EEAT indicators for SEO

In recent years, the concept of EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) has become one of the key factors in ranking websites on Google. EAT is a system for assessing the quality of content based on expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. The higher these indicators are, the more chances a page has to rank high in search results.

A high EAT score is especially important for YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) websites. These are resources related to health, finance, safety, and other critical topics for users. Low-quality information in these areas can harm people's well-being, so the requirements for EAT are as strict as possible.

Today, keywords and technical optimization alone are no longer enough for SEO success. Without expert, reliable, and useful content, it is impossible to gain the trust of either search engines or users. That's why implementing EAT principles is essential for every website that wants to grow and deliver business results in the long run.

What is E-A-T and why it is important for SEO

EAT is an acronym that stands for:

• Expertise - the in-depth knowledge and experience of content creators in their field, the ability to provide competent advice and recommendations.
• Authoritativeness - the generally recognized reputation and popularity of the site/author in their field, mentions and backlinks on reliable external resources.
• Trustworthiness - the reliability and transparency of the information on the website, the absence of signs of dishonesty, up-to-date and accurate data.

Google uses these criteria to rank search results based on user queries. The search engine strives to display the highest quality and most trustworthy pages on the first positions. A high EAT score is a signal that the content on a website is expert, reliable, and safe for users.

How does Google assess EAT? The company does not disclose the exact factors, but we know the main points:

• The quality and depth of the content on the page is analyzed - the completeness of the topic, the relevance of the information, uniqueness, and links to authoritative sources.
• The reputation of the author and experts quoted in the materials is taken into account. The higher their authority in the niche, the more trustworthy the content.
• The reliability of the website is checked - whether there is clear information about the company, physical address, contacts, privacy policy, etc.
• External mentions and reviews of the brand on other resources are evaluated. A large number of negatives can reduce the EAT score.

According to the Ahrefs service, pages in the top 10 of Google's search results have an average of 45% more backlinks from authoritative sites than pages in the top 50. This emphasizes the importance of external factors in assessing expertise and reliability.

The EAT has the greatest impact on the ranking of YMYL websites. These are resources that affect the life, health, and well-being of users:

• Medical sites, doctor consultations
• Legal portals and services
• Financial institutions, investment platforms
• Online stores that accept online payments
• Educational resources, professional development courses

In these niches, Google is particularly careful in evaluating EAT and may lower the rankings of sites with inaccurate or potentially dangerous information. For example, according to Sistrix research, after a major Google algorithm update in August 2018 (known as the Medic Update), many medical websites with low EAT lost 30% to 50% of their organic traffic.

But even if your site does not belong to the YMYL, working on improving EAT is still important. Search engines are paying more and more attention to content quality and user experience. And users are more likely to trust websites with expert information and a good reputation. This directly affects behavioral factors (time on site, bounce rate, conversions), which are indirectly taken into account during ranking.

Thus, EAT is not just a fashion trend, but an essential element of a successful SEO strategy. Websites with high expertise, authority, and reliability gain more trust from search engines and users, which translates into high rankings, traffic, and conversions. Ignoring EAT, on the contrary, can lead to a loss of visibility in search and business revenue. Therefore, it is important to start implementing E-A-T principles on your website today.

Factors that influence EAT

The EAT level of a website is influenced by many factors, both internal (content quality, design, usability) and external (brand mentions, backlinks). Here are the main points that search engines pay attention to when assessing the expertise, credibility, and reliability of a resource:

• Quality and expertise of the content. The materials on the website should be written by competent authors, have confirmed sources, refer to scientific research (if applicable), and reflect up-to-date information. Such parameters as the completeness of the topic disclosure, uniqueness, and usefulness for the reader are important.

For example, a medical website where articles are written by practitioners with specialized education and experience will have a higher EAT than a website with rewrites from other sources without attribution.

• Reputation of the site and authors in the external environment. Search engines analyze mentions and reviews of the brand on other platforms, both positive and negative. A large number of positive reviews and recommendations from real users increases the credibility of a website. And vice versa, the prevalence of negativity and criticism can reduce EAT in the eyes of search engines.

An example: an online store that actively promotes fake reviews on third-party platforms risks falling under Google's filters and losing positions, even if the online store's website is technically optimized.

• Website reliability and security. An important factor of trust is the availability of reliable information about the company on the website (registration data, physical office address, contact numbers and email). We also take into account the security of the connection (using the HTTPS protocol), a transparent privacy policy, and the absence of malware and spam.

An example: a law firm's website that does not provide any contact information other than a feedback form may raise suspicions among users and search engines, even if it has good content.

