If you haven’t gotten the E-E-A-T message yet, listen up: you’d better have a plan to focus on it in 2024. Whether or not it’s a ranking factor, Google has made it clear that it’s an important component of the search rater guidelines, and it’s making it easier to find content that checks the boxes. (That’s why we put together E-E-A-T in 2024: A Comprehensive Guide to the Foundation of SEO.)
Does your site have an “About” page? Does it include information about your authors (e.g. profile pages or post blurbs)? Do you offer your users a way to get in touch with a real, genuine person? (Chatbots and form fills don’t count here.) Any concrete assurance you can give your readers that your organization is staffed (and your content produced) by humans is essential.
Of course you should have a point of view – that’s part of E-E-A-T. But you should acknowledge that other points of view exist, proactively address any arguments, and avoid going too far in any specific direction without proof, especially if you’re in “your money or your life” verticals.
Here’s an example we pulled from our guide, courtesy of the folks at B2C financial services company Bankrate:
This is more important in some verticals – media, obviously – than others, but it’s something every organization should consider: add a page on your site describing your process of producing content. This process can include information like how you collect and verify research, how you select your authors, and how meticulously you edit content before you publish it.
If that seems a little over the top, well – it’s not that common, but it IS a great differentiator and a strong signal to Google (and your users) that you take your content quality seriously.
Stay tuned for my last blog of this series, a closer look at the “Experience” piece of E-E-A-T – or just download the full guide and tuck in.