What is E-E-A-T? What to know about it for SEO

If you work in marketing, and especially if you are an SEO, you have probably heard of the E-A-T criteria. Now E-A-T has gained an extra letter, "E", and has become E- E-A-T SEO. So what is E-E-A-T in SEO, and how does it differ from E-A-T? Read on to find out in MONA Media the article below.

What is E-E-A-T in SEO? How is it different from E-A-T?

E-E-A-T stands for the 4 main factors Google uses to judge the quality of a web page or of the people who create content, especially on topics that can affect a user's happiness, health, finances or safety (known as YMYL topics, Your Money or Your Life), it stands for 4 English words:

– Experience (Experience)

– Expertise (Expertise)

– Authoritativeness (Authoritativeness)

– Trustworthiness (Trustworthiness)

E-E-A-T adds one more letter, E at the start, compared with E-A-T. To understand E-A-T better, you can read more: What is E-A-T in SEO? How to improve E-A-T for an SEO-friendly website

What is E (Experience)?

This is the criterion for judging content on a website, such as comments, service reviews, articles or any other content. It is understood as the user's Experience (Experience). And the content has to show that it was produced by someone with a certain amount of experience.

An example makes this easier to see: If a page says service ABC is very good, has that person really used service ABC? If a creator says dish XYZ is delicious, have they actually eaten it?

Many customers value an article more when its author really has experience with, and has used, the services or products it mentions. Put simply, experience means real, first-hand experience from people who have been through it and are sharing what they learned.

What is E (Expertise)?

Element Expertise in E-E-A-T is how readers and search engines judge whether your website has "what it takes" to provide information on a topic, and whether you are an expert in the field you are writing about. Prove it through the quality of the content you provide.

Example: A business lawyer can write about legal issues in business because they have the expertise. A food specialist can use their knowledge to write and share experience from their field.

However, if you are not an expert and need to write about a topic, research it across several reliable sources. You can also ask experts in that field to help you write. That way your content is credible, useful to readers and valued by search engines.

What is A (Authoritativeness)?

Authoritativeness is one of the factors in the E-E-A-T criteria in SEO and refers to the reputation of your brand or website in its industry or field. Google's quality evaluation system looks at the authority of your content, your writers and your website.

In practice, you build authority for your website or articles when your content draws strong attention from readers or is mentioned by experts in the field. It also helps when highly reputable websites send readers to your page. Ideally, though, your website is recommended by related sites in the same industry.

What is T (Trustworthiness)?

Trustworthiness is considered the most important factor in E-E-A-T and has a big effect on a website's ranking. It checks that readers and users can trust the information they come across.

The criteria for judging trustworthiness are the author, the quality of the content, and the website itself.

Specifically, state clearly who wrote each article, cite information and content from reliable sources, and avoid covering your website in ads. Your articles and pages also need to be accurate and updated regularly.

Why does E-E-A-T matter for your business?

Showing that your business website meets E-E-A-T criteria can noticeably improve your ranking on SERPs. The reason is that search engines like Google will see your site as trustworthy, well regarded by users and legitimate. Google also uses E-E-A-T to protect users from harmful content and to make sure it only serves quality results that best match what people are searching for.

1. Which pages does E-E-A-T affect?

Topic pages YMYL (Your Money Your Life) and pages that share first-hand daily life experience are the most affected by Google's E-E-A-T criteria. Because these topics are sensitive and have a big impact, Google sets an extremely high E-E-A-T standard for this kind of content.

Examples of YMYL pages: pages with medical information (symptoms, treatments), or pages about personal finance, investing and banking

2. Which factor matters most in E-E-A-T?

The most important factor in E-E-A-T SEO is Trustworthiness, because if your website is not trustworthy enough, strong scores on the other factors still will not earn the trust of customers or of Google's algorithm. Trust is the foundation for deciding whether a site is truly safe. To improve security and user trust when people visit your site, you can buy an SSL certificate to encrypt the data on your website and keep users safe.

