What Is EEAT in SEO

If you want to improve your SEO rankings for the long term, know that using the right keywords isn’t the only thing that you need to do. Since the Search Quality Rating Guidelines were first established, so much has changed!

In 2014, Google introduced EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) as part of its guidelines. This line should be reworded - In 2022, it was updated to include 'Experience', and EEAT in SEO was established.

But what does this EEAT Google update mean for you? We've dedicated the rest of this article to answer this.

So What Is EEAT?

In Google, EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. This is part of the guidelines that every quality rater uses to determine the relevance of the content to users. We'll talk a little bit more about each of these a little bit later in the article.

But before we go any further, there's one thing that we want to make clear about EEAT: it is currently not a ranking factor. However, it's still a crucial part of your overall strategy.

Why Does the EEAT Matter?

Using EEAT, Google quality raters can help the search engine refine its algorithms. These are the major ways that this part of the guidelines help with that end.

It Improves User Search Quality

The EEAT standards ensure users get accurate and relevant results for their search terms. This is especially important in topics where misinformation can have detrimental results, such as in topics involving health and finances.

It Makes You Resilient to Algorithm Changes

There may be newer additions in the future, but EEAT is here to stay. This means that all your efforts towards improving how well your website adheres to this part of the guidelines will benefit you forever. Google always prioritizes top-quality content. And by following EEAT, you're simply positioning your website and content in this manner.

It Can Improve Your SEO Rankings Now

The application of EEAT involves practices that are already considered good for SEO. This won't be the case all the time, but remember, Google uses it to improve its delivered search results. So, it's possible that everything you do for EEAT will eventually directly affect SEO.

EEAT Levels and Google 's Search Quality Rater Guidelines

Google 's Search Quality Rater Guidelines are a set of instructions provided by Google to every quality rater. Collectively, the guidelines ensure consistency in evaluating search results. Part of this set of guidelines is EEAT, which is evaluated in a spectrum. But for your purposes, you can just find your website as either having high, medium, or low EEAT levels. Get a general sense of what every level can feel like to the user:

• Low. These are the spammy sites that use black hat SEO techniques to get user attention. The goal of its owners is usually to deceive.
• Medium. The site is not spammy, but it's also not the most reliable. It usually has generic content that doesn't best exemplify experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and/or trustworthiness.
• High. Why don't we introduce you to these websites instead? We've dedicated the next section to help you better see what the highest level can look like.

Because the rating actually places you in a spectrum instead of in categorical labels, you may find your site in between the established labels here. It's also possible to have a high rating for one and a low for the other.

Exploring Every EEAT Component: Experience

'Experience' is the latest "E” that was added to the mix, transforming EAT into EEAT. It is especially important for YMYL SEO topics or Your Money or Your Life topics. In such cases, having experience is crucial because so much more is at stake compared to, say, a restaurant review.

However, even if the web page features SEO content that is outside of YMYL topics, the experience is still very important.

It helps:

• Disseminate first-hand knowledge. When conducting research, first-hand data is usually seen as the most valuable source. The same goes for online SEO content. And in this case, your experience serves as this first-hand data.
• Establish user trust. People are more likely to trust knowledge based on experience instead of potential theoretical outcomes. Think about it this way. Will you trust dress-making instructions from someone who's never actually done it? The same logic follows here.
• Create richer content. Anything based on experience tends to have details that you won't find in a generic piece. It's usually more vivid because the SEO writer is able to draw from experience instead of just second-hand knowledge.

Essentially, if you know or have experience with what you're talking about, you're going to do great! You may already have been incorporating it into your SEO content strategy without knowing it.

Showing Experience

There's no single way that you can demonstrate experience through your SEO content. It's all contextual, so think about how you can take the reader through what you have experienced. If you want to show this to every Google quality rater who may come across your content, here are a few ways that you can do so:

• Provide visual evidence. They say a picture paints a thousand words. So, why not include visual evidence of the experience like photos? If it helps, you can also embed videos or GIFs into your content. The great thing about this is that various forms of visuals are already known to help SEO.
• Share personal stories. Stories are powerful because they provide relatable experiences. Engaged readers reduce bounce rates, which benefits your SEO. Additionally, personal stories offer more insights than generic articles.
• Publish case studies. Meanwhile, case studies can show what has worked for a specific case. For example, you can show how your SEO strategy improved the organic traffic of a site.
• Include a lot of details. Instead of just telling the reader to click a button, why not say where this button is as well? It increases the overall quality of the text (both for the reader and the SEO bots) because of the level of specificity that you can provide.

However, there are also ways to show the level of experience beyond the content. We'll get to a few general examples under the Boosting Your EEAT section.

