What is so important about E-E-A-T and does it really affect SEO and visibility in ChatGPT?
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) comes from Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Originally introduced as E-A-T in 2014, "Experience" (the extra E) was added in 2022 to emphasize the value of first-hand knowledge in content creation.
Search Quality Raters now look for evidence of practical experience, reinforcing the reliability and relevance of the information. This focus on experience also strengthens trust - an essential part of E-E-A-T.
Applying E-E-A-T principles can boost your site's credibility and help large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT evaluate and present accurate, user-focused content. As ChatGPT becomes a central tool for search and research, aligning with E-E-A-T is more important than ever.
How to implement the best practices of E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T is especially vital for Your Money of Your Life (YMYL) topics like health, finance, and law. Google and ChatGPT favor content from people with direct, personal experience over those without.
Key factors to consider for each E-E-A-T pillar:
- Experience: Duration of experience
- Expertise: Qualifications of experts
- Authority: Reliability of sources
- Trust: Consistency in delivering honest advice
#1 Content quality:
Focus on content quality: Create high-quality, relevant and valuable content.
#2 Use citable sources:
Incorporate citable sources into your content to increase credibility and authenticity.
Article example from Very WellFit: What Happens to Your Body When You Lift Weights Every Day
See below: 26 sources were referenced including peer reviews showing that this article was thoroughly researched, thus increasing the credibility of the content.
#3 Insert statistics and quotes from experts:
Add relevant statistics to strengthen your content. Types of content that can showcase stats and expert quotes include:
- Research
- Thought leadership pieces
- Industry reports
- Whitepapers / e-books
What Happens to Your Body When You Lift Weights Every Day
#4 Implementing author schema and linking them to author pages:
By creating quality content with citable sources and detailed author pages, the underpinnings of E-E-A-T are exemplified.
Author pages provide a way to connect content to a real, credible person, which is a key component of E-E-A-T.
- Showcase the author’s education - links to institutions if possible
- List author’s expertise
- Link to the author’s social profiles
While ChatGPT and other AI tools seem to be dominating in the creation of content in the current digital age, creating high-quality, original content indicating strong E-E-A-T signals is essential for brands if they want to stand out.
That means tapping into first hand experience, real expertise, getting the facts right, and earning your audience’s trust which doesn't happen overnight, it takes time. A worthwhile endeavour when brands are putting their customers first.
