What is Google EEAT & Why Does It Matter for SEO?
EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
This is Google’s criterion or framework for evaluating your website content, and it’s a good idea to follow this roadmap the best you can for a chance to be included in Google’s search results and AI Overviews. In short, Google wants your organization’s website to be a reliable and trustworthy source in the field related to the content you created and published. For authors or single service providers, Google would expect that person to be a subject matter expert in their specific field. Better content means a better chance at being displayed. EEAT is like your website’s resume broken down into these four sections.
Experience - This pertains both to the organization and the single service provider. In other words, has the organization or service provider worked in the field that the website’s mission or service is advertising?
Expertise - This is a measure of the experience. For example, does the organization or service provider have sufficient and appropriate skills and experience in the field?
Authoritativeness - This part can be a bit subjective inasmuch as it asks us to form an opinion about the organization or service provider based upon us reading up on their experience and expertise. For instance, is the organization or service provider a solid “top of mind” source?
Trustworthiness - Finally, all three categories of experience, expertise, and authoritativeness come together into a larger qualitative judgment that determines whether an organization or service provider is a reliable, credible, and trustworthy source.
The trust value of a website, in terms of its content, is a big thing and can impact your search results. In essence, Google wants quality and trustworthy content for its users just like streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime want high quality movies and television shows for their subscribers. These companies want to attract and retain eyeballs, and content is the lure. Think of it this way, and you’ll start to understand and demystify the groundwork for SEO 2.0.