What is EEAT?

EEAT — an acronym for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, is an evaluation criterion included in Google's Search Quality Rating Guide. The EEAT indicator determines the overall value, reliability, and reputation of a website. In other words, Google rewards content that is prepared in accordance with these four criteria by ranking it higher in search results.

In today's world, where there is a vast amount of content on the internet, alongside accurate and high-quality information, the number of content pieces that cause information pollution has also increased significantly. Even on the smallest topic, it is possible to encounter different and conflicting information from various sources. This raises questions about the quality of articles. Websites that prepare content following EEAT standards manage to stand out from this informational chaos and gain a chance to rank higher in search results.

Experience

The concept of Experience, recently added to the algorithm, emphasizes the importance of the content author's personal experience on a subject. According to Google, the author's real-life experience in the topic they address makes that content rank higher. Google believes that content reflecting people's personal experiences is more reliable and therefore rewards such content (by ranking it higher in search results).

Expertise

The concept of Expertise emphasizes the importance of the content author or website having professional and deep knowledge on a specific subject. In other words, content written by a subject-matter expert is considered by Google to be more reliable and valuable than other content prepared by ordinary individuals. For example, take an article about a disease. If this article is published on an official hospital's website, it is considered to have a higher level of expertise compared to an article on the same topic shared on a personal blog. To prevent information pollution, and the spread of false and inaccurate information, it is crucial that articles are prepared by qualified individuals.

Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness is a concept that considers the overall reputation and credibility of the content author or the website in its field. Authoritativeness not only refers to whether the author is an expert on the topic but also includes whether the website where the content is published is accepted as a reference source. The more popular and reputable your website is, the higher your authoritativeness will be. Some important nuances you can apply to increase authoritativeness are:

• Including an author profile in articles,
• Getting backlinks from reputable websites in the sector,
• If the site is an e-commerce site selling products, including user reviews,
• Sharing achievements and awards on your website.

Such steps are important to increase the authoritativeness of your website and content.

Trustworthiness

As the name suggests, Trustworthiness is directly related to how trustworthy Google considers a website or an article. The reputation of the content author and the accuracy of the information provided in the article are the main factors influencing the trustworthiness indicator. Providing accurate and correct information about the content author and properly citing the sources used (if any) are essential factors that enhance trustworthiness. Additionally, showing users that your website is secure is also very important.

Factors such as user reviews, social media interactions, and security measures affect the overall trustworthiness of a website. For example, the presence of secure payment methods and customer reviews on an e-commerce site leads users to approach the site with more confidence. Some steps you can take to demonstrate that you are a trustworthy website:

• Sharing your achievements and awards on your site,
• Providing users with detailed and honest information about yourself through an "About Us" section,
• Having an SSL certificate (address starting with https://),
• Placing all user information policies such as privacy policy, user agreement, cancellation, and return procedures on the site,
• If the site is an e-commerce site, including user reviews and product ratings,
• Ensuring reliability regarding payment methods (for example, 3D Secure payment system, etc.).

Google's goal is to provide users with the most accurate and complete information. Therefore, Google pays special attention to ensuring that all websites shown in search results are trustworthy and of high quality to fully answer the user's query.

Why is EEAT Important for SEO?

EEAT and SEO can be considered as two directly related key concepts. The originality and quality of the content published on a website are very important for SEO visibility and success. Within the framework of SEO work, the quality and adequacy of the existing content on the site are analyzed, content needs appropriate to the topic are identified, and SEO-friendly content is prepared according to these requirements. It is crucial that the content does not contain incorrect or incomplete information that may mislead users, and that it is original and prepared by professional individuals.

Content and websites that provide the most accurate answers to users' queries score high based on Google's EEAT criteria and are considered more trustworthy, and as a result, they are rewarded (i.e., ranked higher in search results). We see that Google is constantly improving its goal of better understanding users' needs and providing the most relevant results. EEAT is one of the concepts that fully aligns with this mission. In this regard, EEAT has become a fundamental pillar of SEO work to keep up with Google and remain up to date.

Through SEO work, websites must primarily be trustworthy, content must be prepared by expert and experienced individuals, and the site must be reputable within the sector. As a result of all these activities:

• User trust and loyalty,
• Higher search rankings,
• More clicks and conversions (sales, contact, registration, etc.) will be achieved.

