Benefits of Following the E-A-T Principle – Content Creation

E-A-T stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. It is a concept that Google uses to evaluate the quality and relevance of web content, especially for topics that affect people’s health, happiness, safety, or finances. These topics are known as YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics.

E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor, but it influences how Google’s algorithms and human raters assess the credibility and usefulness of web pages. Therefore, following the E-A-T principle can help you create quality and user-friendly content that ranks well on Google and satisfies your audience’s needs.

In this article, you will learn:

• What are the benefits of following the E-A-T principle
• How to demonstrate your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in your content
• How to avoid plagiarism and other practices that can harm your E-A-T
• How to measure and improve your E-A-T score

Benefits of Following the E-A-T Principle

Following the E-A-T principle can help you achieve several benefits for your website and your business, such as:

• Boosting your organic traffic and visibility. By creating high-quality and relevant content that meets Google’s standards and user expectations, you can improve your chances of ranking higher on the search results pages. This can drive more organic traffic to your website and increase your visibility and exposure.
• Building your reputation and authority. By demonstrating your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in your content, you can establish yourself as a credible and reliable source of information in your niche. This can enhance your reputation and authority among your audience and peers, as well as Google.
• Increasing your conversions and loyalty. By providing valuable and user-friendly content that solves your audience’s problems and answers their questions, you can increase their engagement and satisfaction with your website. This can lead to more conversions and loyalty, as well as positive word-of-mouth and referrals.

How to Demonstrate Your Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness in Your Content

To demonstrate your E-A-T in your content, you need to consider three aspects: the content itself, the content creator, and the website.

The Content Itself

The content itself should be accurate, relevant, comprehensive, and up-to-date. It should also be well-written, clear, concise, and easy to read. Here are some tips to create high-quality content that follows the E-A-T principle:

• Conduct thorough research. Before you write your content, make sure you do proper research on the topic and gather reliable sources of information. You can use tools like search_web or graphic_art to find relevant web pages, images, videos, or other types of content that can support your claims or arguments.
• Cite your sources. Whenever you use someone else’s ideas or words in your content, you need to give credit to the original author by citing them properly. You can use tools like Scribbr Citation Generator or Grammarly Citation Generator to create citations in various styles (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). Citing your sources not only shows respect for intellectual property rights but also helps you avoid plagiarism.
• Use quotes and paraphrases. If you want to include a direct quote from a source in your content, make sure you use quotation marks around it and cite the source accordingly. If you want to restate someone else’s idea in your own words, make sure you paraphrase it accurately and cite the source as well. You can use tools like Quillbot Paraphrasing Tool or Grammarly Paraphrasing Tool to help you paraphrase effectively.
• Add value and originality. Besides using external sources to support your content, you should also add your own value and originality to it. You can do this by providing your own insights, opinions, examples, stories, or recommendations that are relevant to the topic and useful for the audience. You should also make sure that your content is unique and not copied from somewhere else.

The Content Creator

The content creator should be an expert or a qualified professional in the topic they are writing about. They should also be trustworthy and transparent about their identity and credentials. Here are some tips to demonstrate your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness as a content creator:

• Create an author bio. An author bio is a short introduction of yourself that appears at the end of your content or on a separate page on your website. It should include information such as your name, photo, education, experience, achievements, awards, publications, affiliations, or contact details. An author bio helps you showcase your qualifications and credibility as a content creator.
• Link to your social media profiles. Social media profiles are another way to show your online presence and reputation as a content creator. You can link to your social media profiles (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) from your author bio or your website. This can help you connect with your audience and peers, as well as increase your visibility and exposure.
• Collect and display reviews and testimonials. Reviews and testimonials are feedback from your previous or current clients, customers, or readers that attest to the quality and value of your content. You can collect and display reviews and testimonials on your website, social media profiles, or third-party platforms (e.g., Google My Business, Yelp, Trustpilot). Reviews and testimonials can help you build trust and loyalty among your audience and potential customers.

