Understanding the ins and outs of content marketing is one of the most important parts of building your brand. Gaining brand awareness, guiding traffic to your business, and ranking high on Google’s metrics are the best ways to promote your business in the digital marketplace organically. 

To do that, you’ll need to master the art of creating quality content that Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines will rank highly. Google uses a system known as E-A-T, or Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. If your content hits these three points, it’ll take you where you need to go. 

What Is E-A-T?

Google manages a large percentage of all the traffic on the internet, and their administrators needed a way to rate it and ensure that only quality pages were ranking high. The E-A-T system rates all sites by three different metrics to ensure that they present information accurately and reliably while not spreading propaganda or misinformation. Sites that hit these points are more likely to be in a prime position on search engines, while those that habitually violate it can be penalized. 

Google pays special attention to websites that fall into the YMML category. This category stands for “Your Money, Your Life”, and refers to sites that can significantly impact people’s happiness, health, safety, or financial stability. Suppose one of these sites, like a news site or an eCommerce site, is habitually giving false information or bad advice.

In that case, it could cause long-term problems and even open Google up to liability for promoting them. These sites are the most likely to be cracked down on quickly. 

Creating E-A-T content proactively means you’re likely to stay off Google’s radar and benefit in the search rankings, but it will also have other benefits for your brand. A good reputation is worth its weight in gold in the marketing sector, and when people know they can trust your product and promotions, they’re more likely to recommend you to others. Keeping this system in mind as a baseline is a solid way to keep overall quality high — but make sure to go step by step. 

How to Get Started on the E-A-T Approach

The goal of E-A-T content is to add value to your brand. Following PureLinq’s guide to creating E-A-T content will give you a good foundation, but the most important thing you can do is understand each letter of the acronym. Each part of E-A-T brings something different to your content, which you should run through this system before it sees the eyes of your customers. 

Expertise

What questions are your customers asking? These questions are crucial to providing expertise. If you have any products available for sale, check the feedback to see what issues they might have. If you have open posts on social media sites, people might be providing you ideas for questions you can answer in your content.

If patterns show up, this isn’t just an idea for an article: it’s a potential keyword you can use to anchor your content. Your goal is to figure out what your customers are most likely to Google and provide that answer in an expert way that your audience will click on first. 

Authority

The more references you have from other credible sites, the more authority your content will have. Before you start publishing content under the E-A-T method, it’s important to network and creates relationships in your business arena.

Once you have those connections, they’ll be more likely to share your quality content, which will boost your reputation as an authority in your area. When building your content, make sure to work in references to reputable sources to back up your findings. 

Trust

The key to building trust is to provide transparency for your company. Both your customers and Google’s rankers will want to know your company is contractible with any concerns. Ensure your site’s information and contact pages are up-to-date with all relevant information like location, phone numbers, e-mail, and return policies.

Display any relevant certifications prominently, and provide attribution for all your content. 

What the E-A-T Approach Can Do for You

You want to avoid your E-A-T levels dropping too low to keep your site from being penalized, but a high ranking can also have major benefits. You’ll rank higher on major search engine pages, which will mean more clicks and a more prominent place in the market.

If people can find out about your business casually, you’ll find it easier to network with other companies in your space and form lucrative partnerships. 

E-A-T Your Way to Success

The E-A-T system is just a starting point. Any business that wants to succeed in the digital marketplace should strive for expertise, authority, and trust. It’s the foundation for all successful content.