INTRODUCTION
Back in 2014, SEO efforts in Singapore became more challenging as Google launched its content guidelines called the E-A-T. E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. As part of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, the E-A-T concept has been used to determine whether the content is relevant and valuable to the users. Hence, it hits Google’s primary objective: to provide accurate and reliable results based on specific queries.
But in 2022, Google introduced the latest addition to this guideline. E for Experience, the Google E-A-T now becomes Google E-E-A-T. This article will explain the Google E-E-A-T guidelines, their benefits, impacts, and how you can optimise your content using them.
What Is Google E-E-A-T?
Google uses E-E-A-T guidelines to evaluate if the website and the content are reliable and valuable based on the search quality evaluators: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The brand, with the help of SEO services from an agency in Singapore, ensures they hit all these evaluators in order to influence their search engine rankings.
- Experience
The newest addition to the guideline, Experience, adds a bearing to the quality of content a brand produces. According to the guideline, the content must demonstrate first-hand experience. Hence, it will be advantageous if the content creator has an extensive first-hand experience and deep understanding of the topic.
For example, if a user is searching about digital marketing trends, they typically trust resources produced by an expert in digital marketing, such as a digital marketing agency in Singapore.
It can also be in the form of a review. For instance, if you are searching for information about the product, you might look for content produced by people who actually tried, used, and experienced the product.
- Expertise
If ‘experience’ refers to the content creator’s first-hand experience with the topic, ‘expertise’ highlights the creator’s knowledge and skill with the topic. It also reflects the creator’s credibility and qualifications.
For example, a non-healthcare professional, who publishes medicine-related articles, is less likely to rank higher than a healthcare professional, who publishes medicine-related blogs, that might also be reviewed by other experts.
This website shows the medical experts who wrote and reviewed the article discussing breast cancer.
- Authoritativeness
If ‘expertise’ is the measurement of your knowledge, then ‘authoritativeness’ refers to your reputation. The two go hand in hand because your expertise is necessary for building a reputation in a particular industry.
An authoritative website is a brand or website with a strong reputation in its industry. It is a website that people go to when they are looking for something. For example, among the trusted websites or brands in the health industry is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hence, they are always at the premium spots when you search for something health-related on search engines.
Another way to determine the authority of a website is its website domain score. By using Ahref’s website ‘authority’ checker, you can see that CDC’s website is considered authoritative based on the domain score.
- Trustworthiness
It’s hard to earn trust, but it’s even harder to regain it once it’s lost. You could say that your products or services are the best in the business, but consumers won’t trust you if you lack conviction and authority.
Trustworthiness is almost similar to authoritativeness, but it focuses more on the legitimacy, transparency, and accuracy of the website. So it deals with the accuracy of the content, accountability of the website, website security, proper citing of reputable resources.
Understanding the importance of these four qualities of E-E-A-T is essential in creating content for Google’s latest algorithms. The best SEO company in Singapore can help you optimise your website and content according to the Google E-E-A-T guidelines. However, remember that the quality of E-E-A-T varies depending on Google’s queries.
For example, websites from medical institutions, law firms, and manufacturing companies should showcase accurate and credible content since the foundation of these businesses revolves around credibility and trustworthiness.
READ MORE: A Guide To Effective Content Marketing
The Importance of E-E-A-T For SEO
- Establishes credibility
Keywords and content are some of the most important elements of Singapore SEO. Incorporating keywords in your content will enhance your site’s SEO and increase its online presence.
However, nowadays, search engine rankings and quality content aren’t the only factors to consider when optimising your website for SEO. With Google’s addition of E-E-A-T to your rankings, establishing credibility is more important than ever.
While it won’t directly affect your SEO rankings, your E-E-A-T rating serves as proof of credibility under Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Not to mention, websites that follow the E-E-A-T guidelines will succeed in gaining Google’s trust. Continue to publish informative content that will impact your search engine ranking.
- Supports authenticity
The authenticity of your website plays a significant role in achieving a higher search engine ranking. It’s the reason why you should ensure your content offers trustworthy information from reliable sources. Without proper references or evidence to support your content, your website may be one step behind its competitors. SEO services in Singapore can help you in this department.
- Considers the context of website content
However, while E-E-A-T affects all websites, its level of importance varies depending on the context of the site’s content. For example, when comparing blog posts about medical treatments to film reviews, the former is more relevant to Google’s E-E-A-T analysis. How come?
First off, when it comes to following the E-E-A-T guidelines, Google prioritises articles about medical treatments. Authors must be careful when writing sensitive information by inserting references from reliable sources. As a rule of thumb, always check from several sources and see if they’re credible enough to be mentioned in your content.
