Google is constantly working to improve its search results in conjunction with ensuring users get access to quality online content.
In one recent year, Google made 4,800 improvements in the search process. The search engine giant’s algorithms are ever-evolving, but one evergreen constant is that content needs to meet high standards set by Google.
One of the factors that Google hopes site owners will pay attention to is the E.A.T. Google algorithm.
Sit back and get comfortable because the information about E.A.T. is contained in a 170-page volume called the “Search Quality Rater Guidelines”.
Together, we’ll pore over this document, word by word, to find out everything you need to know about the E.A.T. Google algorithm.
Just kidding.
We’ve done the heavy lifting for you, so this will be an easy-to-digest rundown that gives you all the information you need to know about E.A.T.
What is E.A.T. Google Algorithm?
E.A.T. is a fun acronym that Google came up with all by itself.
It stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Pretty straightforward, right? And easy to remember, since everybody eats every day.
Which begs the question, why isn’t everyone adhering to it?
That’s because it’s not as easy as it looks. Or as straightforward.
First of all, E.A.T. is more of a set of guidelines than an algorithm.
Although, whether or not your site content adheres to E.A.T. determines in large part how well it plays with Google algorithms, so the two are related.
To understand what E.A.T. really is, you have to be aware that there are, right this very minute, over 10,000 people all over the planet who are evaluating search results using…you guessed it…E.A.T. guidelines.
Well, to be fair, they’re also using the rest of the 170-page guidelines, but E.A.T. plays a big part.
Each of those real live human beings is reviewing search results and judging which results out of a set of two better matches the E.A.T. criteria of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Isn’t that crazy?
Apparently, Google is very serious about E.A.T. So you need to be serious about it, too.
Is E.A.T. Hard to Get Right?
Well, it isn’t easy.
Let’s say you have a food blog. You have a passion for cooking, you’ve been doing it for years and you have a big following.
You run some ads on your site and you’ve got some nice passive income coming in each month. Great job! Let’s see how you stack up with E.A.T.
How to Show Expertise on a Website For E.A.T.
How exactly do you prove expertise for your food blog that’s just a side hustle/hobby? Maybe you’re not a professional chef. You don’t even cook at your kid’s school cafeteria. Actually, your day job is being an insurance broker. Does that mean you can’t meet the Expertise criteria?
No, it doesn’t. Check this out.
You can demonstrate Expertise in a number of ways. You can:
- Be a professional with credentials
- Have professional guest bloggers publish on your site
- Have a seasoned site that’s decades-old
- Get authoritative backlinks to your site
- Publish an About page on your site explaining your experience
- Link to authority sites in your blog posts to show your research
You can handle one or some of those right?
How to Show Authority on a Website For E.A.T.
This one is a little bit easier, but it’s admittedly more challenging for casual food blog sites.
If you were a medical physician with a website about supplements, things would be easier.
To demonstrate Authority on a website for E.A.T. you could:
- Have a broad online presence. If someone Googles your name, how many search results come up? Set up profiles on LinkedIn, IG, FB, and Pinterest. Get a YouTube channel.
- Be a guest blogger on other authority sites
- Publish a book on the subject
- Publish testimonials on your site
Finally, we’ve jumped those two hurdles. This last one is all up to you. There are no shortcuts, but you can do it.
How to Show Trustworthiness on a Website For E.A.T.
What is trustworthiness? It’s a trait that means you can be trusted. That you are reliable, that you stand behind your word, and that you are truthful. No one can deny those are all good qualities.
As far as your website goes, the same applies. If you want to match the criteria for Trustworthiness on a Website For E.A.T, then your site should be all of those things.
To demonstrate Trustworthiness on a website for E.A.T. you could:
- Not link to low-quality sites
- Not have a crazy amount of ads
- Be transparent about any affiliate status
- Not trick site visitors in any way
- Offer real value
- Provide quality content
Now, just so we’re clear. These ideas about meeting the criteria for E.A.T. are not. There are others. These ideas are not the by-all and end-all of the ideas, these are just examples of some things that you could do, along with any more that you come up with yourself.
Is E.A.T. important for SEO?
E.A.T. isn’t the same as SEO. Remember those more than 10,000 people we told you about all over the globe who are judging search results? Google says in black and white that its rankings do not influence search results.
What those people are doing is helping Google to improve its internal algorithms.
Let me explain.
See, SEO, or search engine optimization, has to do with accuracy in search results. If a person types in, “what goes good on hamburgers,” they don’t want to see results about Hamburg, Germany (Although we’ve heard it’s a beautiful city. Just lovely.).
So a site about Hamburg shouldn’t be using inaccurate keywords like “what goes good on hamburgers.” That’s bad SEO and it’s going to bring them the wrong kind of traffic.
Your site, on the other hand, could use that keyword if it is relevant. You run a food blog, so maybe a person could get some tips about what to put on their hamburger.
But let’s say you do use that keyword because you happen to know it’s a high-ranking keyword and you want more traffic. Then when the person gets to your site, they find out that you have zero hamburger recipes. In fact, your site is a vegetarian food blog.
That’s bad for your E.A.T. ranking, as it’s not trustworthy at all.
In other words, SEO and E.A.T. go hand in hand, but they are different.
You need to be doing both on your website.
Is Google E.A.T. a Ranking Factor?
No, not directly. The Google gaggle of human search engine rankers ratings does not affect page rankings.
In Google’s words, “The ratings they provide don’t directly impact how a page or site appears in Search. Instead, they help us measure how well our systems are working to deliver great content.”
A Final Secret
As a bonus for getting this far, we’re going to share another little secret that isn’t overtly communicated in the official E.A.T. acronym. It’s in the Google guidelines, though, and it’s something that every site owner should be conscious of.
One of their guidelines for “great content” is to “Be Updated Regularly.”
Wow. Betcha didn’t know that was so official, right? Everybody knows that it’s good to publish often. But to have it be an official guideline is something else entirely.
So how can you update regularly? Well, that comes down to hiring awesome writers who can generate new blog posts, new website landing pages, and new everything for your site.
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