• Signs of expertise in the external environment. Search engines take into account the availability of brand-related expert content on third-party authoritative resources, such as industry portals, specialized media, and scientific databases. Mentions of the company as a market leader, expert publications, and research citations increase the credibility of the domain.

For example, educational courses that regularly publish expert content in specialized media and whose teachers speak at industry conferences receive additional EAT signals for their websites.

According to Moz, the availability of detailed information about the company in the "About Us" section increases website conversions by an average of 4%. And increasing the time spent on the site by just 3 seconds reduces the bounce rate by 3-5%, which also has a positive impact on EAT.

Thus, EAT consists of many factors that together form the trust in the site by search engines and users. These are not only content and keywords, but also brand reputation, behavioral metrics, and link signals. Work on each of these aspects should be carried out continuously and comprehensively.

Strategies for increasing EAT for a website

How to improve your website's EAT score? Here are some proven strategies that will help you increase the expertise, credibility, and reliability of your website in the eyes of search engines and users:

Invest in quality content. Your website should be a useful resource with expert information, not just a keyword-driven one. Involve industry experts in writing articles, rely on reliable sources, and present material from different angles. Don't forget about regular updates - outdated content can reduce EAT.

For example: a blog for entrepreneurs can increase expertise by publishing interviews with successful business owners, quoting the latest market statistics, case studies, and mistakes. This will be more valuable to the audience than general rewritten advice.

Work on your online reputation. Track and promote positive mentions of your brand on external resources, especially on trusted platforms such as opinion leader blogs, industry media, and review services. Respond promptly to negative and critical comments. Keep track of the reputation of not only the domain, but also key people - owners, top managers, and experts.

For example: a company that installs stretch ceilings can increase its credibility by publishing expert articles and videos of its specialists on YouTube channels and repair forums, as well as by regularly working with reviews on Google My Business, Houzz, and IRecommend.

Improve reliability and safety. Add detailed information about the company on your website - legal name, registration data, address, contacts. Create full-fledged sections "About Us", "Details", "Guarantees and Returns". Implement basic security mechanisms - SSL certificate, spam protection in forms and comments. If you accept online payments, take care of transaction security.

For example, a health information portal can increase trust by providing detailed profiles of the doctors who write articles, including their education, work experience, and regalia. Transparent rules for moderating comments and forums will help to avoid publishing unreliable advice from users.

Increase the number of links. Despite the decline in the role of link factors in recent years, they are still important for assessing the authority of a website. Therefore, gradually increase the number of natural backlinks from reliable resources in your topic through guest posts, comments, and brand mentions. Avoid buying links and black hat link building.

An example: an online store selling handicrafts can increase the number of links by posting master classes and reviews of new products on recognized blogs, YouTube channels, and forums dedicated to handmade topics.

According to a Reboot study, 70% of users trust a brand whose content is useful and relevant to their needs. Therefore, the quality and expertise of published materials should be a priority of the EAT improvement strategy.

Audit of website EAT factors

Before you start optimizing your website for EAT requirements, you need to conduct a comprehensive audit of the current state of the resource. This will allow you to identify weaknesses, growth points, and create a step-by-step work plan to improve performance.

EAT audit includes several key stages:

• Assessment of content quality and relevance. At this stage, you need to critically analyze all the available content on the website for its usefulness, relevance, and expertise. Determine how well each topic is covered, whether there are inaccuracies and outdated data, and whether there are enough visual elements.

Pay special attention to the quality of texts on important commercial pages, such as the home page, categories, product/service cards, and information sections. They should not only contain keywords, but also answer users' questions, help them make a choice, and dispel doubts.

For example, for a medical clinic website, it is important to check that the texts of services do not contain inaccuracies in the description of diagnosis and treatment, and that possible contraindications and side effects of procedures are indicated. And that the materials comply with current protocols and standards.

• Analyze the reputation of the site and authors. Conduct an audit of mentions of your brand, domain, and key people on the web. Use Google Alerts, Mention, Brand24 to monitor your brand in real time.

Collect all reviews - both positive and negative - on review sites, marketplaces, social media, and forums. Evaluate the overall tone, highlight recurring complaints and customer requests. This is valuable feedback for improving product and service quality.

Analyze whether your company and experts are mentioned in specialized media, scientific publications, and state registers. The more confirmation of expertise from reliable sources, the better for EAT.

Example: for an online store, it is important to monitor and work with reviews on such platforms as Hotline, Prom.ua, Google Maps, and social networks. In this case, the negative is not as bad as the lack of response from the company.

• Identification of factors that reduce EAT. During the audit, you can identify elements that can potentially damage the credibility of a website. For example, broken links, broken images, typos in texts, suspicious ads, misleading headlines, etc.

