EAT Means… What is “EAT” in SEO & Why it is Crucial

What is EAT in SEO? Welcome to my guide about what “E-A-T” means for Search Engine Optimization on Google and why it is important to understand and focus on, for all brands wanting to build a strong digital presence on Google-owned search engines.

Hi there, this is Joanna Vaiou, owner of this website. I am running my own client SEO services company as an independent professional SEO consultant since early 2013.

During the last few years, I have been emphasizing to my clients the importance of building their own personal brand as experts in their craft and putting out personalized content that is helpful and answers vital questions that people type in the Google search box.

They ask me why this is important. Most of them are uncomfortable with my suggestion and my answer is always:

It is important because of Google’s “EAT”

What is “E-A-T”? What does EAT Stand for in SEO?

“E-A-T” is the acronym of “Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness” and firstly appeared in Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines document. Google gives this document to its employees known as “Page Quality Raters”, to follow and manually rate the quality of webpages on the internet.

Google then uses the feedback of its employees to constantly improve its own algorithm during the upcoming frequent updates.

What do these three terms mean for everyone involved in the Search Engine Optimization industry?

What “Expertise” Stands for in SEO

The expertise of the “MC” (Main Content) creator must be proved and presented in the content. Google’s Quality Raters manually check the content on a webpage and search for the credentials of the creator.

For example, Quality Raters may ask themselves “is the author of a medical article a real expert? What makes them an expert?”

If they see data that prove the expertise of the author then they rate it with a good “E-A-T” score.

This is most crucial for “YMYL” (Your Money or Your Life) industries including Medical, Legal, or Financial.

The content that such a company publishes must be factful, and backed-up with data that prove its truthfulness.

Every company in every industry should focus on improving their “E-A-T” score even if they are not in the “YMYL” category. It is a matter of building trust in one’s brand with the rest of the internet world.

What “Authoritativeness” Means in SEO

Search Quality Raters review the content on a webpage to see if (and at what level) the content creator is not only an EXPERT but also an AUTHORITY in their niche. The quality of the content an expert creates, the conversations happening around it, plus what other people say and share about their experience with the content creator are the defining factors of the authority score of the Content Creator.

What “Trustworthiness” Stands for in SEO

The Trustworthiness measurement applies to the individual content creator, the content, and the website itself in order to rate its trustworthiness or safety score.

If the main content creator is an Expert and an Authority in their niche and the website that publishes their content is a trustworthy website in terms of security and offers a great user experience then the overall trustworthiness score will be high.

What are the YMYL Sites?

“YMYL” is the acronym of “Your Money or Your Life” term and applies to websites in industries that are very crucial for public health, safety, and finances.

Google has released algorithmic updates in the past specifically for these industries, i.e like the Medic Update in 2018 that hit the medical industry’s sites.

It is reasonable that in these industries where the public health, safety, and finances are at stake, Google is very strict when it comes to evaluating websites and rank on the top page of its search engine.

Google wants to offer the best experience to its users and works hard to ensure that only the most authoritative and trustworthy content is rewarded with 1st-page keyword rankings.

As mentioned earlier, this does not mean that if you operate in a non-YMYL niche you shouldn’t pay attention to incorporate Google’s “E-A-T” guidelines into your daily company’s culture for every single piece of content you put out or any online interaction you make with others.

Is EAT a Ranking Factor for Google?

There is a misconception that E-A-T is a direct Google ranking factor. As Google states in their document, none of the 3 individual factors nor all of them (as a team of 3) directly influence Google ranking positions.

What does EAT stand for in SEO? What is EAT? Joanna Vaiou

Is EAT considered to be a ranking factor for Google?

Why is EAT so Important for Websites since it’s not a Direct Ranking Factor?

While the results of Google’s Quality Raters when manually reviewing pages on the internet do not instantly or directly influence the keyword rankings for the page, they do determine a website’s overall value.

Google’s employees check if the content meets their standards in terms of expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness, and the overall online experience they get while on the website. If they feel confident and comfortable to share the content they read with others or link to it from another relevant and authoritative website then this will result in a high “E-A-T” score.

Why EAT is a Crucial Bundle of Trust for Your Brand

I personally believe that EAT is an indirect and long term ranking factor that you can’t afford to ignore.

I have been building my own SEO personal brand on this website you are on, since March 2009 (when I bought this domain and started studying SEO DIY at home).

After over a decade of experience and after starting from a nobody on the internet to reaching where I am today, I totally see and experience the results of my personal EAT building on Google SERP directly.

