If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably heard of SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the process of making sure your website shows up high in the search results when potential customers are looking for what you offer. But SEO isn’t just about getting more visitors to your website. It’s also about quality and EAT SEO.
Search engines want to provide their users with the best possible results, so they’re constantly tweaking their algorithms to make sure they’re surfacing the most relevant and high-quality websites. That’s where EAT comes in.
What’s EAT SEO?
EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a set of guidelines that Google has put together to help them determine which websites are the most authoritative and trustworthy sources of information on a given topic. In other words, if you want your website to rank well in the search results, you need to make sure you’re a credible source of information on your topic.
Why Does EAT Matter?
The reason EAT matters is that it’s one of the signals Google uses to determine whether a website should rank high in the search results. If you want your website to show up when people are searching for relevant keywords, you need to make sure you’re meeting Google’s EAT guidelines. Even the best websites can have poor EAT, which can negatively affect your business.
What Are QRG?
QRG are Quality Rating Guidelines that Google uses to assess websites. They were created to help Google employees grade search results. The three main areas that QRG focus on are:
- Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness;
- main content;
- website Information Architecture.
Expertise
Expertise refers to your ability to provide accurate, up-to-date information on your topic. To show that you’re an expert, your website should be well-researched and informative.
Authoritativeness
Authoritativeness refers to your ability to show that you’re a credible source of information. To be authoritative, your website should be published by a reputable organization, and you should have references from other credible sources.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is all about making sure your website is safe and reliable. To be trustworthy, your website should have a good reputation, and you should take measures to protect your website from spam and malware.
Main Content
The main content of a website is what appears on the web page when it is first loaded. This includes the text, images, videos, and other forms of media. Google assesses the quality of this content using a number of factors, including:
- Relevance: The content must be relevant to the query that was made by the user.
- Depth: The content must be well-written and provide comprehensive coverage of the topic.
- Breadth: The content must cover all aspects of the topic, not just one narrow view.
- Freshness: The content must be up-to-date and relevant to current events.
- User-friendliness: The content must be easy to read and understand.
Website Information Architecture
Google also assesses the quality of a website’s information architecture. This includes the website’s navigation, organization, and labeling of content. A well-organized website is easy for users to navigate and find the information they are looking for.
EAT SEO and YMYL
EAT is particularly important for what Google calls “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) websites. YMYL websites are those that could potentially impact a person’s safety, health, or finances. Examples of YMYL websites include:
- medical advice websites;
- financial advice websites;
- shopping websites;
- news websites.
If you operate a YMYL website, it’s especially important to make sure you’re meeting Google’s EAT guidelines. That’s because the stakes are higher – if your website gives bad advice, it could potentially impact someone’s health or finances.
What Happens When EAT SEO Goes Wrong
When EAT SEO goes wrong, the consequences can be serious. If you’re giving bad advice on a YMYL website, you could potentially damage someone’s health or finances. And if Google catches wind of it, they could take action against your website.
Low quality pages or websites can be demoted in the search results, or even removed from the search results entirely. So if you’re not meeting Google’s EAT guidelines, you could be doing serious damage to your website’s traffic and reputation.
What Are Some Characteristics of Low Quality Pages?
There are a few characteristics that are typically associated with low quality pages:
Thin content: Low quality pages often have very little content, and what content they do have is usually unoriginal and poorly written.
Spelling and grammar errors: Low quality pages are often riddled with spelling and grammar errors.
Lack of references and sources: Low quality pages often lack references and sources, making them less credible.
Poor design: Low quality pages often have poor designs, with a lot of clutter and ads.
How Do I Improve My EAT Score?
There’s no surefire way to improve your EAT score, but there are a few things you can do to make sure you’re on the right track.
First, make sure your website is well-researched and informative. Publish high-quality content that’s accurate and up-to-date.
Second, make sure you’re a credible source of information. Get published by reputable organizations, and get references from other credible sources.
Finally, make sure your website is safe and reliable. Protect your website from spam and malware, and make sure it has a good reputation.
By following these guidelines, you can improve your chances of ranking well in the search results. EAT is just one of many factors that Google takes into account when determining which websites to surface, but it’s an important one. If you want your website to show up in the search results, you need to make sure you’re meeting Google’s EAT guidelines.