Supercharge Your SEO: Infuse Your Website’s Content Strategy With E-E-A-T

Jul 27 2023

Plenty of companies make snake oil promises about how to boost SEO performance. But pie-in-the-sky claims aside, there is a viable, clear path to SEO success. And it revolves around a simple yet invaluable acronym favored by search engine giants like Google: E-E-A-T.

E-E-A-T — which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — helps Google assess the quality and credibility of your content. Pages with strong E-E-A-T elements are more likely to rank higher in search results because Google considers them to be reliable sources of information.

Therefore, creating content with the E-E-A-T framework in mind is a key way to attract high-quality organic traffic, increase user engagement, and ultimately boost the conversions that drive results.

Here’s what you need to know to make it work for you.

No, SEO Is Not Dead

Before we go too far, let’s address the elephant in the room. You may have heard claims that SEO is dead. If so, you’re probably wondering whether or not organic search still matters in the age of paid and social media.

The answer is yes.

When visitors find you as a result of a search query, it’s because they have a specific question or need. By contrast, visitors who land on your site from other channels may or may not truly be interested in the services or goods you offer.

Our work with numerous clients often results in an increase of organic traffic, which is typically the highest quality traffic you’ll receive. Visitors who find you organically are more likely to spend time on your site, engage with your content, and take the meaningful actions you want them to take.

So What Is E-E-A-T? (And Where Did the Extra “E” Come From?)

Google employs a variety of algorithms and ranking factors to sort and rank web pages. Historically, it emphasized the E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) criteria under its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. More recently, Google added a second “E” to the framework, which stands for Experience.

The E-E-A-T framework ensures searchers find helpful, useful content that answers their questions and meets their needs. This ranking strategy also helps prevent keyword stuffing and other SEO tricks/shortcuts that focus on creating content for the algorithm rather than for human users.

Google’s goal is to make what’s good for the user good for the algorithm, too. That means employing E-E-A-T won’t just help you improve SEO. It will help you reach your audience more effectively.

Infusing your content with E-E-A-T is particularly significant for "Your Money or Your Life (YMYL)" content, which impacts a user's well-being, finances, safety, or happiness.

Nonprofits, higher education institutions, member organizations, and other human-services-oriented entities should all pay particular attention to keeping their content current and demonstrating high levels of experience, expertise, authority, and trust.

E-E-A-T in Action: 4 Pillars of Strong SEO

Now that you have a clear understanding of what E-E-A-T is, it's time to dive into how to apply each pillar in your website’s content strategy.

Put simply, the more you can:

show your organization has a proven track record (experience);
back up your claims that you know what you’re talking about (expertise);
demonstrate that you’re a leader in your field (authority);
and assure readers that you’re reliable (trust),

…the more likely it is for Google to rank you highly.

Let’s take a practical look at what this looks like.

Experience

What has your organization accomplished? What have your people done? And how have they overcome unique challenges or solved difficult problems?

The Experience pillar is all about answering those questions.

For example, say you’re a health systems marketer charged with attracting patients to your new OB-GYN practice. Telling stories of the medical challenges your practitioners have helped patients overcome, and the healthy babies they’ve delivered would be a vital part of demonstrating they have the experience required to serve new patients well.

Expertise

Demonstrating expertise is less about showing what your people have done and more about highlighting what they know. Advanced degrees, badges, credentials, certifications, and awards are all markers of expertise.

Let’s continue with our example from the last section. To satisfy the expertise pillar of E-E-A-T, a health systems marketer building an OB-GYN practice should create an About page that lists each practitioner and provides the following types of information:

Medical training/degree
Medical school
Areas of specialty
Special certifications
Awards and recognition

Authoritativeness

Establishing authority is about showing that people outside your organization look to you as a valuable resource. You can demonstrate authority by incorporating quality backlinks and showcasing earned media mentions, interviews, etc.

Again, let’s think back to our OB-GYN example. An authoritative practitioner would be one who is regularly interviewed by the press or who publishes peer-reviewed research in medical journals. Ensuring there are backlinks to your site from those sources — or linking to those sources from your site — is an excellent way to fulfill the authoritativeness pillar of E-E-A-T.

Trustworthiness

Accuracy and authenticity are the foundation of building trust with your audience. Providing reliable, error-free content that’s authentic and user-focused is a practical way to foster trust.

Third-party reviews, testimonials, and ratings also underscore your organization’s trustworthiness. The more your audience hears directly from your users or stakeholders, the better.

In terms of our OB-GYN example, building trust starts with providing up-to-date, relevant, and accurate information about pregnancy and childbirth. And incorporating quotes and testimonials from real patients or linking to reviews of the practice on sites like Healthgrades.com takes the trust factor to the next level.

Action Steps for E-E-A-T Implementation

Applying all these principles takes thoughtfulness and intentionality — but it’s not overly complicated. Here are some actionable steps to begin your E-E-A-T-powered SEO journey:

Align your keyword research strategy with an authentic, user-focused content strategy.
Keep your users at the heart of your content. Make sure it’s current, accurate, useful, helpful, and accessible for everyone.
Build individual and/or organizational authority. Consider working with a PR firm to increase your earned media and industry-specific mentions and placements.
Incorporate quality backlinks and references to credible external sources.
Pepper your content with quotes, testimonials, and other social proof points.
Showcase your badges and credentials.

Above all, do what you do as a marketing leader naturally: Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and consider how your website can meet their unique needs.

Capitalize on an SEO Strategy Rooted in E-E-A-T

Improving your SEO is not about mastering a complex algorithm. It’s about aligning with what search engines prioritize — delivering quality, authoritative, and authentic content that provides a strong user experience.

Embracing the E-E-A-T framework will help you do just that.

Stay committed to evolving your content to keep up with your industry’s changing landscape. Maintain the balance between technical knowledge and readability. And showcase your expertise in ways that resonate with your audience.

Creating E-E-A-T-oriented content is a dynamic process requiring consistent effort, but the rewards you’ll reap in terms of SEO performance make it a tremendously worthwhile endeavor.
Unsure how to move forward? Just reach out to our team of SEO experts who are on hand to chat through your online visibility and help you implement EEAT strategies for your organization.