Google E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a principle that Google uses to rate or judge a website’s expertise and authority.
In a nutshell:
- Expertise looks at how well-versed the site owner is on the subject published on the website.
- Authoritativeness evaluates how credible the website is.
- Trustworthiness assesses how reliable the website is.
Google does not have a specific algorithm that focuses on E-A-T as a ranking factor. But, several algorithms track and assess the E-A-T of web pages, websites, and authors.
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What Does E-A-T Mean For Websites
Google seriously considers the expertise of the content creator. The primary goal of each page is to be valuable to users, and if an inexperienced author writes the content, it may be misleading and perhaps dangerous.
However, Google judges a webpage based on its purpose. Not all topics require the author to be a trained practitioner, and Google does not penalize a website if the author does not have a formal degree in the subject matter.
What matters is that the content is well written, and the information presented is correct and precise enough.
Google determines a page to be authoritative if the content is credible. It bases this analysis on the reputation of the author and the entire website as well.
User reviews and expert opinions help to build an online reputation. Google evaluates a website as authoritative if active readers of the website and other specialists in the industry deem it to be so.
Websites must clearly indicate who the individuals, corporations, or organizations behind them are before Google assesses them as trustworthy sites. Users are also more likely to trust something if they know who created it.
Therefore, website owners must be accountable for their published content. They should also make contact information such as a company profile, physical location (if available), phone number, and email addresses widely accessible.
How Does Google Evaluate Web Pages/Sites?
Google’s AI algorithms automatically evaluate the quality of a web page. But human beings- called quality raters – review the performance and accuracy of the AI results and gather human feedback.
Google depends on humans for this process because it cannot rely on AI 100% to evaluate user experience. The fact remains that human behavior is complex, and only other humans can understand and relate to it.
The quality raters also check how well search results answer search queries. That way, they can evaluate the impact of the algorithm updates on sites in organic rankings. This then ensures that search results are more relevant to the queries.
So, robots execute the quality evaluation and ranking of pages while humans oversee their work. Both bots and humans use the same assessment criteria.
But, humans try to understand the human reasoning behind each inquiry and work to ensure the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) are correct and relevant.
A web page must meet Google’s requirements to rank high and appear in relevant search searches. If not, Google will not display it, and people might not be able to find it even if they wanted to.
Web content writers must follow Google’s standards to increase the visibility of their websites in organic search. It is equally crucial that they understand updates in the algorithm as they happen.
What Websites Do E-A-T Apply To?
Google E-A-T applies to every website on the Internet, although to varying degrees. The most vital considerations are how effectively a page fulfills its goal and how well the quality of its content aligns with that objective.
One main reason Google increased its emphasis on expertise and authority is to provide users of YMPL websites with the most accurate information.
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) refers to websites and services that may have a huge impact on either your life or your money.
Examples of YMYL websites are websites about:
- News and current affairs.
- Law, civics, and government.
- Tax, banking, and finance.
- Trade and commerce.
- Health, safety, and medicine.
- Groups of people (race, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity)
- Other topics related to big decisions in people’s lives.
Publishing wrong or misleading information on such sites can cause real damage and have real-life consequences for people. Take a medical website, for example. Google rates it based on:
- The accuracy of the content.
- The knowledge of the author and,
- The reliability and reputation of the website.
On the other hand, Google rates a website about popular jokes based on how popular they are. Essentially, the evaluation criteria are way more relaxed than in the first example of a medical website.
Therefore, Google takes extra precautions when displaying such YMYL pages in search results and makes sure they meet its E-A-T requirements. Such websites must carry current information about the firm and the people behind the website.
They must also include valid contact information and, if possible, a physical location. Each primary piece of text should be precise and thorough. Authors should be experts in their fields and display their qualifications on the website.
How To Improve Your Google E-A-T Ranking Score
If you believe your website content is not up to Google E-A-T requirements, these measures can help to improve the quality and ranking of your website:
Hire content experts
If you do not have enough knowledge on a topic but want to publish it on your website, hire an expert writer in that field or ask guest writers to write for you.
Review and rewrite shallow content
Review your old content once in a while and rewrite those that do not have depth. You could also get expert help to increase content credibility to what you are publishing.
Regularly update your website content, especially if you are in one of the YMYL fields. Older information might no longer be accurate or even be misleading, so make sure to make changes where required.
Avoid using clickbait
Resist the temptation to use sensational article headings to entice people to open your website if your content is not equally sensational. Even if it is, do not go over the top with dramatic titles and headings.
Build your professional network
Make valuable connections with industry professionals and popular influencers. You get a higher authority ranking when professionals in your field cite your website.
Bots that crawl your website rely heavily on backlinks. Having high-quality backlinks may also help you rank higher.
Improve your About page
Set up an About page if you do not already have one. It should contain current information about your organization, its successes, and the experts on your team.
Add credentials to articles
Articles should have credentials. This is very important for YMYL sites, but it also applies to other businesses. Let users (and Google) know if you have any awards, remarkable achievements, or at the very least, relevant degrees and education.
Display User-generated content (UGC)
Positive testimonials and user-generated content (UGC) are important indicators of a company’s reputation. If your company lacks client reviews, encourage feedback to produce some.
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Putting it all together
There are many things to consider when building a reliable and trustworthy webpage. Google E-A-T criteria should most certainly be on the top of your list if you want to benefit from organic searches.
Google is more likely to display your website in SERPs when optimized according to E-A-T. It also improves your user experience and pays off in your business in the long run.
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