By Felix Ofiwe
Founder, Febera Digital, Houston, TX
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness! If you have followed Google for any length of time you have probably heard about E-E-A-T.
Online marketing experts and SEO pros like to through these acronyms around. But what is E-E-A-T? and why should you really care about it?
If you are looking to optimize your website and gain a measure of success online, it is essential that you pay attention to E-E-A-T. Without incorporating the elements of E-E-A-T into your website, from the design to your content, it is practically impossible to gain any measure of success in 2023.
Back in the early days of the internet, it was easy to rank any website for any keywords or search terms of your choosing. All you needed to do is stuff the keywords into your pages and Google, and other search engines will pick up your website based on those keyword terms.
Today, that is no longer the case. As the internet has become more competitive, it has become important that you are thoughtful about your website from web page ideation and design to content and digital marketing execution.
Your website must incorporate the four elements of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Each element pays an essential role in creating a positive user experience (UX) for your website visitors and Google in particular and other search engines now prioritize user experience when ranking various websites.
Whether you are a website newbie or an experienced search engine optimization professional, understanding how to properly incorporate various elements of E-EA-T can be the difference between success and failure of your online endeavors.
What is E-E-A-T?
So, what is E-E-A-T? It stands of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Today when Google evaluates a website for any search terms, they look at how closely these websites align with the elements of E-E-A-T and rank the websites accordingly.
The acronym E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) was first introduced to us by Google in 2014 as part of their Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG) for YMYL websites – Your Money or Your Life. These are the websites Google hold to a higher standard because they have the ability to affect quality of lives (health or money) of the website’s users.
Then in late 2022, Google added the Experience to the factors it considers important, hence the acronym E-E-A-T.
How Does E-E-A-T Affect You?
When ranking websites, Google and other search engines look at factors like your website or website owner’s reputation, how long the website has been in existence, how fast the website loads, the quality of your website’s content, and the authoritativeness of your authors.
Google also looks at the some visitor engagement metrics like bounce rate and the amount of time visitors spend on your website. These factors let Google gauge the overall quality of your website and whether visitors find the information provided on your website to be authoritative and informative.
Let’s take a look at these important factors of E-E-A-T.
1. Experience
Experience is the knowledge or skill gained through direct observation, participation, or exposure to a particular activity or event. It is the accumulation of knowledge and skills that results from a person’s interactions with the world around them.
Experience can be acquired through various means, such as working in a particular field or industry, participating in a particular activity or event, or simply observing and learning from others.
In many fields, experience is highly valued and is often a key factor in determining a person’s ability to perform a particular job or task. For example, in the medical field, experience is a crucial factor in determining a doctor’s ability to diagnose and treat various conditions. Similarly, in the legal field, lawyers who have more experience are often seen as more capable and knowledgeable than those who are just starting out.
Experience can also be subjective and vary depending on the individual. Two people with the same level of experience may have acquired different levels of knowledge and skills based on their unique experiences and interactions. Therefore, it is important to consider the specific experiences of an individual when assessing their level of expertise or authority in a particular field.
Google looks at experience in many ways including whether the write of an article or creator of a website has the prerequisite experience to be creating such articles. For instance, was that medical advice you just read given by an experienced board-certified physician or somebody who is sitting in their bedroom dispensing medical advice?
2. Expertise
Expertise refers to a person’s specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities in a particular field or domain. It is the result of focused learning and practice in a specific area, and it is often achieved through formal education, training, or professional experience.
Experts are individuals who have developed a high level of expertise in a particular field, and their knowledge and skills are often sought after and valued. In many cases, experts are seen as authorities in their respective fields and are often called upon to provide advice, guidance, or recommendations.
Expertise is not always absolute, however. It can be subjective and may vary depending on the context or situation. For example, a doctor may be an expert in their field of medicine, but they may not be an expert in a different area, such as engineering or finance.
Additionally, expertise can become outdated over time as new research and technologies emerge, so it is important for experts to continue learning and adapting to stay current in their field.
When Google evaluates a website for expertise, they are not only looking at individual articles, they are also looking at the writers of authors to determine if they have acquired the knowledge and training needed to be considered an expert in that field.
A neurosurgeon with 15 years’ experience in the field writing an article about disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system including infections of the brain will be more believable and considered an expert in that field than say, somebody like me, a digital marketing and search engine optimization manager.
To demonstrate expertise in E-E-A-T, consider having experts in the field write your content. So, if your website is about health, have health experts create your content. If it is about money, then have finance experts talk or write your articles and blog posts.
3. Authoritativeness
Authoritativeness is the third leg in the E-E-A-T desk. Authoritativeness refers to the perceived level of power, influence, or expertise that a person or organization has in a particular field or domain. It is often based on reputation, credentials, and past performance, and it can greatly influence how individuals perceive and interact with information and knowledge sources.
In many cases, authoritative sources are seen as more credible and reliable than non-authoritative sources. For example, a news article from a reputable news outlet may be seen as more authoritative than a blog post from an unknown blogger.
Similarly, a research paper from a respected academic institution may be seen as more authoritative than a paper from a lesser-known institution.
Authoritativeness is not easily attained but it is not impossible to be an authority in your subject area. Authoritativeness can be established through various means, such as being published in respected journals, by winning various awards and being recognized by your peers, or by speaking in high-profile forums or conferences.
Authoritativeness can also be maintained or lost over time based on an individual or organization’s actions and reputation so it is important to continue to do things that reinforces your authoritativeness if you want to continue to be known as an authority in your field.
4. Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness refers to the perceived reliability, credibility, and honesty of an individual or organization. It is often based on past behavior and interactions, and it can greatly influence how your website’s visitors perceive and interact with information posted on your website.
Trustworthiness can be established through various means, such as consistent and honest communication, transparent and ethical behavior.
You can also establish authority over time by associating and being cited by those considered authorities in your field. In the digital marketing and search engine optimization space, you will often see websites cite John Mueller and Gary Illyes of Google. They do this to make themselves or their websites look authoritative.
Well, now that you understand what E-E-A-T which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness is all about, how do you plan to ensure that you are incorporating it into everything you do on your website? We will explore various ways to incorporate E-E-A-T into everything you do online in a future article.
Stay tuned.