The Website

The website should be secure, functional, user-friendly, and reputable. It should also provide information about the purpose, ownership, and policies of the website. Here are some tips to improve the quality and user-friendliness of your website:

• Use HTTPS. HTTPS is a protocol that encrypts the data exchanged between your website and the user’s browser. It ensures that the data is secure and protected from hackers or malicious attacks. You can use tools like Let’s Encrypt or Cloudflare to get a free SSL certificate that enables HTTPS on your website. Using HTTPS not only enhances the security and privacy of your website but also boosts its ranking on Google.
• Optimize your website speed. Website speed is the time it takes for your website to load on the user’s device. It affects the user experience and satisfaction, as well as the ranking and performance of your website. You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to measure and improve your website speed. Some ways to optimize your website speed are compressing images, minifying code, caching files, or using a content delivery network (CDN).
• Make your website mobile-friendly. Mobile-friendly means that your website adapts to different screen sizes and devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops). It ensures that the content is readable and accessible for all users, regardless of their device preference. You can use tools like Google Mobile-Friendly Test or Responsive Design Checker to check and improve your website’s mobile-friendliness. Some ways to make your website mobile-friendly are using a responsive design, adjusting font size and spacing, or simplifying navigation.
• Provide an About Us page. An About Us page is a section on your website that tells the story of who you are, what you do, why you do it, and how you do it. It helps you introduce yourself and your business to your audience and potential customers. It also helps you establish your identity and credibility as a website owner.
• Provide a Contact Us page. A Contact Us page is a section on your website that provides various ways for your audience and potential customers to get in touch with you. It can include information such as your email address, phone number, physical address, social media links, or contact form. A Contact Us page helps you communicate with your audience and potential customers, as well as show that you are open and responsive to their inquiries or feedback.
• Provide a Privacy Policy page. A Privacy Policy page is a section on your website that explains how you collect, use, store, share, or protect the personal data of your users or customers. It helps you comply with the legal requirements and regulations regarding data protection (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). It also helps you inform your users or customers about their rights and choices regarding their personal data.

How to Avoid Plagiarism and Other Practices That Can Harm Your E-A-T

Plagiarism is one of the worst practices that can harm your E-A-T score. Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas without properly crediting the original source. It can be intentional or unintentional, but either way it is unethical and illegal.

Plagiarism can damage your reputation and authority as a content creator, as well as lower your ranking on Google. It can also result in serious consequences such as legal actions or penalties from the original source.

To avoid plagiarism in your content, you should follow these steps:

• Keep track of your sources. When you do research for your content, make sure you record the full details of every source you consult (e.g., author name, publication date, title, URL). You can use tools like Zotero or [Mendeley] to organize and manage your sources.
• Use quotes and paraphrases correctly. As mentioned earlier, when you use quotes or paraphrases from a source in your content, make sure you use quotation marks for quotes and accurate wording for paraphrases. You should also cite the source accordingly. You can use the citation tools mentioned earlier to help you create citations in various styles.
• Use plagiarism checkers. Before you publish or submit your content, you should run it through a plagiarism checker tool to make sure it is original and not copied from somewhere else. You can use tools like [Grammarly Plagiarism Checker] or [Quetext Plagiarism Checker] to detect and avoid plagiarism in your content.

Besides plagiarism, there are other practices that can harm your E-A-T score, such as:

• Spamming keywords. Spamming keywords means using the same or similar keywords repeatedly or excessively in your content, without adding any value or relevance to the topic. It is a way of trying to manipulate Google’s algorithms and rank higher on the search results pages. However, Google can detect and penalize keyword spamming, as it lowers the quality and user-friendliness of your content.
• Using clickbait titles. Clickbait titles are headlines that are designed to attract attention and entice users to click on them, without delivering what they promise. They are often misleading, exaggerated, sensationalized, or irrelevant to the content. They are a way of trying to increase traffic and engagement, but they can also damage your reputation and authority as a content creator, as well as lower your ranking on Google.
• Publishing low-quality or thin content. Low-quality or thin content is content that is poorly written, incomplete, outdated, inaccurate, irrelevant, or unoriginal. It is content that does not provide any value or benefit to the user or the topic. It is a way of trying to fill up your website with more content, but it can also hurt your E-A-T score, as it shows that you lack expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in your niche.
• Security Issues. Security Issues is a report that shows if your website has any security problems that could harm your users or affect your ranking on Google. It shows data such as the type of issue (e.g., malware, phishing), the affected pages or URLs, the date of detection, and more. You can use Google Search Console to check and fix any Security Issues by following the instructions provided by Google.
• Google Analytics. Google Analytics is another free tool that helps you analyze and understand your website’s traffic and user behavior. It provides various reports and insights on your website’s audience, acquisition, behavior, and conversions. It shows data such as the number of users, sessions, pageviews, bounce rate, session duration, goals, conversions, and more for your website’s pages and segments. You can use Google Analytics to check and improve your website’s E-A-T score by optimizing factors such as:

