You know, diving into SEO content writing nowadays is way more than just cramming in keywords. Google’s playing a whole new game with its E-A-T principle (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). It is not about keywords anymore. Instead, it is about becoming the authority in your niche.
So, when I am crafting SEO content, I have got to remember E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Let’s break it down:
Expertise in SEO Content Writing: When I write about SEO I must scratch below the surface. I emphasize demonstrating that I know my subject. Moreover, it is all about the nitty-gritty of SEO principles and practice. My prime motive is to give something that guides, case studies, or analyses, to show my expertise. Instead of just presenting a study material that you might forget the very moment you read it.
Authoritativeness in SEO Content: Being an authority means I have got to be that trusted go-to source. Publishing reliable platforms, getting those backlinks from the big players, and even getting nods from experts – that’s how I build my authority.
Trustworthiness in SEO Content: Trust is the key. I strongly believe that the information I deliver through my writing is accurate, transparent, and ethical. Besides, I have observed that citing reliable sources, disclosing any potential biases, and delivering verified info help build trust with my audience.
By weaving E-A-T into my SEO content, I know that I am not just writing, but, crafting content that stands out. My prime motive is to ensure that my SEO content reflects expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – that is how it aligns with Google’s criteria for top-notch content.
When you are diving into SEO content writing, I will suggest you to prioritize the E-A-T criteria, as it can seriously hike up your game. Trust me, it is about finding that balance between pleasing the search engines and making sure your content ticks the E-A-T boxes for both the algorithms and your lovely readers.
I will suggest you think of SEO content as your chance to enlighten and educate your audience. Mark my words, it is way more than just hitting word counts or keywords; it is about giving your readers that “Got it!” moment they have been long looking for.
Let me help you in understanding the concept, and for that, we have to dive into examples and stats to see how SEO content has evolved.
Remember when stuffing articles with keywords was the norm? Recent updates like E-A-T (2018) have shifted the game to quality content. In 2019, SEMrush found keyword-focused pages losing ranks. Now, let’s fast forward to the year 2022 when Backlinko highlighted the importance of content relevancies over keywords for higher rankings.
Apart from that, reports from Moz and Ahrefshave show a whopping 90% of web pages getting zero organic traffic due to keyword stuffing. Following E-A-T, pages showing expertise and trustworthiness see a boost in visibility.
Metrics like CTRs, time on page, and low bounce rates are now big players. SEO tools report a drop in keyword-stuffed content effectiveness. On the other hand, valuable content is now driving better engagement and traffic growth.
Google’s BERT update (2019) shifted focus to understanding user intent. Healthline and Mayo Clinic saw a surge in rankings post-2018 by delivering expert-backed content that users needed.
These examples should be enough for you to understand how Google’s standards are changing with time, and how the keyword overloading process is shifting into quality and authoritative content.
All in all, today SEO requires a more open-minded approach. This is in line with Google’s focus on expertise and trustworthiness, and you need to provide real value. According to me, it will be beneficial for you if you brainstorm to understand what your audience needs.
E-A-T and Your Money Your Life (YMYL) Pages
In 2022, the E-E-A-T update focused more on assessing E-A-T quality for topics that can seriously affect people’s lives. These include guidance on finance, health and safety, child care, or news which can have a big impact.
Showing a lot of skill and being reliable is very important for YMYL topics. This is because wrong or misleading pages could harm real people who use them in everyday life. So, the E-A-T rules are stricter for these important topics than for pages about fun, things to buy, or less important data.
As a search quality evaluator guideline states:
“Pages with money, health, or safety information need to have strong E-E-A-T. Think about why the people who made the MC know what they’re talking about, how much you trust them, and if the information they give is good and correct.”
So, with the new E-E-A-T update, you primarily have to focus on expertise and on forming users’ trust while creating content about YMYL topics. This will eventually help you in meeting your audience’s expectations and coming up with high-quality content.
Why E-A-T is a Vital Ranking Factor for SEO Content
Focusing on improving E-A-T quality signals should be a top priority for any search engine optimization plan. This is especially important as the 2022 algorithm changes have highly emphasized on evaluating E-A-T.
Low E-A-T risks:
- Low search rankings
- Limited visibility in search results
- Reducing visits and clicks from searchers.
- Negative trust perceptions from users
By contrast, high E-A-T pages can excel at:
• Being top for hard searches that many people want, but there isn’t much competition.
• Creating a strong grip in the field as a trusted and reliable source of industry information.