Exploring Every EEAT Component: Expertise

When we're talking about expertise, we're not necessarily talking about technical expertise. Of course, in fields with high barriers to entry, it can get pretty technical. So, this "E” is highly essential because you want the source to gain a deeper understanding of the topic. Think about it this way, would you get medical advice from a doctor or a full-time traveler?

However, this expertise doesn't just apply to highly complicated fields. Even if you're talking about something as simple as flip-flops, this can still matter. But why should we care about this in the first place? There are two main reasons:

1. It improves the likelihood of reliable information. Experts tend to know what they're talking about. This means there's way less doubt about the accuracy of the content.
2. Produced content is assumed to bring valuable insights. Subject matter experts can deliver inside scoops that may not be known by people outside the field. They're also able to examine the topic from a perspective that's usually missed by everyone else.

If you're not sure whether or not you're displaying expertise, put yourself in the shoes of your target readers. Does your content or website exude expertise? Then, compare your site to your competitors. If you can honestly answer yes, then you're probably on the right track.

Showing Expertise

To come across as an expert to your readers, you just need to go back to why expertise is important. So here, you just need to:

• Create error-free content. If the text author is knowledgeable about the subject, this is actually pretty easy. It's a given that the text shouldn't have grammatical mistakes. But people who Google search for answers or additional information should be able to rely on the factual accuracy of what you wrote.
• Demonstrate your prowess. And by this, you can literally tell them how you're an expert in what you're talking about. If all texts on the website are authored by the brand, a strong About Me page is necessary. Meanwhile, if many people contribute to the site, make sure that there's an author's box. This is where their professional credentials and other qualifications can be listed.
• Say something that no one has ever said before. Start by looking at the organic Google search results. You can assume that part of the reason that these are the sites that ranked is the evaluation of quality raters from Google. So, look into what they have to say then figure out where they have missed the mark.

If you have a good SEO strategy, you're probably already doing these. This means you're already more likely to be cited by high-authority sites, which increases the number of backlinks to your site.

Exploring Every EEAT Component: Authoritativeness

For authoritativeness, raters essentially ask themselves this one question: how likely is a user to go to your website when they want answers on a topic? Once you've got that answered, then you'll have a clearer sense of where you stand on this component.

But let's assume you've already done the work in building your expertise. Do you really need to work on authoritativeness as well? Definitely! Working on this helps establish the overall credibility of the brand. And if you're seen as an authoritative source in the industry, you're improving your SEO too.

Think of it as the human version of domain authority. In this Moz-created measure, your site is rated against literally every other website out there. But with the Google search raters version, it's industry-specific. A site's level of authoritativeness also doesn't fluctuate based on the evaluation of other sites.

Showing Authoritativeness

Let's work backward. To achieve a certain level of authoritativeness in your field, you need to be seen as a good source of information. But how do you get there? That's what you need to do. You can work on:

• Creating backlinks from other high-authority websites. This is normally done through guest posts, which allow you to link back one time to your text. So, you don't have to wait for them to start recognizing you as a reliable info source.
• Build your brand. Another way that you can establish authoritativeness is by going beyond Google and SEO. Maximize your exposure to the right audience and build your digital footprint in social media and other channels.
• Comprehensively cover topics within your niche. It's not good enough to have one excellent article. Everything you publish should be great in all aspects. Not only would these help improve your SEO, but they would also collectively improve how the industry sees your brand.

This means that even if your site is brand new, it can still be regarded as having high authoritativeness. For example, Merriam-Webster has been around for nearly two centuries. But even if their site were created after the EEAT update, it would probably still have high authority.

Exploring Every EEAT Component: Trustworthiness

Most experts see trustworthiness as the most important component because it takes into account the entire picture. It looks at experience, expertise, and authoritativeness. However, this factor also takes into account other things that may not be covered by the other three (more on this later in the article).

Therefore, trustworthiness is important for the same reasons mentioned for the first three EEAT components. But this is important to SEO albeit indirectly because it means:

• Reducing the spread of misinformation. A search engine is supposed to provide accurate results, and misinformation challenges its integrity.
• Creating a positive feedback loop. With higher trustworthiness, people are more likely to use the website. Then, the generated engagement further improves trust and so on.

Presenting user-centric content. Orienting your content in this way helps with SEO because it's more likely to resonate with your readers. However, it's also important to ensure that users understand that you have their best interest in mind.

But if trustworthiness looks into all previous three components, how else can professionals get a boost in this respect?

