E.A.T Your Way To The Top Of Google

E.A.T. is an acronym created by Google which represents Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness of a domain and the creators of the content on that domain.

Google has made this an essential factor this year which sites are recommended to comply with if they want to achieve higher rank for their content.

How is E.A.T. measured?

Google has over 10,000 Search Quality Raters Worldwide who rate a site based on the E.A.T. principle – the Expertise, Authority and Trust that it has acquired.

If your site lacks E.A.T then your pages will be given a low quality rating. The higher the E.A.T rating, the higher the rank. The quality raters can’t change what appears in search results, but their findings do help to improve Google search algorithms which will have a negative impact on low quality content over time, and a positive impact on good quality content.

How can E.A.T principles be applied to a site to improve SEO?

Expertise

Become an expert in your sector. Acquire more knowledge by reading well-regarded literature related to your industry. Further expand your knowledge by following fellow experts in your sector on social channels. Invest in further training (particularly Certified or Accredited training) as this will further enhance credibility and trust.

Check out networking events which may present opportunities to meet industry leaders and create new connections. Attend trade shows and conferences to further enhance your knowledge, whilst presenting yet more opportunity for networking with professionals in your sector. Make connections and get people hearing your name – everywhere!

Brush up on your Bios!

Google also focuses on the content creator, not just the content itself. They will be looking at the reputation of the website as well as the authors of the content. An author with a good reputation is going to get their content ranked higher than an author with a poor reputation.

Check your About page and ensure your Bio is up to date and displays your professional qualifications and skills clearly. Also check your social profile Bios, and double-check any video content you may have published personally. If there is any content there that you feel won’t enhance your expertise and professionalism – delete it! Regularly check and update your personal bios to ensure they are clean, professional and current.

Authoritativeness

As well as becoming an expert in your own field, you will also need to increase your brand authority and brand reputation. Increasing domain authority and page authority will help achieve this but it can be difficult to influence directly. Ensuring your backlink profile is good quality and you are linking to high ranking, trusted domains is key to building authority across the web.

You can increase page authority by submitting your content to highly-regarded news and blogs sites. In getting your content on high-ranking site, you will be building more external links to your articles which will indicate to Google that your content is of value and is trusted. The content will be rewarded with increased rank and authority.

Generating positive reviews is also a great way to build brand authority. Whether through Google, Facebook or a third party review site, independent customer reviews signify brand trust amongst consumers, and this will again be rewarded with increased domain authority and rank.

Trust

Improve your domain trust rating by creating quality, relevant content on a regular basis. The core thing to remember is that your content needs to be unique, and not copied from elsewhere on the web. It is also good to include an image with a title and description, as a page with a prominent and relevant image, alongside good quality content will rank higher than a page with no image.

Also remember to add external links to authoritative sites, and add links to other pages on your own domain to pass link juice and strengthen your internal link structure.

Make sure your content is shareable across social channels, and give readers the option to leave a comment. Comments and social interactions will further enhance trust and credibility.

Whizz Marketing is an accredited Google Partner Agency in Fleet Hampshire. If you are interested in applying the E.A.T principle as part of your SEO strategy in 2019, then please get in touch. Visit whizzmarketing.co.uk or call 01252 622129.