Not only do I rank on the top page of Google for SEO industry terms with my website pages’ results but I also show up on Google Related Searches and Google Autocomplete features.

I have recorded a video on that next.

The reason why I show up on Google on these features with my personal brand name against my competitors on Google is that I have been building my EAT score for over a decade.

Why Building your EAT Should be Your Priority for the Next Decades

The sooner you start building your Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness on the internet, the sooner Google and users will trust you enough to consider you an authority in order to rank your website for your industry’s target search terms.

How Can I Improve my SEO Eat? (15 Steps)

Step outside of yourself and try to go into your ideal customer’s shoes.
Review your own website in terms of content quality and amount, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
Do exactly the same for your top competitors on Google.
Answer to yourself the question: “Why should my ideal customer choose to work with you instead of choosing your TOP competitor to work with?”
Note down all the missing elements of the overall value of your brand.
Create better content from your competitors that answers your customers’ questions thoroughly.
Have a strong “About You – Author Page” where you list your credentials, skills, media features, and anything that proves you are an Expert, an Authority, and Worthy of trust in your niche.
Link out to your above “About You – Author Page” from every single piece of content you are publishing either on your site or external sites as a guest author or featured expert.
Create Google Alerts for your brand name to identify unlinked mentions for your brand and ask for a link back to your website.
Put yourself more out there on the internet. I know it is uncomfortable for many people but it is essential if you want to separate yourself from the masses. Get comfortable with creating videos or other types of content that is helpful to your online audience. Some of these people will be your future customers. Why? You will be at the top of their head when they will feel ready to invest in your product or service because of that educational post you published on Linkedin, or the how-to video you uploaded on YouTube and shared to your company’s social media accounts.
Build a SOLID PERSONAL BRAND that people like and trust.
Invest in multimedia content types so you can potentially rank multiple times for your keywords on the top page of Google by taking advantage of all the available featured snippets that Google displays. Here is an example of how to get your website/brand on Google’s 1st page multiple times. And here is an example of all the different types of Google search results & snippets you can claim for your keywords.
Build relationships with online journalists through HARO Network: Frequently offer your free expert quotes in the area of your specialization, in exchange for high relevancy & authority links back to your website. I have bothered a decent amount of mentions, and press coverage from Haro Network that you can check here. These collaborations, features, and interviews have increased my brand’s authority and have brought new clients to my door. It is a time-consuming process that is really rewarding long-term. Nothing valuable comes easy, always remember that.
Improve the user experience on your website and on your company’s social media interactions. Treat people well, be kind, be helpful. Word of mouth marketing still remains a top method to promote your brand to a wider audience.
Ask for reviews from the people you help and interact with daily. If you regularly share valuable and helpful content online, on your website, and on your social media, be vigilant and ask people to share their experience and how the information that you share has helped them. Get reviews on your Google My Business page, your Linkedin personal profile, and of course don’t forget your customers. Make the move to ask them to review you publicly online. If you have genuinely helped them, they will be happy to take the time to offer you a review for others to see.

Google EAT Key Takeaways

When a site is lacking “EAT” it will most likely receive a low-quality score. This in time will affect your rankings in a bad way. Because your competitors who have higher scores of overall better Value will reap the rewards on the SERP for your keywords.
Whether you operate in a niche considered “YMYL” or not, the time to start improving your EAT score is YESTERDAY! Remember, it took me over a decade of personal brand building in order to get rewarded with the rankings I have today in the multiple Google features.

Summing up my “what is EAT in SEO” article

I have to thank the lockdown as it allowed me today to take some time and write about what “E-A-T” is finally.

I wanted to create a basic guide on Google’s EAT for a long time.

It is very important and I am talking from my personal experience in the industry since 2009. When I started working on my EAT, I had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it.

The SEO industry changes and evolves so fast that you can’t afford to not follow through and not incorporate “EAT” guidelines into your daily company’s culture.
Building trust in your brand online is an ongoing process, it takes time and never-ending effort.

In this article I share my own opinion on why improving your “E-A-T” (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) bundle of “Page Quality” rating factors is CRUCIAL and 15 steps you can regularly take to improve it.

Short-term speaking, the results of a Google employee with the title “Search Quality Rater” manually rating the quality of your pages are not a direct ranking factor.

Long-term speaking, if you don’t work on improving the overall value your brand offers on and off of your website, your EAT score will become eventually a long-term ranking factor.

My question is: Are you in business for a while or for the longterm?

Always remember: To build anything of high value, it takes time and it doesn’t come easy.

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