What is EEAT in SEO and how to optimize it?

Did you know that Google has a huge share of the search engine market, around 84,08%?

Yahoo comes second, with just 2,55% of the search market! This shows the importance of Google. If you want to increase your search traffic, you simply cannot ignore Google.

But the problem with Google is that it makes a TON of changes to its search algorithms. Last year, it performed over 4 edits, 300 live traffic experiments, 11 search quality tests, and over 500 side-by-side experiments. (Source)

That's a lot of changes and experiences, isn't it? Most of these Google changes can be attributed to the EAT concept in SEO. If you're wondering what Google's EAT update is, this guide is for you.

You will discover ;

A brief history of the EAT concept
What is EAT in SEO
How to Improve Your Website's EAT Score and More

You are ready ? Let's get into the details.

Table of contents ☰

What is the EEAT concept in SEO? Why is it important?
How to improve the EEAT of your website? 5 proven ways
Google EEAT 10-point checklist for better SEO in 2024
FAQ's | Google EAT in SEO
Final thoughts on the SEO EAT concept

What is the EEAT concept in SEO? Why is it important?

Here is a brief history of Google's EEAT updates:

March 2013: Google has officially released its Search Quality Rating Guidelines, which mainly cover Page Quality Rating (PQ) and Metered Needs Rating (NM).
March 2014: Google added EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) to the guidelines.
December 2022: Google recently introduced EEAT, adding an extra “E” for “Experience”.

What is EAT in SEO?

EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

It was created by Google to judge the credibility of a website and the quality of its content.

EAT is important for most search queries. EAT is even more important for YMYL websites.

YMYL is short for “Your Money, Your Life”.

YMYL websites deal with topics that may impact health, wealth, happiness, security, etc. of somebody.

For example, if someone searches for “best foods to eat with a fever,” Google wants to show information from authoritative websites (primarily medical websites).

Take a look ;

As you can see above, Google displays a snippet for a health website, 'Healthline' (the premier source for expert health advice).

Google does NOT want to show articles written by beginners or non-authoritative sites. You understand ?

In some niches (especially where credible and accurate information is needed), EAT signals are extremely important.

Trust is the most important factor in the EEAT concept;

Now let's talk about EEAT signals in detail for you to understand better.

Experience

Content quality is one of the main factors of “experience” in the EEAT concept, because content writers who have better experience with the topic create quality content.

Here's an excerpt from Google's updated experience guidelines:

Many types of pages are trustworthy and serve their purpose well when created by people with extensive personal experience.

For example, what would you trust: a product review written by someone who has personally used it or a “review” written by someone who has not used it?

If expert writers create content for you, your website will have better EEAT signals.

Expertise

Does your content team have better knowledge, qualifications and credentials on the topics they cover? These elements demonstrate “expertise”.

Experience and expertise are TWO different concepts for Google EEAT.

For example, anyone can share “money saving tips” based on their “experience”.

In contrast, only “experts” like Dave Ramsey can share “financial advice” based on practical information and years of research.

Authority

What is the authority of your website? How is your site better than other sites in your niche?

Google quality raters often look at the authority of several things including;

website authority
the quality of the content
the authority of the creator.

For example, an article by David Ramsey titled “How to Save Money” is authoritative because:

Ramsey is a financial guru well known for his money advice.
The authors who publish on its website are mostly experts in finance.

As you can see, Ramsey also shows his credentials to demonstrate the “authority” of the website in the author bio.

Reliability

How trustworthy and credible is your website when it comes to YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics? Or any other topic you cover on your website?

Be sure to check every point you mention in your content. Give clear instructions to the creators of your website to ONLY publish credible data from trusted sources.

Also, if you sell something on your website, make sure your customers know that all transactions are secure. This is how you can build trust on your website.

How to improve the EEAT of your website? 5 proven ways

How to improve the EEAT of your website? Here are some proven ways to build your site's credibility and trustworthiness in 2023.