3. Examples of a website lacking E-E-A-T

Here are a few examples of websites that lack E-E-A-T, which MONA Media has collected and wants to share with you:

• Lack of experience: A product or service review, however well written and engaging, comes from a website lacking experience if the writer has no experience and has never tried the product or service themselves. 
• Lack of expertise: When the content on a website is written by someone without the expertise and knowledge in the field the content addresses, the website lacks Expertise. For example, you write an article about website design but you have no expertise in website design.
• Lack of authoritativeness: The website or the person creating its content is not an authority or a trusted source on that topic. For example, you download a form SEO guidance on a sports website, which counts as lacking Authoritativeness.
• Lack of trustworthiness: For example, an online resort booking website that does not give full booking information and has unclear payment gateways is considered untrustworthy.

How to optimize your website for E-E-A-T

To optimize your website to E-E-A-T standards in SEO, you need a few strategies that improve content quality, author credibility and user experience. 

1. Create author pages to optimize for E-E-A-T

Create a separate author page for each author who writes for you. On it, state clearly the author's experience, degrees, expertise, certifications and related photos.

For example, if your website is about Digital Marketing and author B writes on your site, you need to create a page introducing author B. Include things such as which university they graduated from, with proof of the degree, or, if the author is well liked in the marketing community, link to that community.

2. Add reference links in your articles

When you write articles for your website, add reference links to related articles on your own site, or cite evidence from reputable external websites related to your field, to optimize for E-E-A-T.

Example: if your article is about full-scope SEO you can link to material related to SEO HCM.

3. Encourage customers to leave reviews to optimize for Google E-E-A-T

Positive customer feedback on your website helps Google rate it higher than other sites. Customers sharing your articles on social media also sends positive E-E-A-T signals to Google. To get there, your website needs clear text and call-to-action (CTA) buttons that encourage users to interact.

Note: Do not create fake feedback or reviews. Google will detect it and you will be penalized.

4. Pay attention to website design

Google also looks at your website design when judging E-E-A-T. If a site has too many popups or too many ads, or does not meet UI/UX standards, its trustworthiness suffers. That is why optimizing a website is important work to do right from the design stage.

5. Show your contact information

Business websites that do not give full contact and customer support details can be seen as untrustworthy. So make sure your business's necessary contact information is on your website.

As in the image above, the website shows a phone number and a quick chat option so customers can reach the business as quickly as possible, and this information adds to the site's credibility.

6. Get backlinks from high-authority domains

Search engines tend to treat backlinks from high-authority sites as an endorsement, a quality signal. So when your website earns links from such sites, it rises in search results and draws quality traffic. Users also tend to trust reliable sources and are ready to click a backlink from them.

A website that meets E-E-A-T standards matters, but to turn visits into customers and revenue you need a proper SEO strategy strategy, carried out by a professional team. That is why many businesses choose MONA Media, as we are a pioneer in hands-on SEO services built to Google's E-E-A-T standards, delivering sustainable growth on Google.

At MONA, every SEO project starts with a full analysis, from website structure, page speed and indexability to user experience. Our specialists then optimize the technical side, the content and the internal links so the website reaches the highest quality score. Alongside that, we build your brand and online credibility, so you reach the top and keep your reputation for the long term.

We go beyond get your website to the top, and MONA Media commits to delivering real value:

• A website that works for both Google and users.
• Standardized content that shows clear expertise and trustworthiness.
• More organic traffic and a better conversion rate.
• Analytics and website management tools set up and integrated in the most effective way
• Ongoing tracking, measurement and improvement so your website holds its leading position.
• SEO service costs are reasonable, and small next to the revenue you will earn.

Please CONTACT US with a reputable SEO provider – MONA Media by clicking the button below to get the most complete SEO service website and help your business succeed in the digital era.

Does putting ads on your website hurt E-E-A-T?

