After imposing a new letter onto their well-worn E-A-T guidelines, Google has welcomed another E – Experience. Like previous updates, it gets Google closer to anticipating and serving user intent. It may sound like bad news for keyword spammers but worry not – there are things you can do to fall within the new E-E-A-T rules. We have a few tips below.
More Helpful Content
Before making any content, you should know what drives the new E-E-A-T rules. They were part of a trifecta of search engine tweaks, as another helpful content update and the perspective filter were also added. The perspective filter is simple enough – filter by Q&As, videos, and other valuable input.
The helpful content update was more substantial, targeting SEO-first content that wasn’t made to help people. It essentially aims to put legitimate business leaders ahead of cynical content or content that tries to abuse the system, with experience and authority being huge factors here. It even takes UI/UX into account, differentiating content-heavy news sites with retail splash pages. So, when it identifies Paddy Power online slots leading the iGaming sector, it has considered user intent, that the site is full of colorful games like Oil Tycoon or Jewel Rush arranged into windows for viewing and playing. The same can be said for video-sharing websites.
Meanwhile, news and blog publications with a lot to say will be held to higher scrutiny where experience is concerned. In essence, you should have your SEO ducks in a row before trying to create experience content. Your website needs to be indexed, functional, and arranged according to its purpose. If you’re new to the field, you’ll benefit from this SEO checklist by Semrush.
Writing For Experience
To write content for experience, you need to demonstrate that you’ve engaged with a product, service, or any other claim. Naturally, it’s most important and most scrutinized in review content. For example, E-E-A-T would carry a legal Q&A about software from a lawyer website, where its members are accredited, over somebody’s blog that discusses pop law and only offers informative content.
We’ve added a section on page experience to our guidance on creating helpful content. It covers what we’ve said about page experience before, but in a new way we think helps site owners consider it more holistically. Learn more:
https://t.co/ttm0CY0qZw—Google Search Central (@googlesearchc)
April 19, 2023
It helps to write what you love, so you or a writer of yours may have such experience. If that’s the case, they should branch out on social media and flex their knowledge. If their contribution to a question gets popular, with a branded account, that can be a win for rankings. Videos are also great for literally showing experience, which is why they will be heavily pushed by the perspective filter.
The Original E-A-T Explained
Maybe this is your first time hearing about E-A-T, let alone E-E-A-T. Here are some extra tips that focus on nailing expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.
Expertise was knowledge. That’s broad, which is why the experience factor was brought in to specify between shared knowledge and first-hand, acquired knowledge. Think of it as giving informative value, no matter the source, through good content. This is best done by finding an audience and giving them what they want through content that is accurate but also engaging and read-worthy. Experts are great at explaining complex things in quick, jargon-less ways.
Authority is the technical side. A high domain rating, good links, shares, news mentions, the things that elevate a site and its brand. Moz’s domain authority is a popular metric, and they say it isn’t a ranking factor for SERPs, but there’s a huge correlation often.
Trustworthiness is more basic and about trimming red flags from your site – if your site isn’t broken and has a contact page with author bios, you’re halfway there. A physical location is best, along with a footer full of business terms and conditions, like all big websites. HTTPS implementation is a must. Without trustworthiness, Google won’t consider your website no matter how much E, E, or A you rack up.
Using these four guidelines when creating content, you’ll have the best possible chance of currying favor with the algorithm. It helps to think of E-E-A-T as an inverted pyramid – trustworthiness is the easy but essential foundation that everything relies on, then authority, and then expertise and experience as requirements broaden.
