What is E-E-A-T? [Why is E-E-A-T Important for SEO in 2023]?

E-E–A–T stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a framework used by Google to assess the quality of content on websites. E-E-A-T is an essential aspect of Google’s search algorithm, as it helps determine which websites should rank higher in search results based on the credibility and value of their content.

User experience encompasses a wide range of aspects, including but not limited to:

1. Page speed: How quickly a website loads, as faster loading times lead to a better user experience.
2. Mobile-friendliness: How well a website functions and displays on mobile devices, ensuring users can easily navigate and consume content regardless of their device.
3. Site navigation: It is easy for users to find the information they’re looking for on the website, with clear menus, categories, and links.
4. Accessibility: Making sure a website is usable for people with disabilities, such as those using screen readers or having difficulty with certain types of navigation.
5. Content readability: Ensuring the content is easy to read, using appropriate font sizes, colors, and spacing, as well as clear, concise language.
6. Visual design: The overall aesthetic and design of the website can contribute to a positive user experience when done well.
7. Security: Ensuring the website has a secure connection (HTTPS) and proper security measures in place to protect user data and privacy.

• “Experience” – Google considers user experience an essential factor when ranking websites in search results. Optimizing your website for user experience can improve your chances of ranking higher and provide a better experience for your users. In May 2021, Google introduced the Page Experience Update, which emphasizes user experience even more by including Core Web Vitals metrics in its ranking algorithm. Core Web Vitals measure factors such as loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability of a website.
• “Expertise” refers to the content creator’s level of knowledge or skill in a specific subject area. High-quality content should be created by someone with relevant expertise in the topic being discussed.
• “Authoritativeness” refers to the credibility of the content and the website it is hosted on. Authoritativeness can be established through the quality of the content, the site’s reputation, external links and citations, and the credentials of the content creator.
• “Trustworthiness” refers to the overall trustworthiness of the content and website. Trustworthiness is determined by factors like the accuracy of the information, transparency about the content’s creation and sources, the site’s security, and the user experience it provides.

E-E-A-T is an SEO acronym for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The extra E, Experience, was added by Google in May of 2021. In 2022 Google confirmed E-E-A-T is rated for every query that is searched. The concept of E-E-A-T is discussed in great detail in Google’s Quality Raters’ Guidelines. Google’s own documentation tells us, “if you understand how raters learn to assess good content, that might help you improve your own content.”

We first saw this acronym when Google’s Search Quality Guidelines were leaked in 2014. But with Google’s official 2020 release, we now know just how vital E-E-A-T is. So this year, E-E-A-T is set to be a huge deal—our SEO Services deal with getting your site to comply with Google’s E-A-T most essential factors.

Google states that E-E-A-T is among the top 3 considerations for Page Quality. So if you haven’t been paying attention to E-E-A-T content before, you should start doing so immediately.

Why is E-E-A-T So Important for Your Web Pages?

So why is having experience, expertise, authority, and trust so significant? After all, the Google quality rater guidelines don’t determine a page’s rankings.

Essentially, E-E-A-T determines a website’s value. Quality raters consider E-E-A-T when judging how well a site or page provides what they need. They look to see if they’re getting a good online experience and if the content meets their standards. If the raters feel like a user would feel comfortable reading, sharing, and recommending the content, that earns the site a high level of E-E-A-T.

Think of E-E-A-T as why users would choose your site over your competitors. As a result, E-E-A-T could directly impact how Google receives — and ultimately ranks —  your website.

“Your Money or Your Life” or YMYL

So how does E-E-A-T affect visitors to your site?

E-E-A-T is closely related to Google’s “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) pages. YMYL pages have topics on medical advice, legal advice, financial advice, etc. Anything that could positively or negatively affect a user’s happiness, health, and wealth. Examples include:

• An online store asking for your credit card info
• A mommy blog giving parenting advice
• A financial institution blog offering legal advice
• A medical health page listing symptoms for a rare disease

High-ranking YMYL pages will show a high level of E-E-A-T. That’s because the safer a user feels while visiting a page, and the more the content meets their search query, the more it will meet the needs of E-A-T. Sites genuinely offering helpful advice or a solution to a problem will meet these needs more readily than sites that try to game Google’s system.

Wrapping up:

So your site will only be as valuable as what you put into it. Since E-E-A-T is on both the page and site levels, you need to ensure every part of your website is trying to meet Google’s requirements. And if your pages qualify as YMYL pages, this is even more important.

But don’t just take our word for it. Google says a page or site lacking in E-E-A-T is a “sufficient reason to give a page a Low-quality rating.” So if you aren’t an expert, provide a good user experience, are an authority in your field, or are trustworthy, your site page could be considered low quality.

You have to craft engaging, useful, and accurate content. And you have to use E-E-A-T to meet the needs of both quality raters and actual users. Do that, and you’re doing what Google wants.

Keep this page bookmarked – you never know when you need a reminder to implement E-E-A-T correctly.