In other words, working according to EEAT criteria is one of the key factors that ensure both user satisfaction and SEO success.

How to Optimize Your Website for EEAT?

We have talked about how important the EEAT algorithm is for Google. Now let’s look at how you can improve your site and achieve a high EEAT score:

1) You must create high-quality content: Creating high-quality, original, and accurate content is important for both EEAT and SEO. The content on your site should be free from incorrect and incomplete information and should directly answer user queries. Google detects duplicated content and ranks it lower. Content prepared by expert individuals helps to get more views, clicks, and conversions.

2) You must constantly update your content: EEAT considers having regularly updated content as an important indicator for websites. Some content may lose relevance over time. Especially if you have topics covering news, time-based information, recent updates, and changes, they must be updated regularly. Regularly updating your content ensures that you provide users with accurate and up-to-date information. This increases the reliability of your site and helps it rank higher in search engines.

3) You must include reliable sources on your site: EEAT considers it essential that the information on your site is based on reliable sources. Therefore:

• You should cite official and trusted sources in your content.
• Including reputable sources that provide accurate and correct information increases your site’s trustworthiness.

This also helps raise your EEAT score.

4) Obtain high-quality backlinks: High-quality backlinks are links obtained from reputable and trusted sites and send positive signals about your site to Google. These links are important not only for SEO but also for building user trust. As the number of quality links to your site increases, your site’s value rises for both Google and users. To comply with SEO and EEAT criteria, you should try to obtain backlinks from reputable websites. This will help strengthen your site in terms of both trustworthiness and authoritativeness.

5) Include user reviews and ratings: User reviews and ratings are important factors that show the trustworthiness and user experience of your site. The EEAT algorithm takes into account users' experiences and the positive feedback they provide about the site. Therefore, including user reviews and product ratings on your site increases your trustworthiness and EEAT score. Especially for sites operating in fields such as e-commerce, health, and food recipes, responding to these reviews is even more important. Although it may not be possible for all sites, collecting and displaying reviews in suitable fields increases user trust. As a result, these reviews enhance the value of the site and prove to both Google and users that you are a reliable source.

6) Include contact information: It is important to communicate with users to increase your site’s trustworthiness. Therefore, an address, phone number, and email should be included on the contact page. Providing social media links also builds trust. When contact information is clearly shown on the site, it not only increases trust but also allows direct communication with users.

7) About Us page: Clearly presenting who you are to users is important for the credibility and reputation of your site. For this, you should create an "About Us" page on your site and provide information about your company's history, vision, mission, and team. Sharing contact information and, if available, success stories, awards, and certificates also builds trust. Showing who you are on your site increases users’ trust in you.

8) You must make your site secure and show this to users: Google places great importance on the trustworthiness and user experience of your site. There are some key points you should pay attention to for your site to be secure. First of all, your site must have an SSL certificate (HTTPS), because sites without HTTPS are considered untrustworthy by both Google and users. Additionally, important information such as privacy policy, terms of use, cancellation, and return procedures should be clearly displayed on the site. If you are an e-commerce site, offering secure payment methods like 3D Secure helps build trust among users. Showing users that your site is safe and that their data is protected is important to increase your EEAT score.

Is EEAT a Ranking Factor?

EEAT is not the only way to evaluate websites. It is known that Google considers hundreds of different factors when evaluating websites. Therefore, EEAT is not considered a direct ranking factor. However, since Google rewards content from high-quality and trustworthy sources by ranking them higher, we once again see the importance of creating content that aligns with EEAT in terms of increasing user trust and conversions.

Although EEAT is not a direct ranking factor, it is an important evaluation criterion for success in search results. Content and websites prepared in accordance with EEAT standards are rewarded by Google with higher rankings. For this reason, aligning your website and content with all the mentioned EEAT criteria will help you succeed in search results.

In today's world, where fake information and fraud are widespread on the internet, Google clearly emphasizes the importance it gives to EEAT to prevent these issues. If you understand the needs of your target audience and can respond to these needs in an experienced, expert, authoritative, and trustworthy manner, you can achieve both a high EEAT score and successful SEO results.