Google EAT and its importance in search engine optimization

Google is constantly evaluating the content of web pages and adjusting the terms to place itself in the top positions of results. Therefore, it is essential to be up to date and adapt to new developments in SEO. Today we are talking about one of them: Google EAT and its importance in SEO.

Google EAT and its importance in search engine optimization

What does EAT mean?

EAT is one of the best indicators of whether a website meets Google's standards and user needs. This English acronym stands for experience, authority, and trustworthiness. Let us now see in detail the function of each of these criteria that the search engine relies on to determine the quality of the content of web pages.

Experience:

Google favorably values having knowledge and skills about the topic being addressed. That is, the processed contents were prepared by an expert or a specialized person. To do this, the author's online reputation is taken into account, as well as their academic training, the work they have already done, and their personal and professional experiences. These aspects are very important in some areas of knowledge such as health or economics, but in other, more relaxed areas, if they include, for example, links to high-quality sources, a good position can also be achieved.

Authority:

It indicates the popularity of the site. To place its content, Google takes into account incoming links, references to other websites, years of activity, or whether it is an official and recognized organization. But having power is not something that is achieved from moment to moment, it is a long process. Therefore, it is necessary to work on the brand of the company or the mark.

Confidence:

This principle can also be translated as credibility or reliability. To position yourself as a trusted site, it must be completely secure, up-to-date, and with high-quality and honest content. If the page does not meet these requirements, it will most likely rank in recent search results. In this case, positive customer reviews can be of great value.

Is it important?

Obviously, if any web page wants to position itself in the Google search engines, the EAT factors must be taken into account.

in which of them?

 Primarily in those where the author or entity provides information that could cause affect the behavior of the person doing the research. Especially when the effect is negative.

In the previous lines, we have already commented that this importance increases in areas such as health or finance. These pages, which deal with very sensitive and serious issues, are known as YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) and they are hit the hardest. Let's take an example.

If a person wants to consult a question about a drug such as “what is the dose of paracetamol for a pregnant woman”, it is necessary that the information that appears on Google is accurate and supported by a specialist.

Otherwise, the result of this research will have negative consequences for a person. For this reason, Google should give more power to websites it considers experts in each topic and, therefore, put more trust in expert-generated content than on public pages.

Thus, following the same example, Google is more likely to trust the information provided by the obstetrician and not the website that deals with general topics.

Tips to enrich EAT

To achieve a good position, it is necessary, according to Google EAT, in the first place, to work on all the aspects that were mentioned above. And of course, some techniques can help achieve good results.

 1- Working with experts:

It is convenient for prominent authors to participate in certain topics on your website or for your authors to work on other relevant pages and show their knowledge.

But, in any case, the content mustn't be published anonymously, but profiles are created with names, titles, jobs, training, and even a photo of each author to demonstrate authority and experience.

2- Know your target audience:

In addition to your knowledge of the topic, you need to know who you are going to write to and how to convey information to them. To do this, texts must be adapted to each type of audience.

3- You have a website that can be accessed:

You have to take care of the web design, make it responsive and achieve good speed. You must also provide information about the identity of the company and contact details or affiliation with social networks. In this way, trust and transparency are transmitted.

4- Improving the link-building strategy:

A page's reputation can be measured by the incoming links it contains, so don't forget to get those links, as long as they are reference sites.

5- Citing sources and verifying data:

Another very important indicator for Google is the citation of relevant official sources on which the content is based, as well as the use of clear, accurate, and truthful data.

6- Update contents:

Likewise, the information must reflect the latest developments and must include the latest changes to be useful information.

7- Get reviews:

User ratings are a source of information about the reputation of companies. For this reason, it is very important to get positive ratings and respond to negative comments.