E-A-T stands for “Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness,” Google’s Search Quality Rater guidelines inspired it. The E-A-T concept has been around since 2014, and it has slowly evolved into one of the most critical factors affecting SERP rankings.

Google has established E-A-T as one of the Search Quality Rater guidelines. Google favours specialized, authoritative websites on a subject, and a trustworthy source of information, as evidenced by the E-A-T factor in SEO. 

There are several other evaluation criteria in Google’s guidelines, such as YMYL (“your money or your life”) and Needs Met; in addition to this, E-A-T is said to be particularly important in search rankings.

How Is E-A-T Evaluated?

Expertise, authority, and trustworthiness are similar but not identical concepts. As a result, they’re each assessed separately based on a different set of criteria.

  • Expertise

This identifies the content’s level of quality. As a result, Google places a greater emphasis on the author rather than the organization. Depending on the content topic, formal quality criteria may or may not be relevant. Assume the topic is related to or has a significant impact on legal, financial, or health-related issues. 

In that case, Google expects a certain level of expertise formally demonstrated through training and qualification. If the author does not have any formal education in that field, they may have firsthand experience. Google refers to these topics as YMYL – Your Money Your Life topics/websites.

  • Authoritativeness

This is primarily about a person’s reputation. The quality raters are expected to look up the website and the author of the content in this case. The author’s level of expertise on other websites will be determined by the number of independent voices that add up. 

Another factor to consider is the number of positive reviews and positive experiences people have had with the company. This will also be used to determine expertise level. Websites must demonstrate their expertise for all of the topics Google lists them in search results.

A famous person authoring content in their niche is an easy way to boost authoritativeness. This could be someone who has previously won an award in their field or someone who has a track record of success.

  • Trustworthiness

This has to do with the trustworthiness of a website. In this case, Google makes a compelling case for openness. Is it clear who wrote or is responsible for the content on the website? Is it simple to contact or reach out to supporters in the event of a problem? Is there a phone number you can call for immediate assistance?

The accuracy of statements is also a factor that contributes to credibility. The website’s credibility and trustworthiness will suffer if statements made on its content are false or if it objects in an unreasonable way to established consensus.

As stated in the easy essay, there must be proof that the website’s content is reliable. A quality rater examines the entire website rather than just specific content. Security updates, editorial policies, and privacy policies will focus on their efforts.

  • Importance Of Google E-A-T For SEO 

If you’ve been paying attention to recent Google search core algorithm updates, you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme: improving the user experience.

Because keyword stuffing disrupted the reading experience, Google started penalizing it long ago. When most people began using mobile devices to search the internet, they made mobile responsiveness a ranking factor. 

Google chose HTTPS over HTTP because it wanted to give searchers more security. They created Core Web Vitals to quantify a quick and seamless user experience.

E-A-T is no exception. It’s yet another way for Google to give users what they want.

E-A-T is a tool for determining credibility. It serves as the foundation for determining whether a website and its individual pages provide real value to the user. Because that’s how it keeps people coming back, Google wants to serve up the pages with the most value concerning a specific search query.

If search engine optimization (SEO) is vital for your digital marketing success, E-A-T SEO should be at the forefront of your SEO strategy development.

Conclusion 

Although E-A-T is a crucial factor in improving search rankings, simple measures such as tag optimization are insufficient. You must commit to a long-term plan and gradually build up a stock of high-quality content to use E-A-T to improve SEO.

According to Google, E-A-T applies to all websites. You can go above and beyond to demonstrate your content authors’ expertise and authority. If you can demonstrate that you E-A-T on your website, you will be given higher priority and receive more traffic.