• Make people keep coming back by helping people understand that you are an expert, which will eventually make your website a place the audience would want to visit more often.
Furthermore, E-A-T should be a crucial consideration when producing any kind of auto-generated content from AI tools. (Source: searchengineland.com)
Such machine-created content often lacks true subject matter expertise or fails to establish authentic user trust according to Google’s in-depth assessments. The best practices state:
“Because auto-generated content tends to have less E-A-T than people-first content, raters should consider the E-A-T deficits of auto-generated content when giving Page Quality ratings.”
Hence human-created, original content specifically optimized for strong signals of knowledge, reliability and transparency will far exceed any AI-synthesized pages. Such auto-generated pages violate core E-A-T principles around displaying genuine skill and building relationships.
In particular, evaluate and provide ratings on whether auto-generated/aggregated MC:
- Demonstrates a lack of genuine MC uniqueness or creativity
- Has an overall lack of purpose beyond generating ads
- Appears to have no genuine expertise behind the content
While AI tools have applications for drafting content outlines and extracts, extensive human research, writing, and optimization are still vital for producing final pages rivaling subject matter experts.
How to Demonstrate Strong Expertise in Content
Expertise is one of the most heavily weighted E-A-T components that Google’s search raters assess. Some best practices for displaying thorough expertise in content include:
Conduct Extensive Original Research
- Synthesize insights across reputable industry sources showcasing extensive research and analysis you have conducted rather than focusing on reporting surface-level facts. (Source: textbroker.com)
- Interview multiple subject matter experts across academia, medical professionals, analysts, etc. to quote within published posts demonstrating primary research.
- Provide meaningful broader contextualization that goes significantly beyond summarizing just basic statistics or events extending into trends analysis, impact assessments, predictive insights, etc. that displays true subject mastery.
- Thoroughly cover the major issues, questions, and aspects searchers would have around a topic in great detail showcasing comprehensive understanding versus competitor sites half-heartedly covering a subject.
Create Content Only Within Domains of Deep Experience
- Ensure respective site writers exclusively create content around topics where they have very deep expertise from years of industry experience and proven knowledge.
- Extensively establishing individual author credentials and qualifications behind the content creates further confidence in expertise levels.
- Avoid attempting to create content even on closely related subjects that content creators do not have very strong experience around. This violates E-A-T principles.
Prominently Quote Subject Matter Experts
- Interviewing and directly quoting specialists like academics, analysts, or experienced professionals cited prominently in published posts helps highlight third-party subject matter experts verifying your expertise claims.
- Backlinks to the sites of quoted experts additionally signal external validation of your competence.
- Surfacing respected specialists confirming assertions made greatly increases perceived authority.
Signals of Expertise | Example |
Subject matter mastery | Doctor author creating content about specific medical treatments they have extensively administered showing proven knowledge |
Supporting evidence through citations and quotes of subject matter experts | An electronics review site interviewing electrical engineers from leading universities to deeply assess complex device hardware specs |
Meaningful analysis and insights well beyond summarizing basic facts/data | A political site contextualizing implications of electoral developments over decades drawing on historical trends rather than just stating vote result numbers |
Demonstrates extensive first-hand experience using a product/service | A blogging platform review created after using the system extensively for years showcasing real hands-on perspective versus briefly testing |
By dedicating focus on presenting undisputed mastery and competence within published posts through these methods, you substantially improve E-A-T perceptions from both algorithms and human evaluators analyzing pages.
Seek to address information gaps searchers have by commissioning research initiatives bringing you greater insight into emerging issues before competitors. Assign appropriate subject matter experts rather than teams with no expertise. Signal research expenses invested.
Establishing Strong Authoritativeness
In addition to expertise, your content should also communicate authority on a topic by being extensively cited and referenced by external credible sources – a crucial component of authoritativeness.
Some leading tactics to strengthen authoritativeness signals include:
Link Prominently to Highly Authoritative Sites
- Identify the most trusted sites on a given topic vertical (like CDC for medical advice) and ensure directly linking prominently across relevant articles when relevant assertions are made.
- Interlink extensively with quality academic journals and respected subject experts with recognized credentials site-wide.
- Eliminate broken links immediately and seek high authority sites to replace those lost backlinks where plausible to maintain authoritativeness flows.
Update Older Content As New Facts Emerge
- Fact check and update existing content regularly as new research and evidence emerges to maintain 100% accuracy and contextualization. Providing accurate information builds user trust and aligns with E-A-T best practices.