1. Create useful content and keep it updated

What are the areas it can have an impact on? experience, authority

What is the first thing Google expects from a website?

Useful content.

What does he mean by “useful content”?

The content should be;

well written (no grammatical errors)
high quality (engaging and visually appealing)
Informative (provide added value to the user)
Relevant to the user's query.

What if your existing content is NOT performing on Google?

Here is our advice: check and update your content.

Most people create content and forget about it. What happens after a year or two? Even if it was ranked at the top of Google, it would gradually lose its place due to the "freshness of content" factor.

That's why you need to regularly check and update your existing content to maintain its ranking.

Be sure to spot sparse content on your website (especially content under 400 words). Try updating it with new information or redirecting it to other relevant pages.

2. Build links from authority sites

What are the areas it can have an impact on: Authenticity, reliability

Google considers “backlinks” as votes in favor of your website. The more “authority votes” (or links) there are on your website, the better your site's EAT signals can improve.

It is undesirable to build links from untrustworthy or spammy websites, as this can do more harm than good.

And… Don't buy links from sites like Fiverr, where they sell you hundreds of links for $5! You will have to pay hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars to get rid of these links afterwards.

So how do you build links from better websites?

Le guest blogging is the BEST way to to make known reach a new audience and create connections.

You can also create 10x better content in your niche on ONE popular topic and reach out to other bloggers who have already linked to similar content to build links.

This is where tools like Semrush, Buzzsumo, etc. come in handy because they can help you find popular topics and influencers in your niche.

If you REALLY want to build relevant links, you can invest money in a link building campaign. Many SEO agencies or freelancers offer link building services. This is the exact strategy that most new websites and businesses use to get links from authority websites like Forbes, The Huff Post, Entrepreneur, etc.

3. Become an expert in ONE area

What are the areas it can have an impact on: Expertise, authority

Do you know Malcolm Gladwell's 10 rule?

The key to achieving true expertise in any field is simply to practice for at least 10 hours.

Here are some examples :

Bill Gates, who started coding as a teenager and became a coding master by the time he was 30 (and was also able to build a multi-billion dollar company like Microsoft).
The Beatles, who played ten-hour gigs in random music clubs long before they took over the music world.
Sachin Tendulkar (famous cricketer) started playing cricket at the age of eleven and did not make his Test match debut until he was 16 years old. Later, he became the God of Cricket, scoring 100 centuries!

Why give such examples? If you are an expert in a field, Google will reward you with higher rankings.

Google uses concepts like EEAT to reward content creators who have expertise in their field. This is why authority websites often invite influencers from various industries to post their interviews, Guest articles, their case studies, etc.

Become an expert if you want to get top rankings on Google and improve your website's EEAT score.

Here are some proven ways to become an authority in your industry.

Identify your skills: If you're good at SEO, demonstrate it on your website or in your YouTube videos. Knowing your skills and helping people who have them is often the best way to become an authority in your niche.

Focus on ONE thing: if you want to become an expert, focus on one thing at a time. What exactly do you want to achieve? Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start focusing only on that thing to improve yourself.

Find an online community: Find a community such as a Facebook group, forums or a LinkedIn group to share your knowledge. Find people interested in the same topic and communicate with them. This is how you can demonstrate your expertise to others, which will ultimately help build your credibility.

4. Get more reviews

Areas it can have an impact on: Authenticity, reliability

Getting REAL customer reviews on your website is the BEST way to improve your EEAT signals.

Did you know that over 70% of customers research product reviews before making an online purchase?

Reviews can therefore be useful for improving Google rankings and conversions.

What are the best platforms for getting more customer reviews?

Here are some of the best places to get online reviews;

Google My Business
Yelp
Glassdoor
Trustpilot Reviews Buy

There are many ways to get reviews on your website, including offering reviewer incentives, running contests, making it easy to post reviews on your website, and more.

