Bringing your site to the top of search engines is a complex job that requires taking dozens of ranking factors into account. But even a perfectly engineered loading rate, local citation submitters, and optimal behavioral factors won't produce the desired results if you don't consider Google E-A-T SEO. It's an important part of Google's algorithm and one of the guidelines the search engine uses to evaluate the quality of content and whether it should rank well.
What Is E-A-T?
E-A-T in SEO signals expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. This factor first appeared in 2014 and has already become decisive in assessing the site's usefulness for users.
E-A-T emerged as a way to combat unverified and low-grade information. But unfortunately, many sites do not particularly care about the quality of their content, buying articles from unverified copywriters on the exchange. Typically, in this case, no one checks the author's expertise, which, in turn, leads to errors, misinterpretation of data, and, consequently, direct deception of the user who uses this information.
Quality content requires, first of all, time and, secondly, money. Unfortunately, not all resource owners are willing to wait and shell out vast sums of money for expert articles. That is why we encounter so much useless content.
E-A-T - a Ranking Factor?
More likely yes than no, but with certain caveats. E-A-T is less specific than the other factors but has attributes. The cp algorithms (special list of actions according to which a goal is achieved) look for these attributes in the text and give their "verdict" on whether the content meets the E-A-T guidelines. The process is based on the following principles:
- There is a document containing the criteria for evaluating the content.
- Then, experts assess the range according to the methodology stated in the paper.
- Based on the work of experts, there is neuron training.
And then, artificial intelligence independently works with the content and evaluates it according to the criteria of expertise, authority, and trust.
How to Optimize a Site for E-A-T?
You must work in the three categories proposed by this factor: expertise, credibility, and trust.
Expertise
This indicator is used to assess the author's expertise. That is, how familiar the copywriter is with what he writes about. To improve this index, you should put information about the author. You don't have to just put a picture and sign the author's name, but you have to provide proof of their identity.
The author's page should also contain proof of his expertise: official diplomas and certificates. The documents should prove expertise in the same areas the author writes about.
For example, if you have a site about health, the author must have a medical degree of the appropriate profile. If you write about child development or similar the author must have a degree in psychopedagogy. The author's expertise is evaluated within their site.
Authoritativeness
Authority is associated with the citation index. That is, the more often there are mentions of your resource on other resources, the higher the credibility of the help. Thus, the authority is evaluated outside the site.
To increase this index, it is necessary to work on external optimization. The main areas:
- The presence of a page on Wikipedia.
- The presence of a resource in thematic directories.
- The existence of external links from verified sites.
- Mentioning the help on sites with good authority.
The author's credibility is increased through proof of his authority in the niche. This is necessary to verify the author's expertise. For example, a copywriter can claim to be an expert but is not. Then the credit check is activated.
Suppose the author's name and his articles appear somewhere besides one site. Then, if he is cited and referred to, he is considered an acknowledged authority and, therefore, an expert.
Trust
The trust factor is influenced by: content, author, and site. Confidence in the author increases when information about them is posted, and their status as an expert is proven.
Trust in the site increases when there is complete information about the company, a relevant page on the site, and Google reviews.
To increase the credibility of the site, you need to do the following work:
- Switching to HTTPS, if you haven't already.
- Providing full contact details (phone numbers, addresses, messengers, emails, etc.).
- Availability of a page with the terms of payment and delivery of goods.
- Warranty policy page.
- Question and answer section.
Content credibility is enhanced through the use of outbound links to authoritative resources.
Step-by-step Google E-A-T Guidelines
Achieving a high E-A-T score is difficult enough. However, think of it as steps. One step at a time, you will overcome this height and be able to reach the top of the search engine. Quick tips:
- Begin with guest blogging.
- Hire an expert in the field to write your article.
- Provide credible information citing credible sources.
- Regularly review published content.
- Strive to get more positive feedback.
- Provide contact information and actively maintain input from users.
- The author's page of the article should prove their expertise as an expert.
Conclusion
E-A-T needs to be worked on to improve a resource's position in search engine rankings. However, the algorithm is constantly learning, so you should not try to cheat it.
Only qualitative elaboration of all categories - expertise, authority, credibility - will allow you to achieve good results in the promotion.
Do not delay working on the E-A-T. Now, these categories are worked out in units, meaning the chance of finding your site at the top increases.