Google’s E-E-A-T SEO Score has a SuperMassive Impact

Preface By Justin Sirotin:

In 2022, Google updated its Search Quality Rater Guidelines, evolving its E-A-T framework into E-E-A-T – adding Experience as a new factor for evaluating expertise and authority. This change reflects Google’s recognition that real-world know-how is just as important as formal credentials. What Does this mean for your personal E-E-A-T?

For SEOs and website owners, the rise of E-E-A-T signals an increasing need to demonstrate hands-on experience and engage users in addition to optimizing content for knowledge, trustworthiness, and reputation. Authority now comes not just from what you know, but what you’ve done.

I have extensive SEO experience, but my true passion is using AI for content creation. This article demonstrates how AI can generate authoritative content on E-A-T and E-E-A-T, inspired by industry thought leaders but with a humorous fictional author twist. While not actually written by experts, I hope you find the insights and advice educational as well as entertaining!

A Brief History of E-A-T

By Areezy-B of Googley Analytics

While old-school SEO focused on keywords, links, and tech stuff, Google realized these things didn’t really show if a website was high quality. In 2015, Google published its Search Quality Rater Guidelines introducing the idea of E-A-T to judge a website’s expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Since then, E-A-T has become more and more important in how Google ranks websites. In 2018, Google added specific E-A-T guidelines for pages about money, health, and safety – stuff that can really impact people’s lives and wallets.

And in 2022, Google even updated the guidelines to talk about E-E-A-T – adding experience and real-world know-how as signals of authority, not just school degrees and book smarts.

So as search engines get smarter, websites need to focus less on gimmicks to rank and more on offering advice readers can truly trust. Optimizing for E-A-T improves the user experience and leads to better search results in the long run.

III. Expertise

By Neil Algorithm, Founder of MarketingTechInsights.net

So what exactly constitutes expertise, and why does it matter for SEO and content creation?

Expertise refers to deep, specialized knowledge and mastery of a particular topic. Google evaluates it based on factors like:

• Educational background – Do they have advanced degrees, certifications, or formal training related to the field?
• First-hand experience – Do they share original research, real-world examples, or personal testing demonstrating hands-on knowledge?
• Content quality – Is their content accurate, in-depth, and up-to-date with the latest insights on the topic?
• Website design and UX – Does the site appear professional, user-friendly, and designed with SEO best practices in mind?
• Reputation – Are they recognized by media outlets, conferences, or professional relationships as an authority within their niche?

Gaining true expertise takes substantial time and effort – it is not something that happens overnight. But it is well worth striving for, as building recognized mastery of a topic is the foundation for establishing authority and earning user trust.

Communicating your hard-won knowledge also requires understanding user intent and effectively explaining complex concepts simply. Continual learning and staying updated as the field evolves is also essential. Expertise must be maintained over time through ongoing education and participation in professional communities.

Demonstrating expertise through high-quality content should be a primary goal. Share your specialized insights, but remember most readers aren’t starting from your same level of depth. Meet users at their level, be transparent about your credentials, and provide value.

IV. Experience

By Dawn Android, Founder of OnlineMediaMotherboard.com

While expertise refers to mastery of knowledge, experience is about acquiring know-how through direct, hands-on application of skills. As Google’s shift to E-E-A-T shows, experience and real-world credibility are becoming equally as important as academic pedigree for establishing authority.

There are several ways to obtain valuable experience that bolsters your reputation:

• Gain work experience in your field through internships, volunteer projects, freelance jobs etc. Build up your resume.
• Start a personal blog or portfolio site to share case studies from your work demonstrating applied skills.
• Engage actively with professional communities through networking events, conferences, and online forums.
• Seek mentorships and job shadowing opportunities to learn from experts.
• Run experiments, test theories, and analyze results – document your learning journey.
• Achieve certifications through practical learning like capstone projects.

Essentially, real-world participation within your niche builds know-how you can then demonstrate through sharing personal experiences, examples, and lessons learned. Hands-on application complements book knowledge.

As Google grows more sophisticated in evaluating human expertise, showcasing applied skills will become increasingly important for content creators and SEOs. Make sure to highlight your credentials through experience, not just education.