The business's Ads on a website can earn money for many businesses, but if ads interfere too much with the user experience, they hurt the overall quality of the site. Put simply, a website should only show ads that relate directly to the page's content and main topic, to keep things balanced and give users the best experience.

Is E-E-A-T a Google ranking factor in SEO?

E-E-A-T is one of the factors Google uses to judge the overall quality of a website. But E-E-A-T is not a Google ranking factor. Google has confirmed that the E-E-A-T principles were created to help the people involved in search rating evaluate how well its ranking systems perform, and they do not directly affect a website's ranking.

With the arrival of AI Search, the way Google understands, evaluates and displays content is also changing fast. Many users have even started searching with AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity instead of traditional Google, which seriously affects website SEO results.

The answer to this problem is SEO AI , a content optimization strategy based on data and smart analysis of search behavior. MONA Media is proud to be a pioneer in rolling out AI SEO services in Vietnam, helping businesses not only hold their rankings on Google but also appear prominently on AI Search platforms. With in-depth analysis systems and a hands-on SEO team, MONA helps you:

• Optimize content to the latest E-E-A-T and AI Search standards.
• Appear in AI answers and in Google's AI Overviews.
• Optimize visibility anytime, anywhere in the digital environment.

If you want to move up the rankings in the age of AI Search, let MONA Media work alongside your business. Call the HOTLINE 1900 636 648.

Key changes in Google's Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG)

In its latest update, Google's Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG) changed in several notable ways, mainly clarifying the role of the website owner and the content creator. 

Specifically, section 2.5 sets out a 2-step process: first, Google works out who is behind the website and who is responsible for the content. Then it looks more closely at the identity and credibility of those people.

Over section 2.5.2, Google goes deeper into the difference between the website owner and the content creator, and adds a table for classifying types of website: sites where the owner produces the content, sites with content contributed by users or other authors, and sites that represent a person or organization on a social platform.

At section 3.0, the way page quality is rated has also been updated into a clear 3-step process: identify the purpose of the page, assess its potential for harm or its trustworthiness, and finally rate quality by whether the page achieves its stated goal.

Next, section 3.2 explains how to judge the quality of the main content on 4 criteria: effort, originality, expertise and accuracy. Section 3.3 stresses that Google will look at many sources to judge a website's reputation based on the topic it is building. Websites that do not specialize in one field are more likely to be seen as less trustworthy.

Section 3.3.4 focuses on the reputation of the content creator, with 3 separate groups: experts, influencers and non-expert individuals. In section 3.4, Google continues to update E-E-A-T, especially stressing the role of "Experience" and "Trustworthiness".

Beyond that, section 3.4.1 gives concrete examples to separate when real-life experience is needed and when deep expertise is needed in YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics such as health, finance and elections.

In section 4.2, Google adds a more detailed breakdown of content that may harm individuals or the community, along with examples of misinformation and unsupported claims.

Finally, in section 5.1, Google makes the role of each E-E-A-T factor more concrete and updates its wording throughout the document, for example changing "webmaster" to "website owner" and trimming gendered pronouns to be more inclusive.

Do Google's guidelines sound complicated at first? Don't worry, watch the video "SEO from zero", where Huy shows you each SEO tip in a way that is easy to follow and that anyone can learn!

Through this article, MONA Media we hope you now understand why E-E-A-T SEO matters and how to optimize these criteria effectively to reach your goals. Getting E-E-A-T right in SEO is not hard, but it takes patience, effort and time. With more than 10 years of experience in SEO and having helped 300+ businesses reach the top of search results, MONA is confident it can help your website grow sustainably on Google, Bing, Cốc Cốc and more. 

Contact MONA through the channels below to talk in more detail:

• Address: 1073/23 Cach Mang Thang Tam, Tan Son Nhat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
• Hotline: 1900 636 648
• Email: info@themona.global

References:

• Google. 2022. searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf
• Google. 2022. : Search Quality Rater Guidelines. An Overview
• Search Engine Land. 2022. What Is SEO – Search Engine Optimization?