Showing Trustworthiness

A great part of building trustworthiness is doing everything that you've done for the first three components of EEAT. But regardless of the industry you're in, there are more you can do, including:

• Using HTTPS. This encrypts and authenticates information over the internet. You'll love that this is one of the signals heavily inspired by Google to promote user safety.
• Promoting transparency. To further build trustworthiness, publish how user information is processed, the terms and conditions of the site, and any potential conflicts of interest. Especially for the e-commerce space, having multiple ways to connect to customer support is also important.

Explicitly state why you're trustworthy. Get credit for doing the right thing! Use it to further bump up your trustworthiness by telling the user about the measures you're taking to protect them. For example, declaring that all transactions are encrypted can do a lot to put their mind at ease if they have to give their financial information.

These are the biggest things that you can do, but these are in no way exhaustive. To explore other ways to improve the credibility of your website, just think about what you would consider in a business. Then, just go from there!

The Best Real-World Examples of EEAT in Different Industries

It's pretty simple to understand EEAT as a concept. But what does its successful execution look like? Let's take a look at these examples from websites you've probably already heard about. We've created a table to better demonstrate what they're doing right for each EEAT factor.

Experience

Mayo Clinic. Various articles include both anecdotes and case studies.

Investopedia. Content examples to improve the reader's understanding of the topic.

National Geographic. The articles are usually from scientific expeditions and fieldwork of scientists.

Expertise

Mayo Clinic. Medical professionals, researchers, and other specialists with relevant credentials create the posts.

Investopedia. Posts are written by academics, financial analysts, and other professionals with the right credentials.

National Geographic. Content creators have the relevant background necessary, and their credentials are displayed.

Authoritativeness

Mayo Clinic. It is cited by other authoritative websites and often references peer-reviewed studies and guidelines.

Investopedia. The site is a powerhouse in the financial industry, often cited in news sites and other high-authority sites.

National Geographic. National Geographic has built its brand in more than a century already.

Trustworthiness

Mayo Clinic. Content is updated to reflect new research. They're also transparent about funding and data privacy.

Investopedia. All content is fact-checked and updated regularly.

National Geographic. They rigorously follow scientific methodologies to ensure the accuracy of their conclusions.

What Are Other Ways for You to Boost Your EEAT?

Let's say that you've already implemented everything we've included here. Is there anything else you can do to improve your SEO using the EEAT guidelines? As part of your SEO strategy, it may be worth looking into these recommendations as well:

• Forge partnerships with experts in the same or related fields.
• Create user feedback mechanisms.
• Link pages within your websites in your content.

As you can see, a recommendation can affect more than one component. For example, internal linking can help with displaying how you comprehensively cover a topic (Authoritativeness). However, it can also provide the users with an easier way to explore first-hand accounts on the site (Experience). Every action you take can have a synergistic impact on the overall EEAT rating.

Beware of Fake EEAT: What You Should NOT Do for EEAT Boosting

Every SEO professional wants to get in the game of improving their EEAT rating. But don't fake it until you make it! Every quality rater is on the lookout for dishonest practices, which may end up lowering your SEO ranking with future Google algorithm updates.

So, we strongly discourage deceptive and unethical practices, like:

1. Creating fake credentials.
2. Plagiarizing and spinning content from other sources.
3. Creating click-bait titles.
4. Buying fake engagement, reviews, and/or backlinks from low-quality sites.
5. Fabricating case studies and data.

Is it possible to get some positive results from deceptive SEO practices? No. Assuming the unlikely event that there will be some, any short-term “gains” will easily be demolished by long-term repercussions.

There are consequences to doing these that even go beyond SEO penalties. Any authority that you've built will be demolished. And if you go against any regulations in your industry, you may even face legal repercussions.

High EEAT and AI-Generated Content : Can the Two Go Together?

This may come as a surprise even to some SEO professionals, but it's possible. A Google quality rater can give your content a high EEAT score even if it's AI-generated. This is because user-generated and AI-generated content are evaluated the same.

So, as long as the particular text meets the criteria, there wouldn't be any issues. But remember, the competition's only becoming tighter over time. It's still possible for AI content to have a relatively lower EEAT score compared to human-written content.

So, if you plan to use an AI generator, make sure to still put your soul in there. More importantly, check the generated text for accuracy and relevance.

Conclusion

Keyword research as well as on-page and technical SEO are still crucial to your ranking success. After all, you want to create content that your target audience actually wants to read. But EEAT SEO shouldn't be ignored! With quality raters evaluating the search results, reflecting good experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness can further elevate your existing ranking.

Do you want to be able to sustain your website ranking throughout all Google algorithm changes? Incorporate boosting your EEAT into your SEO strategy. Most importantly, invest time in learning all algorithm changes. Keeping yourself up-to-date with such revisions ensures you're getting the maximum impact for your efforts.