As experts in SEO, we spend a significant amount of time trying to understand the magic formula behind brilliant organic rankings! E-A-T has formed a part of a successful SEO strategy for a while, and Google’s August 2018 algorithm update made E-A-T even more important. Here, we explore what E-A-T is and how to make it work for your website.
E is for Expertise
The E in E-A-T stands for Expertise. When looking at the content of each page to calculate organic ranks, Google looks first at the website’s expertise. This is important because it works out whether or not your website or article has the expertise to be a credible and reliable source of information. This can be achieved by ensuring that your content is relevant, unique and written by experts.
Not long after it published the E-A-T algorithm guidelines in 2018, Google also added that they would review not only the reputation and expertise of the website itself, but also of the individual contributor. The example Google uses in their guidelines is a doctor with a degree publishing a piece on medicine. A good way to demonstrate the expertise of your contributors is to utilise author boxes with their credentials and links to their social media and website.
A is for Authority
If you’ve made any effort with SEO to date, you would have heard of Domain Authority. Once you’ve demonstrated expertise, you then need to position your website as an authority on certain topic(s).
In order to show how authoritative you are, it’s important to do the following:
- Generate backlinks from other websites. This means other established websites linking to you as a source of information, making you the authority on the topic(s)
- Earn mentions in news articles or on other authoritative websites
- Shares of your content, websites and articles across social media
T is for Trustworthiness
Establishing yourself as an expert or authority figure within your chosen industry is one thing, but building trust around your insights and opinions is the final piece of the puzzle.
One of the indicators that Google use to measure trustworthiness is reviews. They use review aggregators and Google My Business to understand how trusted your business is. They also use industry-specific review websites to gather this information.
Another big indicator of trustworthiness is a secure website. You need to ensure that your domain is secure (using HTTPS rather than HTTP) and that you have an active SSL certificate as well as accessible privacy policies.
It’s time to start showcasing your expertise online. Give the SEO experts at Blue Bee solutions a call to get started with your SEO.