Explaining EAT (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) in SEO for Beginners

Google constantly changes how it ranks pages and the criteria it uses to show relevant results depending on user queries. The aim is to ensure users receive the most relevant results written by people with vast and deep knowledge about the subjects they write or talk about.

These search results should also directly provide the information a user seeks or answer questions about a specific topic. One of the factors that Google uses to determine what search results to show is EAT; we shall be Explaining EAT in detail.

Explaining EAT and why it is important for SEO?

EAT stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. It is important to remember that EAT applies to both websites or pages and content creators, typically authors.

Google wants to ensure content shown on its result pages (excluding map results) has been created by someone with expertise and, thus, in-depth knowledge about the subjects they write about. Second, they must be an authority in their niche, meaning they must be well-known. Third, they should provide information that people can trust.

Experts or people should provide website content with demonstrable knowledge in a niche, have authority through backlinks of mentions on social media, have an excellent online presence, and be trusted by website visitors.

EAT is essential for all queries but is more important for some than others. These include queries in niches classified under “Your Money or Your Life” niches. These include health, wealth and finance, education, and similar niches. If you are looking for information about medication, school, or investing, you want this information to come from an experienced, trusted, and qualified expert.

For these queries, Google doesn’t just want users to find relevant information; it also wants them to find the correct information. The reason is that wrong information on such topics could have serious consequences.

Examples of how to improve your EAT Score

Before learning how to improve your EAT score, you should understand the source of different signals influencing it.

• On-page signals include all the content that is on your website.
• Off-page signals come from external sources. These include external content and search queries that are crawlable by Google. The website, publisher, or author being mentioned in thematically related content and sources elsewhere online can improve these signals. The more mentions they have, the more likely they are to be related to those themes and be experts in them.
• The last signal is sentiment. How are you perceived on the Internet? Sentiment can come from reviews and mentions on websites like Yelp, social media, and many other places.

Create Topic-relevant and Semantically-linked Content

The first thing you will hear when learning SEO for beginners is how important content is. Creating high-quality content still It remains one of the best ways to rank a website. However, it would be best to understand how to use this content to help with your EAT score. You need to pick a central topic for your website and then create semantic topics related to this main one. Making high-quality and relevant content in this niche will show Google that you are an expert.

Next, ensure all your content pages are linked meaningfully to each other. The best way to do this is using customer journeys, where you create the content users are looking for depending on where they are on the journey. Think about what would interest your reader next and create content around that. Do this for each of your chosen topics.

Remember to be as exhaustive as possible by creating as much content on specific topics as possible. This will improve your share of content indexed by Google.

Collaborate with recognised experts

We said that EAT is related to websites and content creators. Collaborating with recognised experts featured in online publications, university websites, social media, and even high-quality blogs and websites will give your website the trust it needs.

Ensure each expert can demonstrate thematic content related to your niche that is crawlable by Google.

Let yourself be known

To build trust in your website and its content creators, you should provide as much information as possible about both. Creating author profiles can give Google and your visitors some insight into your authors. An “About Us” page lets you both know who you are, why you are an expert, and why they should trust you.

Remember to include author names and short biographies below or around content created by experts.

Remove or edit thin and low EAT content.

Do a website audit to find pages with thin content and low EAT scores. Editing is the best option, but you can delete and redirect if you feel the content is not making a meaningful contribution to your EAT score. Thin, low value content is bad for your SEO and user experience on your website or blog.

The benefits of having a high EAT score

A high EAT score is important for SEO because it is a ranking factor determining where your page ends up on search result pages for relevant searches. Whether you are a seasoned expert or trying to understand SEO for beginners, knowing how to ensure your website has a high EAT is crucial.

How to track your EAT score over time

There is no official way to track your EAT score because Google doesn’t want people gaming the system. However, several unofficial tools can help you understand where your website or blog stands. Use these tools to track changes to your EAT score over time.

Tips for maintaining a high EAT score

The best way to maintain a high EAT score is to keep following the guidelines provided by Google. These include ensuring your content is of high quality, relevant, and valuable to users and that people with authority create all your content, thus creating relevant content silos that establish you and your website as an authority.

Google’s EAT changes are one of the most significant changes Google has made to how it ranks websites in recent years. It was introduced to ensure Google shows users relevant, useful, and correct information on its result pages. Achieving a high EAT score is crucial for SEO as it determines your website’s rank. Ignore it at your peril.

Google’s E-E-A-T has now superseded E-A-T. Please see Google E-E-A-T Guidelines: A 10-Step Guide to Boost Your Website’s Credibility