What does Google’s E-E-A-T mean?

 

 

The Dawn of E-E-A-T: Google’s new SEO benchmark

 

Let’s begin with a bit of a chinwag about Google’s fancy E-E-A-T, a term that started buzzing around in December 2022-and you will find that most SEO companies will have already written a blog post on this subject. Think of it as the good ol’ E-A-T, but with a bit more oomph – they’ve chucked in “Experience” for good measure.
What we mean by this is that Google updated its EAT to include experience as something it wants to see within content marketing.

So what we mean by this is that Google wants to see that the person writing the article has real-world experience of what they are writing about, or they have, at least, contacted somebody who is an expert on that particular subject. This is Google’s way of saying, “We’re not just looking for smart cookies; we want folks who’ve been there, done that.”

So whether somebody is advising on the best ski boots to buy for a skiing holiday in 2023 or simply providing advice on how to cook a tasty tikka masala curry, Google now wants to see that you are an expert in what you are writing about.

 

The four pillars of E-E-A-T

 

Now, E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Here’s the lowdown on each:

 

Experience: Walking the walk

 

This is all about having real-world experience. Say you’re a fitness buff penning a piece on the healthy grub – your hands-on knowledge makes your words more legitimate.
So, for example, if it’s clear through your LinkedIn profile that you work for a prestigious hotel and you were the head chef for, say, the last ten years, you will have tremendous experience and knowledge about cooking. Hence, your advice is valuable and much more likely to be placed on page one of Google.

 

Expertise: Knowing the ropes

 

Here, we’re talking about proper understanding and know-how. Explicit, comprehensive, and bang-up-to-date content is the name of the game.

So, some people who haven’t got a clue about SEO think it’s about writing super long articles, but if you can answer the question in, let’s say, 400 words or less, you might want to do just that.
However, what is essential is that you show your expertise and that you are an expert on the subject you are writing about.

 

So, talk about your experience level; for example, you might be writing about how to lay a flat roof, mentioning that you have obtained advice from a roofer who has been building rubber roofs for the last ten years.

 

 

Authoritativeness: Being the big cheese

 

Strong social media presence and quality backlinks – that’s what gets you noticed. So let’s say, for example, that you run a solicitor’s practice; what you want is a lot of quality backlinks; also, on your business social media accounts, such as Facebook, you will want a lot of likes and followers. This can help to improve your business’s search engine optimisation.

 

Trustworthiness

 

Last, we’ve got trustworthiness. Think secure websites and content that’s as unbiased as it gets.

Your website’s advice should be 100% accurate; you might want to back this up with citations as to where you have obtained advice.

 

Why E-E-A-T Is the bee’s knees

 

Google’s all about giving its users top-notch results. Businesses that use low-quality SEO with half-baked content marketing won’t cut the mustard anymore. It’s going to damage your business’s organic search engine optimisation.
With E-E-A-T, Google is making sure the cream of the crop rises to the top – only the most reliable and relevant content marketing gets the spotlight.