Google E-E-A-T Principles for Enhancing Small Business Success
Did you know that 9 out of 10 business owners aren’t E-E-A-Ting? You heard me right. They aren’t optimizing their sites according to Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines! After selling my SEO agency, I want to clear things up.
Why does it matter? Simply put: E-E-A-T = Higher Rankings = More Leads = More Money. I’m eager to show you how to E-E-A-T!
Key Takeaways:
– E-E-A-T was introduced in Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines in 2014.
– These guidelines help “Quality Raters” assess the quality of Google search results.
– They also guide Google’s algorithm to identify high-quality, relevant content.
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. As a business owner, understanding E-E-A-T is crucial. If your website lacks these qualities, it’s less likely to rank high on Google, and we all know higher rankings mean more money.
Focusing on E-E-A-T can also position you and your brand as leaders in your field, a true win-win! While E-E-A-T sounds good as an acronym, I like to start with Trustworthiness. You can build Trustworthiness by demonstrating Expertise, Experience, and Authoritativeness.
There are several straightforward improvements you can make to your site today, which will have a lasting impact. Here’s my full E-E-A-T checklist. Follow it, and you’re golden!
Google is shifting toward ranking people, not just content. They prefer content written by experts. Think about it: would you rather read an article about football written by John Elway or someone else? You don’t need to be Bill Gates to rank your content—just follow these steps.
Write about topics in your niche. The more content you create, the more you build topical relevance and authority. Topical relevance and authority = expertise. According to Google, ‘experience’ means direct, hands-on involvement in the topic you’re discussing. This is where you can set yourself apart from AI-generated content, which can’t offer real experience.
When writing:
– Share your direct experiences.
– Use personal insights to make your content stand out.
For videos:
– Shoot a video and then summarize it into an article.
Top-ranking websites often have Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and quality backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your page. They act as endorsements and improve your site’s rank in search results. An old but effective strategy is guest blogging—writing for other websites.
If you want to learn more about link building, a quick Google search will yield thousands of articles. I’ll cover link building in more detail in a future update.
In closing, Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines serve as a roadmap to create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. If you continue producing great content, Google will reward you with more leads.
That’s all for now! Let’s get going!