V. Authority

By Maria Haywire, Founder of SEOBotTips.com

Authority refers to the degree of influence and trust a website/creator commands due to their commanding expertise and experience. Google seeks out these kinds of signals to determine authority:

• Authoritative Links – Does the site earn high-quality backlinks from trusted sources like major media outlets, dot edu domains, and government pages? This indicates endorsement.
• Brand Mentions – Is the site referenced positively by name on other authoritative sites? Brand mentions should add context about their expertise.
• Social Shares/Followers – Does the site have a strong following and get shared by influencers on social media? Niche-relevant amplification indicates authority.
• Prominence in SERPs – Does the site rank highly in search results, especially for competitive keywords? Ranking well reinforces authority.

Gaining authority takes time and continuous effort – it will not happen overnight. Producing high-value content that earns trust over many years is key. But the benefits are worth it, leading to amplified conversion rates and referral traffic.

Collaborations can also turbocharge authority building. Team up on content creation, backlink building, and outreach campaigns with credible partners in your space. Look for opportunities to contribute guest posts to authoritative sites. Proactively grow your authority by making it a central priority.

VI. Trustworthiness

By Brian LinkDroid, Founder of Botlinko.com

Trustworthiness reflects how much confidence users place in a website or content creator based on how reliable, transparent, and honest they seem. Google looks for these trust indicators:

• Creator Transparency – are authors fully identified with bios, credentials, and contact info? Photos also add a human element.
• Citation of Sources – does content extensively link to scientific studies, primary sources, and quotes from experts to back up claims?
• Admission of Limitations – does the site acknowledge areas that are still developing, controversial, or unknown? Sharing the full picture builds trust.
• Regular Updates – does old content get refreshed when new evidence warrants it? Willingness to evolve shows openness.
• High Quality Links Out – are credible external resources recommended for learning more? Curation and generosity build goodwill.
• Site Design – is the site professional in appearance with excellent writing and minimal intrusive ads? A clean user experience prevents distractions.

Earning user trust requires sincerity, nuance, and truthfulness. Avoid excessive hype, bias, or treating opinion as fact. Consider multiple perspectives. Optimize for transparency rather than self-promotion.

For Your Money or Your Life sites like financial advisors and health portals, establishing ironclad trust is even more critical. Flaunt your expertise, be abundantly cautious, and err on the side of transparency around anything that could impact people’s finances or wellbeing.

VII. E-E-A-T in Practice

By Barry RankBrain, SEO Cyborg

Optimizing a website for expertise, experience, authority, and trust may seem daunting. But taken step-by-step, it becomes easy to systematically improve your site’s E-E-A-T attributes. Here is an actionable blueprint:

1. Conduct an E-E-A-T Content Audit

• Review site content with a critical eye – identify any gaps related to expertise, authority, trust.
• Check that author credentials and backgrounds are complete.
• Flag unsupported claims, outdated data, or content that could mislead readers.

2. Strengthen Expertise and Experience

• Update author bios to showcase qualifications, training, and hands-on achievements.
• Add more detailed breakdowns and original insights to content.
• Insert visual aids like charts/graphs to illustrate points.
• Share personal experiences, case studies, and real-world examples demonstrating applied knowledge.

3. Build External Authority

• Produce high-quality content worthy of backlinks and references from authoritative sources.
• Reach out strategically to earn reputable backlinks through guest contributions and roundups.
• Pitch interviews on podcasts, publications, conferences, and industry forums to showcase expertise.

4. Boost Trust Factors

• Expand citations, link to research studies, and quote expert sources to substantiate claims.
• Adopt transparency best practices like disclosing potential biases and noting what is still being debated.
• Refresh old content by adding new data, relevant studies, informed analysis, and updated recommendations.

5. Monitor and Maintain Standards

• Regularly review new content before publishing to ensure it upholds E-E-A-T principles.
• Check Google Analytics and Search Console for improvements or drops – diagnose and address any issues.
• Proactively identify outdated evergreen content for refreshing. Consistency is key.

