What Is the EAT Acronym in SEO?

Expertise

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines expertise as “the skill of an expert/expert opinion or commentary.” Your ability to explain the topic from the ground-up may indicate your overall expertise. In terms of web content, you might have blog posts or other pages that explain any query relevant to your niche, industry, or domain — from defining basic terms to addressing long-tail questions, with equally high quality, comprehensive content. 

Expertise is also evident when you can present a unique and accessible take on your subject. Just because there are already ranking results for certain queries or keywords, doesn’t mean readers aren’t hungry for a better explanation or a more user-friendly resource on the topic. When your site lacks expertise, this could be because previously published pages lack accurate information or provide little to no explanation as to what you’re talking about. Your content could be too generic, or it could suffer because your article shows signs of keyword stuffing, which is bad for SEO and for readers. 

For instance, if you create a lot of content stuffed with keywords and phrases you wish to rank for, but have no unique commentary or value to add, your site may not show topical expertise because of the overuse of keywords. It takes more than keyword spamming to create truly optimized keyword-focused content and stand out from existing answers to your target queries. This is why you need to conduct keyword research prior to constructing your article: to ensure that you not only know how searchers look for information, but also understand what they actually want and need from the results they discover. 

Other factors that can damage your signals of expertise include:

• Claims/facts that aren’t cited;
• Lack of consistency;
• Poor user experience (awkward site layout, slow site speed, etc);
• Out-of-date information;
• Too much paid advertising;
• Using too much jargon. 

Part of being seen as an expert can also mean offering a compelling and unique opinion. Likewise, being able to rank in search isn't just a matter of having the "right" answer, but demonstrating that your content provides something valuable to searchers. Experts have a history across their content of offering unique, compelling, value. 

Authoritativeness

A website that shows authoritativeness is one that can be trusted and that users can rely on. Authoritativeness is defined as being “clearly accurate or knowledgeable.” In order to be seen as a reputable source, you must have authority. Your site’s authority can be determined in part by:

• How often users search for your brand;
• Number of relevant internal links that connect your content and show comprehensive topical coverage across your site; 
• Number of mentions on reputable outlets;
• Number of times your site is shared, liked, and/or commented on;
• Clear, attributable authorship to every article or piece of content;
• While authorship itself isn’t a ranking factor, Google’s quality evaluators still are told to look at the reputations and profiles of brands and authors. They look for answers to questions like: “Do they appear to be experts in their field?” “Does it make sense for them to be writing about the topics they write about?” “Does what they have to say compare favorably with what other known, trusted experts are saying?”
• Relevant links that are pointing back to your site;
• Citations to other high authority sites;
• Whether or not you have a Wikipedia page for your company/ and/or individuals within your company (i.e. biographies on the CEO);

Google may not know what a “fact” on any subject is, but it can easily compare different pages with each other and come to a consensus. As a content creator, you have the ability to leverage the insights and commentary of other experts, while still providing a unique spin on your own content, standing out from the rest. This can really be helpful when trying to demonstrate E-A-T. 

Trustworthiness

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines trustworthiness as “worthy of confidence” or “dependable.” It’s simple — in order to draw traffic to your site, users must trust that you know what you’re talking about. They also need to trust that their personal information (i.e. name, address, credit card info, etc.) is secure if they choose to subscribe to your services or purchase online — particularly if you are running an e-commerce site. 

You can promote your site’s trustworthiness by:

• Being truthful;
• Creating a privacy policy;
• Having content that is linkable and consistently earning links over time from various sources and to multiple pages on your site;
• Including a clear and comprehensive refund and return policy (if you sell products that are refundable);
• Including product and service specifications;
• Making it easy for your customers and clients to contact you;
• Providing users with contact information, including where you are located and hours they can reach you;
• Securing your website’s domain.

It is important to note that gaining initial trust is easy. However, regaining the trust of a customer/client that once was wronged by you, your company, or your website, can be very difficult.