This post was sponsored by Fiverr Pro. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the sponsor.
It’s been over a year since Google added “experience” to its Search Quality Evaluator’s EAT guidelines, transforming it into EEAT.
However, many websites still struggle to establish a digital presence that follows these rules.
While most people assume that optimizing for EEAT is as simple as adding an author bio to their website, that’s not true.
Let’s see what the EEAT entails and what SEO experts say about compliance with these requirements.
In this guide:
1. A quick summary of EEAT and its relevance in 20242. 7 strategies to optimize websites for EEAT3. Create an author bio and editor outline for each article4. Don’t forget to state the obvious5. Source of expertise to improve your reputation6. Write high quality content with attribution7. Build backlinks from relevant websites8. Focus on your brand reputation online9. Attract and use more user-generated content (UGC)10. It’s your time to be relevant
A quick summary of EEAT and its relevance in 2024
Every year, Google releases an algorithm update to improve the capabilities of its algorithm to display good content.
The most recent algorithm update was in December 2022, where Google’s search quality ranking guidelines were amended to reflect the following:
Experience (E): Indicates whether the author and website owner have the real-life experience to offer advice or feedback on a topic.
Expertise (E): Indicates whether the author has the necessary training, credentials or market presence to speak on the topic.
Authority (A): Assessment of author and website authority, typically measured through industry-wide recognition, backlink quality, and reputational signals (awards, citations, recommendations).
Reliability (T): Indicates whether you are providing a trusted website experience to your users. Combine the EEE part of the equation with the end-user experience to determine quality.
Image by Fiverr Pro, January 2024
Reliability is considered the horizontal bar that nests the other elements.
SEO consultant Taylor Scher explains that people take the T element too seriously, creating a counterproductive effect.
“It’s a story as old as time in SEO, but you shouldn’t compromise your website’s UX for SEO.
EEAT is based on the page experience and shows reliability anyway, so it’s a mistake to have the mindset of improving it and not thinking about how to do it all while giving your readers/visitors a better experience of the website.
Let’s say you’re offering advice on YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics, such as “How to Treat a Cold at Home.”
From an on-page SEO perspective, you might have an author bio and a high domain score.
However, from a technical SEO and user experience standpoint, the lack of SSH encryption on the website could create an inferior experience. Users may think it is a duplicate of another medical website.
It is a combination of these four elements that enables your success. This is why even non-YMYL sites need to up their game to stay relevant in the SERPs.
Image created by Fiverr Pro, February 2024
7 strategies to optimize websites for EEAT
Optimizing for EEAT requires a full audit of technical SEO and other tactics.
Here’s what you need to optimize:
1. Create an author bio and editor outline for each article
A well-written author bio does two things:
Shows personal experience. Set the author’s experience.
Think of it this way. Would you like to go to a finance website and see if it’s written by the company’s team or a PhD in corporate finance?
That said, your authors don’t need a PhD, just a minimum of industry success.
How to Create an Author Bio with Authority
Show your author’s credibility by adding:
Years of Experience. Areas of focus. Education (if applicable). Professional achievements. Links to social networks/web.
Add outline markup for editors and reviewers, even in non-YMYL industries like SaaS and renewable energy.
It goes a long way to show your brand’s editorial integrity.
It also sends signals of trust to Google’s quality assessors, even though authors are not a ranking factor.
Professional advice: Hire an experienced freelancer SEO experts to create this in your CMS backend.
2. Don’t forget to state the obvious
“Wirecutter does an amazing job of stating the obvious: each of their product reviews usually starts with a short paragraph describing the lengths that went into producing the review,” says Jamie Sutton, Marketing Manager by HeadshotPro.
In Wirecutter’s example, they explain how they tested each and their differences.
They also cite their sources for each interview and bedding example, adding credibility to the product.
Screenshot from Wirecutter, January 2024
Similarly, you can explain your review process, data selection criteria, or the invitation of experts.
