Mastering Google E-E-A-T for Small Business Success

Did you know that 9 out of 10 business owners aren’t focusing on E-E-A-T? That’s right—they aren’t optimizing their site according to Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines.

After selling my SEO agency, I want to clear things up. Why is this important? Simply put: E-E-A-T equals higher rankings, more leads, and more money. I’m excited to explain how you can achieve E-E-A-T!

Key Points:
The idea of E-E-A-T was introduced in Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines back in 2014. These guidelines guide “Quality Raters,” who review Google’s search results against specific criteria. They also help Google’s algorithm understand what quality and relevant content look like. E-E-A-T is a big part of these guidelines and stands for:

– Expertise
– Experience
– Authoritativeness
– Trustworthiness

Google aims to rank content that demonstrates these qualities. As a business owner, you need to grasp the importance of E-E-A-T. If your site lacks these elements, it won’t rank well on Google search results. And as we all know, good rankings equate to more money.

Prioritizing E-E-A-T will also help you and your brand be seen as a leader in your field. Think of it as hitting two birds with one stone!

E-E-A-T is a great acronym, but I like to think about it backward, starting with Trustworthiness. To build trust with Google, your site needs to show Expertise, Experience, and Authoritativeness.

There are several easy updates you can make to your site today that will have a lasting effect. Here’s a quick checklist to get started:

I believe Google is moving towards ranking people, not just content. They prefer content written by experts. For instance, I’d rather read an article about football by John Elway than by someone less knowledgeable.

You don’t have to be a big name to have your content rank well. Here’s how you can achieve it.

The last step in this process takes a bit more effort. You need to write about topics within your niche. Write as much as you can about your area of expertise. The more content you produce, the more topical relevance and authority you build. This leads to greater expertise.

In Google’s terms, ‘experience’ refers to direct, hands-on involvement with the topic your content covers. This sets you apart from AI-driven content, which can’t demonstrate real experience.

Here’s how I approach this:

When writing:
– Share real experiences and practical knowledge.

In video:
– Record a video and summarize it into an article.

At TGA, all our landing pages featured a video:
Looking at top-ranking websites, you’ll notice a pattern. They all have strong:
– Expertise
– Authoritativeness
– Trustworthiness

We’ve discussed expertise and authority, but let’s talk about backlinks. Backlinks, or inbound links, are links from one website to another. Google sees them as endorsements, boosting your site’s authority and rankings. The more quality backlinks you have, the better your content will rank.

One classic link-building strategy is guest blogging. This helps you get more backlinks. If you want to dive deeper into link building, a quick Google search will reveal thousands of articles.

In conclusion, Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines direct you on how to create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. The more you invest in great content, the more Google will reward you with leads.

That’s all for now!