What is E-E-A-T in SEO? A Guide for Digital Marketers to Build Trust and Authority
You may have heard that aligning your content with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines can support better search visibility, but what exactly does E-E-A-T mean? How does it influence your content strategy? And why should digital marketers pay close attention to these principles when creating content that ranks and converts?
What is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T is part of Google’s quality rater guidelines and stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust.
This is a set of guidelines produced to help Google’s Search Quality Evaluators when rating the content of search results in order to assess the effectiveness of search ranking systems. Unlike the ranking systems themselves, which rely on SEO keywords and algorithms, these are real humans tasked with performing search queries and then rating the sites which feature in the results list.
This means that following these guidelines does not have a direct impact on SEO rankings. However, producing high-quality content that meets the needs of your potential visitors will result in a higher rating from SQEs and will also positively impact your search rankings. Optimising your content for these guidelines is a strong way to ensure this level of quality.
Breakdown of the E-E-A-T Components
Expertise
Alongside first-hand experience in your field, it is also important to show that you have expert levels of knowledge and understanding. This is what elevates the interested hobbyists from the market leaders.
Ways to Demonstrate Expertise:
- Show and tell – The easiest way to demonstrate your expertise is through the content that you produce. Aim for clear, informative content which utilises specialist language but doesn’t obfuscate the meaning and which answers a specific issue. Including the author’s name and a short bio highlighting their relevant skills and qualifications can further evidence their level of expertise.
- Links to other sources – As well as showing your integrity when directly referencing something, linking to reputable sources lends your own content a level of conferred legitimacy.
- Consistency is key – The more consistently high-quality content you produce, the more this is evidence of your subject expertise.
- Consider other forms of media – If your business relies on demonstrable skills, consider producing other forms of content, such as video. This can be a quick and easy way to show learned expertise in skills rather than a list of qualifications.
Experience
The second E is for Experience, which is a recent addition to these guidelines and emphasises the value of first-hand experience to a website’s credibility. In online shopping, for example, people are much more likely to purchase an item with a large number of positive verified customer reviews.
How to Showcase Experience:
- Provide staff profiles or an about us page – Aside from giving your business a more personal feel, offering some key information about the skills and specialisms of your staff can give potential customers confidence in your abilities.
- Client Testimonials – Much like product reviews, showcasing testimonials from previous clients can provide a significant boost to the credibility of your business.
- Share case studies or real project examples – By sharing case studies or real project examples, you can illustrate just how your expertise delivers results in real-world scenarios.
Authoritativeness
Unlike experience and expertise, which are things that you can demonstrate yourself, your business’s status as an authority is something which is conferred upon you by others. It is by consistently demonstrating the first two that you obtain the latter.
How to grow authority:
- Maintain a strong, up-to-date content library – Regularly publish new content and refresh existing material to keep it relevant and aligned with E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) guidelines. The more helpful, consistent content you provide, the more likely others will view you as a trusted source.
- Earn backlinks – Links from reputable sites still signal credibility, even though they aren’t as influential as they once were for search rankings. Backlinks act as endorsements that support your authority.
- Engage with peers in your field – Build relationships, collaborate, and contribute to conversations in your niche. Citations, mentions, and connections with other experts help reinforce your standing.
Trustworthiness
One of the main principles of the E-E-A-T guidelines is that trust is built by showcasing experience, expertise and authority. Creating content with these guidelines in mind should therefore increase the trustworthiness of your website over time. But there are also some other things that you can do to make sure that people can trust your site from the beginning.
Tips to build trust:
- Reliable contact information – Providing a clear and simple method for people to be able to contact you is a simple way to build trust. A website which does not provide this information makes it look like the owners are actively trying to discourage potential clients from making contact.
- A safe and secure website – Make sure that your website has good security in place. The news coverage of high-profile online security breaches has resulted in a general population which places a much higher importance on data security. In addition, many web browsers will discourage users from proceeding to sites which appear unsecure and make it purposefully difficult to access them.
- Present your content with integrity – Ensure that everything you post is as accurate and up to date as possible. Research your content before publishing it, and make sure that all sources are accurately credited. There is nothing wrong with citing outside sources, in fact this can help prove that your content is accurate and well-informed. But the trustworthiness of your content will be quickly eroded if you are seen to be directly referencing other people’s content without including the relevant citations.
Final thoughts
The E-E-A-T guidelines are not tied to any of the search engine ranking systems, and following them will not automatically increase your content’s search rankings in the same way as your use of SEO keywords will. However, these guidelines are what Google’s Search Quality Evaluators are looking for when they rate the results of target searches, and their findings do inform the subsequent changes that are made to the search algorithms. Sites which are deemed to have a high level of E-E-A-T are therefore more likely to feature higher in search results as the ranking metrics are adapted.
Aside from this, they are also a good framework with which to ensure that once found, your content is useful and informative to your potential and ongoing customer base.
Not sure where to begin? Download our EEAT Content Checklist for Marketers to help you get started.
If you get stuck or don’t have the time, contact one of the team members, who will be happy to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is E-E-A-T a direct ranking factor in Google search?
Not directly. E-E-A-T isn’t part of Google’s core ranking algorithm, but it helps inform algorithm updates. High-quality content that aligns with E-E-A-T principles is more likely to perform well in search.
How can I show my experience on my website?
Include real-life case studies, employee bios, customer testimonials, or behind-the-scenes content that demonstrates first-hand knowledge and practical involvement in your industry.
What’s the difference between expertise and authoritativeness?
Expertise is about your direct knowledge or skills in a subject, while authoritativeness is how others view your expertise, usually through citations, backlinks, or industry recognition.
How do I make my website more trustworthy?
Secure your site with HTTPS, include accurate contact info, fact-check all content, cite reputable sources, and be transparent about who you are and what you do
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