On the other hand, film reviews are subjective and dependent on the writer’s perspective. Still, E-E-A-T is relevant for both of the mentioned choices. The only difference is E-E-A-T affects the rating of the former more than the latter.
In a nutshell, create quality content with accurate references so Google can rank your website with a high E-E-A-T rating. Not only will it affect your search engine ranking, but it’ll also help you establish credibility. An SEO marketing agency in Singapore can help you build your content on the Google E-E-A-T foundation for higher ranking.
LEARN MORE: 9 Digital Content Creation Tips That Work
How Does Google Assess The Page’s Main Content Quality?
Google is enhancing its safety measures in fighting against disinformation. Many articles with unreliable content have sprung up from countless websites, and it’s up to Google to decipher the good from the bad.
Thanks to the latest E-E-A-T guidelines, users can expect more accurate and reliable search results. However, one question remains: how does Google evaluate a website’s credibility?
Besides the Google E-E-A-T guidelines, Google also assesses websites’ main content based on four categories: effort, originality, talent or skill, and accuracy.
- Effort
Effort refers to the content creator’s extra measure to create better and more quality content. Besides the quality, brands must put efforts into optimising the website’s UI and UX. For example, creating a website functionality or building a system that provides users with a helpful service.
The image below shows a website with a built-in select-to-speak or read-aloud feature to improve accessibility help.
Other recognised efforts are translation services with manual curation.
- Originality
With thousands of content posted online, it is not impossible to see websites with similar content. Much worse, most of these articles are designed to attract clicks rather than providing information to the user.
To deliver more refined results, search engines now put emphasis on original content primarily created to inform users. Hence, it provides unique content that is not available on other websites. It is why each SEO company in Singapore ensures to produce well-written and user-centric content for the people’s satisfaction.
- Talent or skill
This category refers to the talent and skill it takes to create content that satisfies the user. It may value the expertise and credibility of the content creator.
- Accuracy
It is crucial for content to have accurate and up-to-date data, especially for informational content. YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content which typically discusses health, financial, politics, and current events topics that could affect the user’s well-being, has more stringent quality checks. Hence, articles with accuracy, consistency, and expert consensus are more likely to get a higher quality score.
How to Improve your Website’s E-E-A-T: A Checklist
1. Create Informative Content
Part of digital marketing campaigns and services in Singapore is to create engaging content for a target audience. To do so, you should incorporate entertainment and informative elements in your content so Google will qualify your website under its E-E-A-T guidelines.
Part of Google’s guidelines is identifying the site’s content to discover if it’s entertaining or informative for users. Before you finalise your web page, ask yourself: ‘Will my content help readers?’
Create helpful content to provide users with solutions to specific problems. For instance, ‘how-to’ articles or listicles should contain valuable information related to your topics. Gather data from different sources and reference them in your content so Google will classify your page with a high E-E-A-T rating.
2. Cite References
The simplest way to establish credibility is to cite references related to your page. Whenever you’re writing about topics related to your industry, always include references from trustworthy sources. It is also a standard practice of SEO vendors when creating content.
A National Cancer Institute content about Paget disease of the breast listing down all the references cited at the end of the article.
References also include customer reviews, external links, statistics, and case studies. Remember to gather references only from reputable sources, like high-authority websites or certified experts in a particular field.
Including references from expert authors and other professionals in your content is a perfect example of how you can immediately establish authority. Make sure your sources are credible by researching their background and looking for reliable references as well.
3. Update Your Content
Provide a consistent source of information for your readers by creating a blog page. You can update your blog from time to time with informative content to attract readers and help you gain leads.
Continue to deliver quality blog posts, and Google will evaluate your site with a higher E-E-A-T rating. As long as your content comes with information from reliable sources, then your blog page is good to go. Ramped up content marketing is part of many SEO services in Singapore.
4. Encourage Customer Feedback
Posting customer reviews is one of the simplest and most reliable ways to establish credibility and transparency. By showing reviews of your products and services, Google can consider your website credible enough to rank higher on its search results page.
First, you need to encourage customer feedback. After all, not everyone is willing to review your business, which is why you should offer incentives or rewards. That way, you’ll get more customers to provide reviews regarding your business.
RELATED: Customer Reviews: How To Use Them In Your Marketing Campaigns
5. Gaining Backlinks From Authoritative Websites to Yours
Remember how you can include external links to other websites? You can work around the same strategy by getting other sites to do the same for you.
Get in touch with high-authority websites to mention your business in their content. It’s a guaranteed way to provide more exposure to your site. Also, more backlinks to your domain on other websites will improve your organic SEO strategies in Singapore.
6. Never Spam Links
Indeed, linking to authoritative websites is helpful, but never overdo it. Spamming is a black hat SEO tactic that has severe consequences. Avoid it at all costs unless you want Google to penalise your website.
