Want to give your website a boost in the rankings? Find out how optimising EEAT can help you to achieve digital success.
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Every website owner wants their site to rank well, but that can be hard to achieve in today’s crowded web landscape. Understanding critical principles like EEAT is one of the best ways to boost your site’s credibility and put it on the right track to achieving the best possible rankings.
So let’s look at what EEAT means, why it’s so important and how to implement it on your site.
What is EEAT?
You might already be familiar with the SEO term EAT, which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google has updated their criteria, and website owners now need to consider an extra ‘E’ – Experience.
EEAT is a set of criteria used by Google to evaluate the quality of content on a website. Although EEAT isn’t a direct ranking factor, sites with better EEAT are regarded by Google as having more valuable content. And the good news for you is that improving your website’s EEAT can indirectly translate into higher search rankings.
According to Assisted Digital Agency, a leading UK digital marketing agency, EEAT is vital for site owners who want to build and maintain a successful online presence.
So first, let’s look at each of the individual factors involved in EEAT.
How does Expertise relate to EEAT?
Expertise refers to the need for a website to demonstrate a high degree of knowledge in its chosen niche. The content on your website needs to establish a deep understanding of the subject matter, and the website should also provide evidence of the content creator’s expertise in their niche.
For example, a home decor website should contain content that reflects the knowledge level expected from a professional in the home decor field. But the requirement for expert content doesn’t just apply to professional topics. Even if your website is about hobbies or everyday subjects, your content needs to show that you have a deep understanding of the topic.
Numerous studies have shown that the quality of a website’s content affects how users perceive the brand behind the website. So users are more likely to consider your brand to be reliable if the website contains expert content, and the good news for you is that it should translate into better usage metrics and more sales.
How does Experience relate to EEAT?
The new E in EEAT relates to experience. This shows that Google now places additional importance on the author’s first-hand or personal experience of the topic they are writing about.
Experience is essential because searchers often want to read first-hand information and opinions before purchasing goods and services. So Google is more likely to reward a site with higher rankings if the author has actually used a product or service they are reviewing.
For example, if you are considering buying the new iPhone, you are more likely to trust a review written by someone who has actually used the phone rather than one that’s simply repeating the information contained on the Apple website.
How does Trustworthiness relate to EAT?
Experience also ties into the T element of EAT: Trustworthiness.
Pages created by people with personal experience of the topic are more likely to be trustworthy. This is a crucial factor in EAT, and pages that score low on trust will struggle to rank even if they appear to be expert, experienced and authoritative.
You can demonstrate that your site is trustworthy in many ways, from ensuring that it has a secure SSL connection to responding promptly to online reviews and questions.
How does Authoritativeness relate to EAT?
Authoritativeness, the A in EAT, represents the need for the website and author to be considered an expert in their field. Sites like to reference credible sources, so a website or author mentioned frequently in content published by other websites will be seen by Google as having high authoritativeness.
You can prove your website’s authoritativeness through the author’s credentials, for example, by linking from their author bio to their Wikipedia page or LinkedIn account. But another way to show authoritativeness is by building links to your website and the individual pages, as this indicates that other site owners view your site as an authority on the topic.
If you want to improve your website’s authoritativeness, it’s essential to build backlinks with websites that demonstrate strong EAT characteristics themselves. Many site owners find that building links can be one of the most difficult aspects of running a website. Working with an experienced firm such as Assisted Digital Agency is a great way to deal with this issue.
Why is EEAT essential for your website?
Now that you know what the extra E in EAT stands for, let’s look at why it’s crucial for your website.
Better Search Rankings: Sites with good EEAT scores have a better chance of ranking well by Google. The sites at the top of the SERPS take up a large proportion of traffic, so improving your EEAT can drive organic traffic to your site.
Enhanced Brand Reputation: Demonstrating that your site and authors are experts in your chosen niche is a great way to gain trust from both search engines and visitors, enhancing your brand reputation.
Improved User Retention: Consistently providing high-quality, expert content is a great way to turn first-time visitors into repeat visitors and repeat visitors into fans.
Higher Conversion Rates: Websites that contain expert and authoritative content written by authors with personal experience will inspire trust in their users. This can lead to higher conversion rates, as people are more likely to buy from sites they feel they can trust.
Understanding and improving your site’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness can help to enhance your site’s SERPS ranking and set it on the right path to online success.