Also, thin, non-unique, keyword-optimized content has a negative impact on EAT, especially if it is located on commercially important pages. Search engines value natural texts written by experts.

From a technical point of view, the lack of an SSL certificate, slow loading speed, lack of adaptation for mobile devices, incorrect titles and meta tags can lower the EAT score.

For example: for an educational website, the risk factors will be the lack of information about the authors of the courses, unreliable student reviews, and a large number of advertisements, especially from dubious partners.

• Comparison with competitors. It is useful to conduct a comparative audit with the websites of your direct competitors in terms of semantics and topics. Assess how fully they cover topics, how often they update content, what formats they use, and how they interact with the audience.

Pay attention to the presence of "About" sections, team photos, case portfolios, customer success stories, and expert articles. All of these elements increase the expertise of the website and can be implemented on your resource.

For example: for an online English language school website, you should analyze the closest competitors in terms of the detail of training programs, the frequency of adding new materials, the design of teacher profiles, the number and quality of reviews, and the elaboration of the founder's personal brand.

According to SimilarWeb, on average, sites with more than 1000 characters of content per page make it to the top 20. And among the 100 fastest growing domains, more than 90% have an SSL certificate. This confirms the importance of quality and expert content and security for increasing EAT.

Audit is always the first and necessary step to increase EAT. It gives a clear picture of the current state of the site, opportunities for growth, and points of lagging behind competitors. Based on these findings, it is already worth planning a further optimization strategy.

Implementing EAT into the content strategy

One-time optimization for EAT factors will not have a long-term effect. To earn and retain the trust of search engines and users, you need to constantly work on the credibility of your website. And the content strategy plays a key role in this.

Its main components taking into account EAT:

• Requirements for author expertise. For each type of content on your website - from blog articles to product descriptions - you need to determine the required level of author competence. An ordinary copywriter can write basic informational texts, but it is better to entrust exclusive reviews, analytics, and guides to experts on the topic.

At the same time, the expertise of the authors is critically important for YMYL websites. For example, texts about medical services should be written by practicing doctors with specialized education. Financial articles should be written by specialists with experience in banking, auditing, and consulting.

• Fact-checking and updating process. Include fact-checking in your content processes. This is especially true for numbers, dates, names, and scientific data. Use authoritative sources with references to them in the text - industry publications, official statistics, research results, government websites.

It is also important to regularly check the content for relevance and update it if necessary. A Moz study found that 31% of respondents update their content every six months, and another 24% update it quarterly. Only 4% of companies never update their content.

• Integrate EAT into the content plan. When planning publications, consider not only keywords and traffic potential, but also the benefits to the audience and the opportunity to demonstrate expertise. Give priority to topics that will help you reveal your brand's credibility, answer frequently asked questions from customers, and dispel their doubts.

The plan should regularly include formats that increase EAT, such as interviews with experts, collections of industry statistics, analyzes of successful and failed cases, answers to audience questions, and step-by-step guides.

• Evaluation of EAT indicators of content. Tracking metrics helps you understand how effective your content strategy is. To do this, it is important to identify the key indicators that affect EAT:

Behavioral factors - page read time, bounce rate, viewing depth, conversion to targeted action. The longer and deeper the interaction, the higher the perceived value of the content.

For example: if the average time on a text page has increased from 1 minute to 3 minutes, and the bounce rate has decreased by 10%, this is a good sign. It means that the content has become more engaging and useful for users.

Backlinks and mentions - the number and quality of donor domains, backlink dynamics, and the variety of anchors. The growth of these indicators indicates the growing authority of the site and its content in the external environment.

For example, if 5 specialized media and 10 thematic websites link to a blog article in a month, this increases its expertise in the eyes of search engines. And the dynamics of backlinks +20% compared to the same period last year shows the overall growth of the link mass.

Social signals - likes, reposts, comments on social networks. Although they do not have a direct impact on rankings, they indirectly indicate the quality and relevance of content.

For example, if an infographic with useful tips has 100+ reposts, this is a good indicator of its value to the audience. It is worth paying attention to this topic and format when creating further content.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 90% of B2B companies consider increasing brand trust and audience loyalty to be the main goals of their content strategy. It's the quality and expertise of published materials, not their quantity, that makes it possible to achieve this.

Regular analysis and adjustment of the content plan with regard to EAT is necessary. This helps to respond faster to changes in search algorithms, eliminate shortcomings in a timely manner, and improve the quality and value of content for users. Integrating EAT into a comprehensive content strategy is the key to long-term and sustainable SEO success.