Stuffing too many links on one page is tempting. After all, incorporating external and internal links in your content is a great way to increase exposure. However, put too many, and your site will fail to follow Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines.
Not only will it affect your E-E-A-T rating, but spamming can decrease your search engine ranking, causing significant damage if you continue to spam your site with links. Try to limit your number of links per page, and make sure that the links redirect users to reputable domains. The best seo company in Singapore implements ethical and standard SEO practices on your website.
RELATED: What Is White Hat SEO? How To Rank By Following The Rules
7. Optimise Your Website Speed
Remember that Google evaluates a website based on its usefulness for viewers, including site speed.
A high-quality website will always run at an optimal pace. It provides users with a better experience whenever they’re exploring your site. Not to mention, a speedy website is much more reliable compared to those with slow loading times.
8. Enhance Your Website Security
Google gives low ratings to websites with poorly-optimised security. Invest in high-quality security software that will enhance your website’s protection against hackers and malware.
Any form of website security breach and other forms of risks will impact your rankings under Google’s guidelines. That’s why you should focus on enhancing your security. Without reliable protection, your site and its visitors are at risk of encountering theft, viruses, and other common cybercrimes.
For example, an online store with an unsecured connection for its users will fall under Google’s hypothetical ‘low E-E-A-T rating’. As such, you must enhance your security to make sure your website will qualify with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. Doing so should protect both your website and its visitors from potential threats.
The Myths About Google E-E-A-T (Debunked)
E-E-A-T has gone through many changes due to Google’s numerous updates in the past few years. For that reason, a lot of misconceptions and myths surrounding E-E-A-T sprung up which can confuse people about its true role in SEO and digital marketing.
Fortunately, we’re going to discuss the myths about Google E-E-A-T so you can discover the truths about its effect on SEO. Here are some of the myths and misconceptions about Google E-E-A-T.
MYTH #1: E-E-A-T is an algorithm.
Contrary to what most marketers believe, E-E-A-T is not an algorithm itself.
As stated by Google’s resident webmaster Gary Illyes, “It’s a collection of millions of tiny algorithms that work in unison to spit out a ranking score. Many of those baby algorithms look for signals in pages or content. When you put them together in certain ways…”
MYTH #2: E-E-A-T is a direct ranking factor.
Many factors affect a website’s SEO, such as site speed, keywords, and content. However, E-E-A-T is not one of them because its role in influencing your ranking is more indirect.
E-E-A-T identifies factors like credibility or transparency to affect a site’s SEO. But unlike keywords or content, E-E-A-T doesn’t directly improve your website. It’s still a ranking factor, but not the one that you’d expect.
Google will rate websites based on the quality of content, credibility, and reputation. The effects on a site’s ranking may be subtle, but it still plays a significant role in getting Google to recognise your website’s reliability.
MYTH #3: E-E-A-T should be a top priority.
There’s no doubt that E-E-A-T should be included in your priorities when it comes to digital marketing, but it still depends on the context of your business.
For instance, there’s a difference between writing about COVID-19 and hobbies like sports, music, or photography.
When creating content about COVID-19, E-E-A-T should be a top priority since your information must come from reliable sources. False information can have severe consequences on readers who want to know more about COVID-19, which is why you should curate your content more carefully.
On the other hand, E-E-A-T is much less of a priority when it comes to writing articles about hobbies like sports or photography. Your perspective on such topics can be subjective or less important than discussions about medical treatments and healthcare.
Still, E-E-A-T is an essential factor to consider whenever you’re creating content for your web page. Keep in mind that Google’s raters prioritise web pages with serious content above all.
MYTH #4: E-E-A-T works instantly.
Since E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor, it can take a long time before Google will finalise your website’s E-E-A-T quality. That means you have a lot of time to optimise your website to earn your customers’ trust.
However, it’ll also take longer than usual before Google can notice the changes you’ve made with your website. For that reason, it’s best to start early and optimise your content based on Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.
MYTH #5: E-E-A-T score exists.
Another common misconception is that Google’s E-E-A-T score exists. In reality, no such thing exists, even Gary Illyes said so in an interview. Nonetheless, your site’s E-E-A-T quality is still a significant factor that will affect your SEO and web visibility.
Conclusion
Improving your site for E-E-A-T is a lengthy process. That’s why you should follow the E-E-A-T guidelines as soon as possible and try incorporating other digital marketing strategies into the mix to get the most efficient results.
An SEO agency in Singapore can assist you in content creation and SEO copywriting and the processes before, including keyword research and implementation, while implementing the Google E-E-A-T guidelines for better search engine rankings.
OOm is a digital marketing and SEO company in Singapore committed to providing you with convenient, efficient, and effective digital marketing and SEO solutions. Contact OOm at+65 6391 0930.
