How did Google’s EEAT Algorithm change SEO?
Dive into the world of Google’s EEAT. Learn how this updated SEO strategy can revolutionise your online presence and help you write better-quality content marketing.
The lowdown on Google’s EEAT
So, let’s have a quick chinwag about this thing called EEAT in Google’s world.
In December 2022, Google decided to enhance the old EAT concept by chucking in an extra ‘E’ for ‘Experience’, making it EEAT – or “Double-E-A-T”. This term has become a big deal in how Google judges whether the content marketing added to your website is good quality.
The gist of EEAT: What’s it all about?
EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The author of all the written work, the copywriter, must bear this in mind when writing content marketing. Whether you are writing about aluminium ladders or offering legal advice, you should always ensure that your content marketing follows the guidance in EEAT. It’s all about crafting very high-quality content marketing. Google started talking about EAT in their 2014 Search Quality Guidelines, then threw in the extra E later. Those manual content reviewers must check out which sites are on the level, especially with all these AI chatbots cropping up.
Why EEAT Matters and why you should dedicate a lot of time to understanding how it works
Think about it: you’re searching for something important, like how to fix a puncture on a bicycle, and you don’t want to land on some rubbish website that is simply selling low-quality products such as tube repair products. That’s where EEAT comes in. It’s Google’s way of ensuring you get quality advice from sources that know their onions.
So what we mean by this is that you will be directed straightaway to content marketing, which answers your question and offers helpful advice.
Diving deep into EEAT components
Experience (The First’ E’)
This bit is about the content creator’s own experience on the topic. Have they walked the walk? Things like relevant qualifications and a track record in the field matter here. So, for example, you might wish to incorporate a LinkedIn profile, which will clearly show that you are a solicitor and might have over ten years of experience working with a particular legal practice. Hence, they are more than qualified to offer advice through the blog post.
Expertise (The Second’ E’)
Here, we’re talking about the level of knowledge, expertise, and know-how of the person writing the content marketing. The more clued-up they are, the more likely Google is to give their content a thumbs up.
So, for example, you might hire a digital marketing agency somewhere within Cardiff, and the copywriter might want to spend a significant amount of time with people within your company.
This is so they can create a piece of content marketing, a wage incorporating your employee’s expertise so that the work is high-quality office helpful advice.
For example, you might manufacture washing machines, and the copywriter might come and talk to one of your central engineers to understand what makes your machine better than some direct competitors.
For example, it might have a chain-driven belt, which lasts much longer than some direct competitors; therefore, you can incorporate this into the content marketing, and it will consequently explain what makes your products so much better than some of your direct rivals.
Authoritativeness (‘A’)
It’s all about how much clout a website or creator has. A big social media following, kudos from other experts, and being mentioned by ultra-reliable sources are the tickets to being seen as authoritative.
So, for example, let’s say that you are a well-known solicitor, and let’s say that your website gets backlinks because you regularly offer free advice via talks that you provide in Cardiff.
Other businesses might link to you, the venue might connect to you, and people might talk about how good you are as a solicitor on social media, share your post, and comment that they think you’re brilliant.
This will improve your business for attentiveness because your solicitor’s practice, for example, will gain a lot of quality backlinks.
Trustworthiness (‘T’)
Having precise contact info, a secure website (HTTPS), and positive user reviews help build trust.
For example, let’s say you are about to book a table at a restaurant, and it’s a vital birthday occasion: your wife’s 50th birthday party.
You’re bound to want to book a table if the business has a lot of positive reviews, if it has a well-designed website, and also if it is HTTPS, so you know it is a more secure website for handling your business’s credit card information.
The EEAT checklist: Must-haves for your website
Got a website? Here’s a rundown of things you should have to tick those EEAT boxes:
A physical address and phone number
we would recommend using a local phone number rather than a mobile phone number
A “Meet the Team” page (builds credibility).
We would recommend adding Meet the team page, which shows all of your staff, and also a link to their LinkedIn profile so that you can see their experience and whichever company they might have worked for in the past
An “About Us” and author page
On the only about us page, you might wish to mention your company director and the company’s achievements. For example, you might have one award in Cardiff for customer service.
Testimonials and awards (for reputation).
A privacy policy and GDPR compliance (for safety).
YMYL
Your copywriters and your marketing company should know about this as well
YMYL stands for Your Money, Your Life. Google uses this label for content marketing that could impact your wallet or well-being. If your site advises health or finances, then the advice must be high-quality, accurate and written by an expert.