6. Promote Your Best E-E-A-T Content

• Build links and amplify content specifically exemplifying your expertise, achievements, and transparency through PR and social media.
• Tout author credentials, user trust signs, and any external validation like awards.

Making E-E-A-T central to your strategy requires dedication but pays dividends in reputation and organic growth. Stay diligent in guarding your site’s expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness.

VIII. Real-World Examples E-E-A-T Impact

By Rand553, Founder of SparkBot

While E-E-A-T may feel conceptual, its impact on site success is tangible. Here are real-world examples:

Neil Patel’s Authority Ascent

Digital marketer Neil Patel developed a reputation for SEO expertise through constant learning, testing theories, and sharing insights online. His blog and videos demonstrate hands-on knowledge. By networking and guest posting, he gained authoritative links and brand mentions. His search visibility and conversion rates have grown exponentially.

Wikipedia’s Battle Against Fake News

As misinformation proliferated online, Wikipedia doubled down on trust and accuracy through extensive fact-checking, primary sourcing, and timely updates. By maintaining high standards, Wikipedia retained its reputation as an authoritative source and became one of the world’s most visited websites.

The Motley Fool’s Trustworthiness Fail

Investing advice site Motley Fool saw declining traffic after getting penalized for low-quality “Your Money or Your Life” content with anonymous authors and unsupported recommendations. By improving author transparency and substantiating claims, they recovered in the rankings.

Brian Dean’s Comprehensive SEO Approach

The founder of Backlinko built his blog into a trusted authority by perfecting on-page expertise signals, soliciting high-quality backlinks, and promoting content through social proof. This comprehensive E-E-A-T strategy led to an explosion in organic visibility.

In summary, optimizing for E-E-A-T results in tangible ROI when done systematically. Heed these examples on your journey to building expertise, authority, trust, and experience.

IX. Personal Insights

By Justin Sirotin

As an SEO practitioner for many years, I’ve witnessed firsthand how sites can rise and fall based on the quality of their content. In the early 2000s, spammers could achieve short-lived success with underhanded tactics. But as search engines grew more sophisticated, only sites offering true value and expertise thrived over the long haul.

I remember one client who ran a health advice website and initially turned down my suggestions to bring on credentialed medical experts as writers. They preferred churning out articles quickly based on keyword demand.Unsurprisingly, their traffic tanked as Google’s algorithms evolved to assess author expertise and trustworthiness. They eventually overhauled their content approach entirely, but not before irreparable damage was done to their brand.

This demonstrated to me early on the importance of optimizing for real knowledge rather than gaming the system. While E-E-A-T wasn’t explicitly defined back then, in hindsight it perfectly explains the site’s downfall and underscores why information websites must emphasize quality and transparency above all else.

My passion lies in leveraging AI responsibly to help businesses understand these evolving search standards and improve their content accordingly. Rules come and go, but things like expertise and trust are here to stay. I’m committed to using technology to enhance information quality on the web, not undermine it. If this article gave you some ideas on improving your own content, then I’ve achieved my goal!

Onwards and upwards, fellow search marketers!

The Future of E-E-A-T

By Justin Sirotin

Google’s updating of its Search Quality Rater Guidelines to introduce the new E-E-A-T standard confirms what many in SEO have recognized for years – establishing genuine expertise, experience, authority, and trust is fundamental to success.

While boosting these indicators takes significant time and effort, the long-term payoffs make it an indispensable investment. By demonstrating specialized knowledge, applying skills, earning reputational validation, and transparently providing value to users, sites can ascend to become respected authorities even in highly competitive spaces.

Adapting to Google’s intensifying focus on E-E-A-T requires recalibrating priorities – deemphasizing shallow vanity metrics and quick wins in favor of a patient, systematic approach to building value and credibility.

But for those who embrace this challenge, the rewards are well worth it. By making E-E-A-T the cornerstone of your SEO strategy, you set yourself up not just for temporary positional gains, but for lasting brand-building and community impact.

Even as algorithms and tactics come and go, a foundation of authentic expertise, experience, authority and trust stands the test of time. May this guide provide a blueprint to begin fortifying that foundation today.

Onward and upwards!