The short answer? E.A.T. stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.
The long-ish answer? Back in 2018, Google made a major algorithm update dubbed “the medic update” because it tanked so many websites offering health and medical advice.
But when the dust settled, it was clear that this update crushed the search rankings of any site offering advice that could impact the happiness, health, or wealth of a searcher. Google calls these Y.M.Y.L. pages. (Yep, another acronym.)
No matter what you sell or publish, when a human or Googlebot visits your website it is looking for signals of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E.A.T.) of the page.
But if you’re publishing Y.M.Y.L. pages, E.A.T. becomes even more critical.
Here’s a brief introduction to the tactics you can use to get your E.A.T. on.
Expertise – Take the time to build a page that exceeds the expectations of the searcher. Google your target keyword and build something 10X more educational, inspirational, or entertaining than the others competing for that term.
Authority – Get links and mentions from relevant and authoritative websites. Encourage sharing on social media. Build your brand to encourage branded search (people Googling your brand name).
Trustworthiness – Encourage positive reviews on sites like Google My Business, Yelp, or Tripadvisor. Make it easy to contact the website owner. Put an address, phone number, T&C’s, privacy policy in the footer. Secure your website with HTTPS. Include an author biography.
Want more to E.A.T.? (Sorry, had to do it.) If you have a couple of hours to kill, read the Google Search Quality Guidelines. If you’re time-starved (and who isn’t?) read Chapter 1 of this free guide.
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