5. Show your references

Areas it can have an impact on: authority, experience

It is often preferable to indicate who published an article and to communicate their references. This is how you can build your expertise and relevance to Google.

What can you show?

You can list the author's accomplishments, awards received, reviews, ratings, or testimonials from other experts or organizations.

Here is an example ;

As you can see, the Healthline site indicates that the article on “sunscreens” is criticized by an expert with a doctorate in the medical field.

How to include references on your website?

There are several ways to display benchmarks for Google EEAT SEO including;

Include your credentials in your author bio, where you can mention your name, title, education, and other skills you have in your industry.
You can also link to your social media profiles with the number of followers. Show your portfolio (if you have one) or other relevant websites that have already linked to your website or mentioned your name.
Bring social proof to your website by getting endorsements and links from authority sites.

Google EEAT 10-point checklist for better SEO in 2024

Here is a Google EEAT checklist that can be helpful in ranking your website higher in search results.

Write well-researched and informative content. Yes, you can use toolsartificial intelligence to help you write. But do not depend entirely on them. For what ? Because they only repeat content already available on the web. You need well-researched content to rank higher on Google.
Use high quality images to make your content visually appealing. You can hire someone to design attractive images or use tools like Photoshop, Canva, etc. to create graphics. Images often add more value to content.
Create content based on data in your niche and be sure to cite your sources (“Expertise” signal) whenever necessary. If possible, create a website on just ONE topic and create in-depth articles on that topic to establish your authority in that niche.
Get positive reviews from other websites. You can use platforms such as Google Customer Reviews, Yelp, Glassdoor, Trustpilot, etc. to get customer reviews.
Create links to your website (“authority” signal) from authority sites and relevant sites in your industry. You can use different strategies like guest blogging, outreach, broken link building, influencer marketing, etc.
Write helpful answers on Quora and link to your website. Quora is a popular question and answer platform used by millions of people around the world.
Focus on the best possible experience for your website users. Make it fast, use HTTPS protocol, compress images and keep your site up to date.
If you have qualifications (such as a degree, masters, etc.), be sure to mention them on your website. You can also include testimonials from your customers.
Google uses a system ofartificial intelligence called " RankBrain » to find those that are most relevant to particular queries. So optimize your website for RankBrain by focusing more on user intent through your content.
Above all, good on-page optimization is extremely important if you want your pages to rank well. It is a good idea to target several relevant keywords and sprinkle them throughout your content to get better rankings.

FAQ's | Google EAT in SEO

Here are some FAQs about Google's EAT concept.

What is the EAT concept in SEO?

EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. These are guidelines that Google search evaluators use to assess the credibility of a website and the quality of its content. Google works with approximately 16 external search quality assessors who provide ratings.

Is the EAT a ranking factor?

EAT is NOT a ranking factor, but it is an essential concept for Google, which wants to provide better search results through the EAT concept.

How does Google use EEAT to rank websites?

The TEEE is simply a measure of the credibility and reliability of a website. Google evaluates a website's EEAT signals by looking at content quality, writer experience, backlinks, user intent, and more.

How can I improve the EEAT of my website?

Build your expertise in the topics you create on your website. Also build trust by building relevant and quality backlinks.

How can I improve the authority of my website?

The first way to increase your site's authority is to create high-quality content that meets user expectations. Additionally, getting backlinks from other authoritative sites in your niche is the fastest way to improve your site authority.

What are some common mistakes that can hurt a website's EEAT?

THREE common mistakes can hurt a website's EEAT;

duplicate content
Orphan pages
Links from polluting websites

Other Resources:

Final thoughts on the SEO EAT concept

Websites with better EAT signals are more likely to rank higher than websites with weaker EAT signals. If you want to rank higher in Google, improve your website's authority and trustworthiness.

EAT signals are the reason why authority sites often rank higher than other smaller websites.

What do you think of EEAT SEO? Would you like to optimize your site accordingly? You have questions ? Please let us know in the comments.

What is EEAT in SEO? How to optimize it on a website?