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The Google E-A-T Update (And What It Means For Your Website)

The Google E-A-T Update (And What It Means For Your Website) post images
Image courtesy of Lauren Edvalson

Written By : Liam Webster

Posted 21/06/2022

While E-A-T has been in Google’s guidelines for a number of years, it’s more important now than ever before. Why? Because the Google E-A-T score is a top ranking factor in 2022, affecting your website performance.

In the second half of 2021, Google released three core algorithm updates. During these updates, websites and pages considered as YMYL (Your Money Your Life) were hit the hardest, suggesting that E-A-T is increasingly important for ranking websites.

Not sure what any of this means? Or how it affects your content marketing? Here we explain it all…

What is E-A-T SEO and YMYL?

Domain authority used to be all about links. But today, Google also evaluates your site using its E-A-T score – Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. By improving your E-A-T score, you can improve your page quality.

‘Your Money Your Life’ refers to websites that sell products/services or provide information that can impact a user’s happiness, health, financial stability or personal safety. These pages are reviewed very carefully by Google because the stakes are high – if you create YMYL content with bad advice or inaccurate information, it could negatively impact people’s lives and livelihood.

This is where E-A-T plays a vital role. If your page has expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, it will be considered to be a quality source. Simply put, make sure your content will help, and not hurt, the people who consume it – especially if it’s YMYL.

What makes great E-A-T SEO?

So what does it means to have good E-A-T? Here we dive deeper into the three must-haves of a great E-A-T SEO score:

  1. Expertise – When users search for a solution to a problem, they want a website that exhibits in-depth knowledge in a specific field. This means content needs to be written by subject/market experts, and you must be able to show that you can provide a more complete service than your competitors.
  2. Authority – Why should someone trust you over a competitor? This can be answered in two ways: through written content, or through your website’s design. When these two elements work together, you can indicate the authority that users (and Google) want to see.
  3. Trust – Hype and clickbait no longer work with today’s savvy audience. To build trust, it’s important to create relevant, data-backed content that provides value to users.

Ways to increase E-A-T signals on site

If you want to improve your E-A-T score, it’s important to have a content marketing strategy and content calendar in place. Here are some of the things you should be doing:

  • Audit existing content – Chances are, some of your older content isn’t quite matching up to the level of your current content. Look for pieces that could be repurposed or improved upon. Use the ROT analysis (Redundant, Outdated, Trivial) to cut out any content that is serving real purpose.
  • Add an author byline to blogs and articles – To increase trust, show your readers who’s creating the content. An author byline can help to inform website visitors about the expert behind each blog or article.
  • Link to authoritative sources – Back up what you’re saying with trusted sources. Try to cite the original source for data whenever possible, and choose high quality websites.
  • Review, edit and include new information – Sometimes, information is no longer relevant when there are updates. This is common if you’re writing about government schemes and guidelines, where things are changing all the time. Make sure you review this type of content and include new information to make sure it stays relevant.
  • Hire content experts – If content isn’t your strong suit, get help from a content agency that knows how to create a strategy for your industry.
Do you need help with your content marketing strategy?

At Identify Digital, we have years of experience working as a digital marketing and content creation agency for local businesses in Yorkshire, and further afield.

To chat to a content agency that understands the latest Google E-A-T update and other SEO trends, call 01924 911333 or fill in our online enquiry form.

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