3. Source of expertise to improve your reputation
Insider experience is not always easy to come by. That doesn’t mean you can’t look beyond your own company.
This is especially true if you are a newer brand still working to improve your EEAT.
Collaborate with industry experts and ask them to contribute when possible.
Here’s how you can do it:
Submit quote requests through I WILL, Help a B2B writer, Qwoted, etc. Participate in LinkedIn or Facebook groups. Invite thought leaders for an interview. Ask subject matter experts to contribute a guest post. Get information from podcasts or webinars (with attribution).
Alternatively, you can feature your brand and in-house experts to be featured.
4. Write high quality content with attribution
Content is at the center of everything.
The better the quality of your content, the better your reputation (with users and search rankings).
Even Google has published clear guidelines on this:
“People-centric content means content created primarily for people, not to manipulate search engine rankings. We recommend that you focus on creating people-centric content to succeed with Google Search instead of content based on search engines created primarily for search engine rankings.Google)”
So, create useful content that has depth, not breadth.
With artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT raising the bar to say the least, you need to go the extra mile with your content.
Here are some best practices to consider:
Follow core topics relevant to your business. Collaborate with other experts or companies. Develop topic groups that indicate your authority. Avoid the surface-level insights that even SGE can provide. Distribute content on other channels to provide external signals. Conduct regular content audits to identify gaps and up-to-date opportunities.
Google’s algorithm prefers fresh, recently published content.
Screenshot of the search for [productivity management]January 2024Also, cite your sources. Google’s algorithm monitors incoming and outgoing links. So, cite and link to high-authority websites in your industry.
For example, Medical News Today cites scientific journals such as The Lancet in every piece.
Image by Fiverr Pro, January 2024
5. Build backlinks from relevant websites
It’s 2024 and backlinks are still relevant.
A Backlinko study has been analyzed 11.8 million search results and we found that top-ranked web pages have more backlinks than lower-ranked ones.
But there are two things to remember:
The number of referring domains. Backlink quality.
Links should come from relevant websites. For example, e-commerce fashion websites should receive links from fashion and clothing publications.
Also, create valuable content that acts as link magnets.
Anurag Surya, SEO specialist at Freshworks, explains that he uses research articles to do this.
“I would invest in creating industry research articles that had metrics based on primary research. No other website would have those numbers, which means anyone looking for them would visit my page and hopefully link to it.”
So build links, but build them strategically.
Professional advice: Work with experienced link builders who can identify these opportunities for your brand.
Image by Fiverr Pro, January 2024
6. Focus on your brand reputation online
Audit your brand’s online presence.
Survey your customers, monitor incoming reviews, and watch public forums. These are common sources for getting feedback and understanding how people view your brand.
You can also use tools like UserTesting or Maze to determine whether users actually consider your site trustworthy. Show social proof to appear credible in the eyes of users.
Add social proof not only from users, but also from industry publications.
Also, respond to good and bad reviews in a nice way. It will improve brand perception over time.
Ultimately, the better your brand perception, the better your overall authority.
7. Attract and use more user-generated content (UGC)
User generated content is a great way to increase your website’s EEAT.
Because? Because an unsolicited or unpaid review does a great job for your brand perception.
Examples of UGC include:
Case studies. Forum Posts. Public comments. Ratings and reviews. Videos on social networks. Personal blog posts.
Social sites like Reddit and Quora can be accessed by Google trackers. Make sure your reputation has a positive feel.
It gives you much-needed social proof and tells Google that your site is a trusted resource.
Image by Fiverr Pro, January 2024
It’s your time to be relevant
Optimizing your website for EEAT requires a strategic approach.
The process can be a massive undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. Consider outsourcing your operations to SEO experts who monitor these changes and adapt to secure your search rankings.
Ultimately, it’s a strategic decision that brings you one step closer to improving your website’s EEAT.
Image credits
Featured Image: Fiverr Pro Image. Used with permission.
Post Images: Images sourced from Fiverr Pro. Used with permission
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