to optimise your content for Expertise.
- You can include background information about the content creator, proving their qualification to talk on the subject, such as their degree or relevant work experience.
- Provide a detailed and comprehensive discussion on your topic and show your audience that you understand what you are writing about.
- Make sure your text is clear and concise, your content is well-structured and easy to read, and your headings are engaging. The readability and structure of your content tell of your expertise in writing and enhance the experience for your audience.
- Use sources and research to back up your argument, but make sure to apply your own knowledge so that your content is credible.
Authoritativeness
Authoritativeness refers to the reputation of the content creator or, in your case, your company and website. It’s important to showcase your content's and website's reliability to maintain lasting engagement from online users. This is also great for your SEO performance, as reliable and relevant content boosts its overall quality, helping to rank your website higher on search result pages for improved reach and visibility.
How to optimise your content for Authoritativeness.
- Highlight any awards or certifications that your company has achieved. This shows that your brand is recognised for its excellence. It also increases the trustworthiness of your content to your audience and will boost your reputation and memorability.
- Building a strong online presence can boost your brand image, so tailor your content strategy with your target audience in mind.
- Collaborating with reputable companies can be a great way to showcase your credibility. You can also reference reliable sources in your work to enhance your professionalism and the quality of your content.
- Authentic and innovative ideas can make your brand stand out from your competitors, but combining this with accurate and quality content can boost the memorability of your brand.
Trustworthiness
Google has named trustworthiness the most important of E-E-A-T. Reflecting experience, expertise and authoritativeness in your content strategy will contribute to the trustworthiness of your content and your brand. Your relationship with your target audience is a building block of your brand, which can’t be maintained without some level of trust. Trust encourages your audience to return to your brand; this is how you can create a lasting, strong consumer base.
How to optimise your content for Trustworthiness.
- Be transparent—this covers all bases of your business, from your values to your brand's operations. You can optimise this into your content by sharing personable content, and clearly identifying the people behind your brand and your mission and objectives
- Ensure that your website is secure. You can run site audits to assess its current performance and security to improve its quality.
- Provide reliable and effective content by staying up-to-date and reviewing your content consistently for optimisation.
- Transparency also extends to policies. Ensure your privacy policies, accessibility statements, terms and conditions, and any other disclaimers or regulations are clear and easily accessible.
Although E-E-A-T guidelines aren’t ad ranking factors, following them can boost the quality of your content and user experiences, which can, in turn, positively impact your ad performance and rank.
If you need digital support to maximise the use of E-E-A-T guidelines for high-quality content, we can help! Contact our expert team at full-service digital agency Hydra Creative today.
