Google is constantly updating its search algorithms. The E-A-T update made waves some years ago, majorly switching up how things worked to prioritize high-quality content written by experts.
Now Google has updated E-A-T again, adding an extra letter: E-E-A-T, or Double E-A-T. The new E stands for “Experience”, as in personal, hands-on experience.
While this is likely a change for the better, an algorithm update is always confusing. How can you maintain your SEO status? How do you avoid being penalized under the new rules? What does this change about the way you create content? Knowing what adjustments you need to make can save you a lot of headaches.
For that reason, if you’re worried about your SEO, this guide will walk you through the updates and how to master E-E-A-T.
The Evolution to E-E-A-T
E-A-T was first introduced to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines back in 2014. Quality raters were instructed to rate sites on their “Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness”.
As Google released more updates and refined their search algorithm over time, E-A-T became more and more important impactful to SEO. Notably, in 2018, Google released a major algorithm update which made E-A-T more important than ever.
As a result, sites that were credible, had experienced authors, and produced quality content received preferential treatment in the SERPs.
But the Internet has faced a big change. Unless you live under a rock, you probably know all about ChatGPT and generative AI. While AI has a lot of use as an assistant and productivity tool, it’s also led to a web inundated with poor-quality, AI-generated books and articles.
Noticing this, Google’s algorithm update has added the second E to E-E-A-T: “Experience”. This requires you to show first-hand, personal experience in your writing.
Many people speculate that this is a direct response to AI-generated content. After all, AI is not currently capable of having subjective experiences.
Yet, in the end, this new update will impact more than just AI-generated content. Even if you don’t use AI at all, it can still affect your website. How can you write high-quality content that passes the E-E-A-T test?
How to Master the First “E” in E-E-A-T
Assuming you don’t rely solely on ChatGPT to write your blog, your work is already human-created. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to worry about the new update.
The new E in E-E-A-T is all about first-hand experience. Have you ever written a sponsored post about a product you didn’t try? A roundup of popular software or services you never actually used? Given instructions or advice off the top of your head without double-checking?
These can all lead to bad user experiences – instructions that don’t work, accidental misinformation, or recommendations for products that aren’t actually any good.
Google now prioritizes first-hand experiences above all else. That primarily means no AI-generated opinions, but it has a lot of other implications.
Don’t Use Purely AI-Generated Content
If you’re looking to buy a product, download an app or program, or subscribe to a service, would you rather read an AI-generated review or one written by an actual person who had tried the product?
You probably chose the latter. So why would you put your readers through that?
Even for articles that don’t rely on first-hand experience, it’s a simple fact that AI-generated writing is wordy and lacks direction – subpar compared to the work of skilled human authors.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with using AI as an assistant, but no one wants to read something copy-pasted out of ChatGPT without even a cursory editing pass.
Since AI can’t have the “life experiences” Google now prioritizes, lazy use of AI should now be pushed out of the SERPs.
Actually Try the Product
This requirement is pretty simple, but one bloggers are sometimes guilty of not following.
As mentioned, the new “E” is all about experience, so don’t just write about something – actually use it and demonstrate your “first-hand, life experience”.
So what does this look like in practice?
- When you recommend a physical product, software, or service, actually use it before you write about it.
- Instead of copying quotes from another source, interview someone yourself.
- Actually visit a place you mention, bake and show off a recipe from a cookbook you recommend, use a featured website builder and show the final product, etc.
There are too many articles from people recommending products without even trying them, but the E-E-A-T update will at least attempt to stifle that.
Give Your Honest Opinion
Honesty is important. No product is perfect, and you’ll inevitably have some criticisms about anything you try – or you’d better have a big list of reasons about why it’s actually the best thing ever.
Even sponsored products usually don’t require you to write a glowing review without any criticism. They just want you to try the product and give some compelling reasons why you recommend it.
There’s a reason why informed consumers often place more trust in four-star reviews. A thoughtful four-star review from someone who’s clearly actually tried the product can mean a lot more than a ton of one-sentence five-star reviews that could very well be from bots.
People tune out meaningless praise, and it could indicate to Google that your review isn’t really genuine. If all you have is a bland list of features that looks like it was copied off the company’s website, how can anyone be sure that you actually did your due diligence?
Be honest about your opinion and don’t be afraid to include your real thoughts, including criticism.
Provide Proof
No matter how compelling your praise or criticism, there’s only one way to really prove you actually tried something you’re recommending — pics or it didn’t happen!
So snap photos of yourself using the product, record videos or GIFs, or in the case of online services and downloadable apps, take plenty of screenshots. This will instantly indicate to search quality raters that you have the “Experience” they’re looking for.
Conversely, avoid solely using images and screenshots scraped from the product or service’s website.
Cite Your Sources
If there’s one thing ChatGPT is bad at, it’s citing sources. Sometimes it will even make up academic papers that don’t exist.
If you truly wrote a thoughtfully-researched article yourself, you should be able to link to the sources and references you used while working on it.
Put Yourself Out There
This is already a big part of E-A-T itself, but it will also help in proving that there’s a person, not a bot, behind your articles.
Create a detailed “About” page for your website. Why did does your site exist? What’s it about? Make sure all your writers have author bios, too. Talk a little bit about yourself, any qualifications, and what got you into writing or blogging.
Be transparent about who you are and what your website is about. Proving a real person is running your website and writing your articles is best practice for excelling at E-E-A-T. It’s also great to build trust online.