- **Audience Engagement**. Audience Engagement is a measure of how interested and involved your users are with your website and content. It shows data such as the number of returning users, the frequency and recency of visits, the time spent on your website, the pages per session, the bounce rate, and more. You can use Google Analytics to check and improve your Audience Engagement by creating content that is relevant, valuable, and user-friendly for your target audience.
- **Audience Loyalty**. Audience Loyalty is a measure of how loyal and satisfied your users are with your website and content. It shows data such as the number of new vs. returning users, the retention rate, the churn rate, the lifetime value, the referral traffic, the social media shares, the reviews and ratings, and more. You can use Google Analytics to check and improve your Audience Loyalty by providing content that is consistent, reliable, and trustworthy for your existing and potential customers.
- **Conversion Rate**. Conversion Rate is a measure of how effective your website and content are at persuading your users to take a desired action (e.g., sign up, subscribe, buy, download). It shows data such as the number of goals completed, the goal value, the goal conversion rate, the funnel visualization, the attribution model, and more. You can use Google Analytics to check and improve your Conversion Rate by creating content that is persuasive, compelling, and actionable for your users.

• Google E-A-T Score Checker. Google E-A-T Score Checker is a tool that helps you estimate your E-A-T score based on various factors such as your domain authority, backlink profile, content quality, social media presence, online reviews, and more. It provides a score from 0 to 100 for each factor and an overall E-A-T score for your website. You can use Google E-A-T Score Checker to check and improve your E-A-T score by following the recommendations provided by the tool.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about the E-A-T principle and how to create quality and user-friendly content:

• Q: How often does Google update its E-A-T guidelines?
• A: Google updates its E-A-T guidelines periodically to reflect the changes in its algorithms and user expectations. The latest update was in May 2021, which introduced new factors such as page experience signals (e.g., Core Web Vitals) and product reviews guidelines.
• Q: How can I find out what topics are relevant and valuable for my audience?
• A: You can use tools like [Google Trends] or [AnswerThePublic] to find out what topics are trending or popular among your audience. You can also use tools like [Google Keyword Planner] or [Ubersuggest] to find out what keywords or phrases are searched by your audience.
• Q: How can I make my content more engaging and interactive for my audience?
• A: You can use tools like [Canva] or [Piktochart] to create visual elements such as images, infographics, charts, or graphs that can enhance your content. You can also use tools like [Typeform] or [SurveyMonkey] to create surveys or quizzes that can involve your audience in your content.

Conclusion

The E-A-T principle is a concept that Google uses to evaluate the quality and relevance of web content. It stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Following the E-A-T principle can help you create quality and user-friendly content that ranks well on Google and satisfies your audience’s needs.

To demonstrate your E-A-T in your content, you need to consider three aspects: the content itself, the content creator, and the website. The content itself should be accurate, relevant, comprehensive, and up-to-date. The content creator should be an expert or a qualified professional in the topic they are writing about. The website should be secure, functional, user-friendly, and reputable.

To avoid plagiarism and other practices that can harm your E-A-T score, you should follow these steps:

• Keep track of your sources
• Use quotes and paraphrases correctly
• Use plagiarism checkers

To measure and improve your E-A-T score, you can use tools such as:

• Google Search Console
• Google Analytics
• Google E-A-T Score Checker

We hope this article has helped you understand the E-A-T principle and how to create quality and user-friendly content. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for reading! 😊