Publishers are strongly urged to go through Google’s quality rater guidelines. SEO experts have been doing so for years, searching for any hints that might help them figure out Google’s algorithm. But here’s why a lot of what you’ve read about E-A-T optimization may need to be updated.
What are Google’s quality raters guidelines?
The quality raters guidelines are a set of heuristics that Google’s human quality reviewers use to judge the quality of a web site. They were first published in 2008, and they’ve been updated several times since then.
What is E-A-T?
E-A-T stands for “Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness”. Google has said that these are important factors in their algorithms, but they’ve been notoriously tight-lipped about how exactly they use them.
In May of 2018, Google made a major update to the guidelines. The update was so significant that some people in the global marketing agency and SEO community have taken to calling it “E-A-T 2.0”.
E-A-T is not just for YMYL pages
Google’s quality rater guidelines state that “Every page on the internet should be rated E-A-T.” That doesn’t mean that every page needs to be about a sensitive topic like finance or health. Any page can benefit from having great content that meets Google’s E-A-T standards.
You don’t need to be an expert to have good E-A-T
Google’s quality rater guidelines state that “The best way to demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on a given topic is by creating high-quality content about it.” You don’t need to be a world-renowned expert to write great content. If you’re writing about something you’re passionate about and have a good understanding of, you can create content that shows your expertise on the topic.
E-A-T is not just for articles
The quality rater guidelines state that “Any type of content can potentially have E-A-T characteristics.” That includes videos, infographics, and even social media posts. So, if you’re creating content that isn’t an article, don’t forget to optimize it for E-A-T!
You don’t need to be a big brand to have good E-A-T
Google’s quality raters guidelines state that “Even small websites can have great E-A-T.” That means you don’t need to be a big brand or have a ton of money to create high-quality content. As long as you’re creating content that meets Google’s standards, you can benefit from good E-A-T.
E-A-T is not just for English websites
Google’s quality raters guidelines are available in multiple languages, so you don’t need to be writing in English to create content with good E-A-T. If you’re writing in a different language, be sure to check out the corresponding quality raters guidelines to make sure you’re following all the necessary E-A-T standards.
No matter what kind of content you’re creating, keep these five surprising facts about E-A-T and SEO in mind to make sure you’re giving your content the best chance to succeed.
