Have your cake and E-A-T it: Understanding Google E-A-T

Ranking highly on Google is an important part of any marketing strategy.

We all want to rank well and one way to do this is to increase your Google E-A-T ranking.  

Although, we also want to eat cake. But eating cake and increasing your E-A-T ranking are two very different things. 

Or are they? 

To improve your SERP (Search Engine Results Page), you need to know how to E-A-T properly.

It’s an important on-page SEO ranking factor, but what exactly is Google E-A-T?

E is for ‘Expertise’

Google EAT - E is for expertise

Be an expert in your field. That’s harder than it sounds. 

But if your website is about finance – offer up your expertise on finance. This could be via blog posts on personal finance or guides on how to save your money effectively. 

Your customers will benefit from free financial advice and find answers to their questions easily on your website. And this means they are more inclined to return to your site. 

They might even share your blog content or website with others which will increase your organic reach and generate new leads for your business

Quality over quantity

Having lots of content is great for SEO but if it’s irrelevant, misinformed or offers little to your customers, then chances are, your bounce rate is high. 

Ensure your content has substance and don’t overwhelm your reader with unnecessary jargon. 

Quality copy and well-researched information offers more value to your intended audience than a regular barrage of keyword optimised text. 

And knowledge from a leader in their field is even more valuable. If you’re not quite an expert yet, that’s where guest blog posts can help. 

If relevant, reach out to those in your network or key figures in your industry and invite them to write for you.

Google will look out for expertise, so try to keep your content engaging, informative and entertaining.

A is for ‘Authoritativeness’

Google EAT - A is for authoritativeness

Be a source of information for others in your industry. 

Being an expert is impressive but more so, is when other influencers cite you as a key source for their own written content. 

If your name is synonymous with the things you have expertise in, this means you are more than an expert. Congratulations, you’re now an authority.

Talk to your audience

Encourage others in your industry and network in order to grow your brand. Being communicative is a sure-fire way to boost your authority. 

Get involved in industry related discussions on LinkedIn, promote articles you found value in so that others may feel inclined to do the same for you. This will also encourage more people and companies to start backlinking to your site.

Examples of content that aid authority are useful infographics or long-form articles that highlight your expertise.

When your content is widely shared across social media on a regular basis, this is a sign that you or your brand is clearly growing in authority and influence. This is the natural SEO gold dust you should aim for.

T is for ‘Trustworthiness’

Google EAT - T is for Trustworthiness

Trust is paramount, especially if you sell a product or service via your website. Expertise and authority boost your ranking but having the two without trustworthiness could jeopardise all your hard work. 

This means it’s important to invite customers, clients or relevant stakeholders to review your service, your website or your products regularly. You can do this easily by signing up with review sites like TrustPilot, for example. 

Trust and transparency is important in all lines of work. Never make false claims about yourself, your brand or your products and be honest. 

If you sell products, make sure your refund or exchange policy is clear, concise and easy to find.

Be accountable

If you see negative comments in the responses to your social media posts or have been left with a bad review, address these as soon as possible and offer solutions. 

Social media makes it easier for customers to speak openly and directly on a public forum. Getting on top of these early is important.  

How you deal with negativity or complaints affects how you are viewed by future customers or clients. Multiple bad reviews or slow response times to complaints will signal low quality. 

Additionally, if you ignore these comments outright, this will reflect badly on you and your brand. This will discourage leads or sales.

Be safe

Ensure that your website domain is secure too. Customers or clients want to know your website is safe.  

HTTPS is extremely important to Google as it’s more secure than standard HTTP. This is because it protects both yours and your customers data from being intercepted by third parties. 

A secure domain is essential if your business sells products.

How E-A-T works…

Google hires thousands of manual reviewers to evaluate websites based on these three principles. 

Then they report their findings about the quality of pages they review. A bit like someone who taste-tests multiple cakes (dream job, anyone?).  

Testing a website

The feedback they generate is then used by Google as a benchmark to help improve algorithms.

Why you should E-A-T well

Your website is tested on three main criteria;  expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. 

Therefore, it’s crucial to factor in Google E-A-T alongside your on-page SEO

Not doing so is a bit like baking a simple sponge cake. Sure, your cake is edible and tastes perfectly fine, but what about those extra flourishes? The best recipes involve quality ingredients and finishing touches. 

Things such as decorative icing or an expertly created chocolate ganache filling…now we’re talking!

How to E-A-T well

So now you know the three principles that make up Google E-A-T, what’s next?

Here are some suggestions:

Get to know your customer or client

The importance of feedback and UX cannot be underestimated. When a user has a positive experience on your site, they are more likely to return. 

Good user experience enables you to build a loyal customer or client base. It also encourages positive click-through rates and repeat visits.

Ask for feedback

It can be about how easy to use your website is. How quickly does your customer find what they were looking for? What do they think about your product or service you offer?

Feedback allows you to evaluate your success or failure and take the relevant steps to improve.

Conduct keyword research

Regular Google Keyword searches will help you to identify trends. Discover what information people are looking for, then tailor your content appropriately. Just make sure it’s relevant to your industry.

Write press releases

Write and send out press releases whenever you reach a milestone or create a new product or service. If you don’t have very many press contacts, use a press release distribution service such as Pressat.

This will put your news in front of the right people and journalists.

Industry awards

Research relevant industry awards and enter them. Even a nomination goes a long way to increasing your E-A-T ranking.  

Look at your competitors

Are your competitors doing anything differently? Are the results positive or negative? Don’t copy or plagiarise their work, rather, learn from their successes and failures. 

Never stop learning

It takes time to become an industry leader or expert. But when you eventually do, don’t expect to hold onto that crown for very long. Stay competitive and hone your skills constantly. Keep up-to-date with current events, industry news and any relevant changes.  

Overall, your website needs to include a high level of expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness in order to effectively rank higher.  

It’s no longer good practice to throw together keyword rich content. It’s about steadily growing your brand presence on social media and staying up to date with your customers interests.

That way, your audience and customers grow alongside you.

So, E-A-T isn’t about eating a literal cake. It’s about sharing a metaphorical cake and its unique recipe, then continually improving upon it based on feedback. 

Having your Google cake and eating it

However, if you want to eat actual cake while doing so, feel free, we certainly won’t judge you!

Need help to increase your website ranking with Google E-A-T?

Taking the necessary steps to boost your page rank can be a time consuming process. Especially if you already have an established backlog of content that needs reviewing. 

That’s where we can help you.

Working together, we can identify an actionable and achievable marketing strategy to increase your page rank using Google E-A-T. 

Why not get in contact today for an obligation-free chat. We’d love to hear from you.

About Murray Dare

Murray Dare is a Marketing Consultant, Strategist and Director at Dare Media. Murray helps UK businesses find better ways to connect with their audiences through targeted content marketing strategies.