- Refresh dated statistical claims, add relevant supporting quotes/links and analyze new implications all help establish continuity of expertise over time rather than seemingly forgetting or ignoring new learnings.
Close Information Gaps Before Competitors
- Identify emerging issues and questions searchers have where limited content currently exists and marshal internal subject experts to create authoritative investigations closing those information needs adding to your platform authoritativeness as the long-term wisdom leader versus short-term content farms.
Verify Sources Rigorously Before Linking Out
- Assess the authoritativeness of potential sites to link to by scrutinizing elements like citations referenced, publisher era in business, listed credentials of reporters/editors etc. to determine authority level.
- Establish a select universe of trusted partner sites to interlink with rather than lower quality domains with less proven expertise.
- Seek additional confirmation from independent reputable sources before asserting emerging claims from new sites no matter how credible initial impressions seem to be prudent confirming authoritativeness.
Gaining external citations and references helps quantify authoritativeness through trust flows. Prioritize securing backlinks from domains with high authority scores amplifying assumed competency for readers discovering you via those trusted paths.
While expertise reflects competency created internally, leveraging authoritativeness flows from unbiased external validation establishes third-party credibility aligning with E-A-T’s goals.
Building User Trust
The degree of user trust in the transparency and honesty of your content creators contributes enormously to content quality evaluations. Some key principles for building credibility include:
Convey Content Creator Qualifications Prominently
- Positively assure readers of authors’ credibility by listing contributor experience (years in industry, media outlets published in previously, companies covered etc). Readers become more invested in content they perceive produced by demonstrated experts versus freelancers.
- Spotlight specific staff member credentials/certifications (journalism awards, STEM degrees etc) denoting expertise around specialty content areas through bylines and bio sections builds authority. Enrich contributor pages multidimensionally providing greater context around unique expertise beyond a static resume to inform readers on relevant capabilities.
Maintain Rigorous Fact Checking and Fairness Standards
- Establish permanently dedicated fact-checking roles assessing the accuracy of claims made in all data points, product features, scientific assertions, historical claims, etc cross-verifying from multiple reputed sources. Promote your verification rigor openly. Readers perceive unproven claims as questionable.
- Demonstrate content fairness and conclusions drawn are entirely evidence-based vs ideologically biased through presenting opposing credible viewpoints around debatable topics. Build reader faith content is unaffected by conflicts of interest increasing perceived integrity.
Facilitate Reader Feedback Directly
- Create and promote channels for external users to directly submit corrections, complaints and general feedback around trust concerns enable openness responding to reader distrust events directly if they were to ever occur. Monitoring such inputs prevents an erosion of credibility from outpacing internal teams own awareness.
- Publicize contact info enabling readers to personally reach out to editors/writers behind each piece reinforcing human dialogue avenues exist behind content.
Trust cannot simply be claimed by sites through badges. It must be actively maintained through accountability processes that preserve integrity people can depend on. Reader perceptions determine authority.
While expertise and authoritativeness establish competency, developing transparency around accuracy processes, presenting contributor qualification and maintaining open feedback channels provides readers confidence in the sincerity of efforts made. Prioritizing resolving trust deficits directly enables producing content aligned with user expectations of integrity.
Conclusion – Making E-A-T Optimization Central to SEO
With expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness becoming more vital facets evaluated by Google’s search algorithms, optimizing for E-A-T should no longer be an afterthought.
Making E-A-T a central consideration from the research stage through to final publication stages of creating content should be standard policy.
Key areas to focus E-E-A-T optimization include:
Assigning Subject Experts: Research paper level scrutiny applies for some niches now. Assign veteran analysts to dive deep avoiding non-experts out of their depth on intricate topics.
Establishing Extensive Research Criteria: Highlight source materials consulted, statistics verified etc as a site standard for validating put in work.
Enforcing Fact Checking and Reviews: Error free posts build lasting trust through accountability processes promoting accuracy.
Requiring Reference Citations to Quality Domains: Authoritativeness derives from linking prominently to recognizable trusted authorities respected by readers.
Publicizing Specific Staff Credentials: Spotlight individual achievements, knowledge credentials and longtime industry expertise upfront building integrity.
By natively integrating E-A-T optimization starting from content planning stages through to public issue resolution promises later, publishers can consistently output high quality pages matching searcher intent and trust. The most established authorities pursue excellence before chasing ephemeral page view volumes. Long-term consistency drives results.
While evolving algorithms will keep raising content expectations, dedicating focus on genuinely serving needs through subject expertise remains the philosophical emphasis underpinning Google’s efforts around service integrity.