The 4 Levels of E-E-A-T
To get good at E-E-A-T, it helps to be familiar with its different levels. Because it’s not a criteria your site either succeeds at or doesn’t – it’s an entire spectrum. This is defined fully in Google’s Search Quality Guidelines.
Lowest E-E-A-T
Lowest E-E-A-T is reserved for websites that are illegal, deceptive, misleading, or otherwise provide no value to anyone except scammers. If you’re reading this, let’s hope you don’t run such a website!
These are the qualities of lowest E-E-A-T websites.
- Provides untrustworthy and/or inaccurate information. May provide actively deceptive and/or harmful information.
- Covers medically or financially dangerous YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics while lacking necessary experience or expertise.
- Fraudulent, criminal, and/or scammy behavior (like an e-commerce website that doesn’t fulfill orders).
- Bad reputation in the community.
Lacking E-E-A-T
Low quality pages are defined as lacking in adequate E-E-A-T. Even bloggers with genuine intentions could end up with this designation if they fail to meet Google’s guidelines.
The worst part: No matter how high quality your content or good your reputation, if a page fails the E-E-A-T check, it will be branded “Low Quality” and take an SEO hit.
These are the qualities of websites lacking E-E-A-T.
- Fails to demonstrate first-hand experience (reviews a product or service without having used it).
- Lacks necessary expertise to cover a chosen topic, especially moderately serious/dangerous YMYL topics.
- Does not demonstrate authority (like a website providing advice on a topic outside of its scope).
- Untrustworthy practices like an e-commerce store without an about or contact page.
High Level of E-E-A-T
Websites that satisfy Google’s requirements will be granted “High” page quality.
Achieving this is pretty simple; follow the E-E-A-T guidelines already put down. Demonstrate first-hand experience, expertise where necessary, authority on your topic, and trustworthiness via honest business practices.
Very High Level of E-E-A-T
Demonstrating E-E-A-T may net you a “High” rating, but if you want to distinguish yourself, you need to go above and beyond.
These are the qualities of a website that more than satisfies E-E-A-T requirements.
- Provides an authoritative, “go-to” source on a particular topic.
- Demonstrates a high level of expertise and relevant experience.
- Unique, original, high-quality content with clear effort put into it.
- Fully satisfies users’ search intent.
- Fully qualified to advise on covered YMYL topics.
Other SEO Considerations
“Experience” itself is fairly straightforward: Just write content that reflects first-hand, human experiences. But several other factors are at play here that can complicate things.
To learn more about how Google ranks pages based on E-E-A-T and other factors, check out their Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness
The original E-A-T is still in effect, and it’s important to demonstrate expertise in your field. But how can you do that effectively? Here’s the lowdown:
- Create high-quality content – Bring value and a unique perspective to your readers. Avoid lazy tactics like, again, copying out of ChatGPT.
- Demonstrate expertise – What makes you qualified to write about this topic? Do you have years of experience? Licensure, certification, or relevant education? Awards? A successful business? Show it off on your author bio and about pages.
- Consult experts – If you’re not an expert yourself, having one checking over your content or interviewing them as part of your article can still effectively demonstrate expertise.
- Build your reputation – Having authority in the industry means everyone trusts you and your blog as a great source of information. That means plenty of mentions, inbound links, and collaborations.
- Be transparent – People want to know who you are and where your information is coming from. Be honest about your intentions.
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) Content
YMYL content is about topics that could impact your life, health, or money. The most notable examples are medical and financial issues, especially those that are life-threatening or where misinformation is particularly damaging.
Google demands that publishers of YMYL content adhere strictly to E-E-A-T standards. That means medical information should be written and/or vetted by medically licensed individuals, and qualified financial advisors are handling sensitive topics like taxes and investments.
Some medical or financial YMYL topics allow for perspectives gained from real-life experience. For example, tips on saving money while on a low income or suggestions on staying comfortable while coping with chronic pain are appropriate if you’ve lived through these situations.
Google added some extra guidance on Experience vs. Expertise in their Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.
The Needs Met Rating
One of the primary ways Google’s search quality evaluators rank pages is through determining if the search result does what they wanted – the “Needs Met” rating.
Does it answer the question they asked? Was the content high-quality and helpful? Does it satisfy their search intent?
Maximizing SEO means understanding the users’ intent behind the keywords or queries you’re optimizing for, and meeting that intent as much as possible. Your keyword optimization might earn you clicks, but if you’re not satisfying search intent, you’re failing the Needs Met rating.
What Makes a Low Quality Page
Page Quality is another important ranking separate from Needs Met or E-E-A-T. It’s influenced by the presence of YMYL content, the purpose of the page, the type of website, and, of course, the quality of its content.
So what makes a page low or lowest quality by Google’s standards?
- Lack of E-E-A-T, especially for YMYL topics.
- Does not satisfy search intent.
- Factually inaccurate and misleading content (like titles that don’t reflect article content).
- Disruptive ads or spammy website design.
- Plagiarized or copied content.
- Deceptive and untrustworthy content (including not disclosing purely AI-written works).
- Harmful, hateful, and/or dangerous content.
- Illegal content, scams, and spam.
E-E-A-T: First-Hand Experience Is More Valuable Than Ever
If you’re worried about the new E-E-A-T guidelines, don’t be. As long as your articles aren’t low-quality and purely AI-generated AI but incorporate your first-hand experiences and opinions, your rankings will probably be fine.
Just follow the four tenets of E-E-A-T – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness – to meet Google’s quality guidelines and succeed at SEO.
What do you think of the E-E-A-T Google Search update? What steps will you be taking to keep your site in line with the latest best practices? Share what you think in the comments!
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