Use Google’s EAT Principle to Crush the Competition

A woman eats a salad with a face of contentment. Text says: EAT your way to the top.

Looking to get more leads from Google?

Then first and foremost, you need to know about the Google EAT principle. By mastering EAT, you'll be able to grow your web presence into a juggernaut, driving traffic from Google to your site.

Let's get started.

What Is EAT?

EAT stands for:

  • Expertise
  • Authority
  • Trust

Pretty simple so far. Let’s break down each of those terms and explain how they’re relevant to the way you create content going forward.

Expertise

Google wants to know how much you (the content creator) know about your industry and specific topics that surround what you do.

Authority

Google takes a step back to examine the larger picture, reviewing the credibility and good reputation of the creator of each piece of content, the brand, and the website in its entirety.

Trust

It’s true what they say about trust. It takes a while to build it and only a minute to lose it, so be careful with this one.

Generally, a higher trust rating is received by brands and creators that are able to fulfill the first two criteria to Google’s standards.

How EAT Works

Now you know what EAT is, we won’t waste any time telling you how it works.

The first thing you need to know is that, while Google uses an algorithm to rank search results, there is still a human element to their system. Google employs Quality Raters to examine individual web pages, assess their quality, and send feedback about Google search results. The purpose of these Quality Raters is to evaluate how well Google's algorithm works and identify areas it can improve.

This is where the EAT system comes into play.

Google instructs its human rating teams to use the EAT criteria to assess the quality of search results. Google always wants to show the best, most relevant results at the top, and they use EAT to determine which ones are the best.

Bottom line: If you want your webpages to rank well, they need to demonstrate expertise, authority, and trust. That's what Google wants. So that's what you need to give them.

Why EAT is Relevant to Searchers

EAT criteria are relevant to searchers because content with the highest ratings will generally always provide the most valuable information.

In addition to this, a high EAT score helps a searcher feel more secure sharing personal information and data to complete online transactions.

Lastly, EAT criteria helps searchers and consumers avoid lousy information that could negatively affect their lives in the areas of personal finances, prosperity, and wellness.

Tips for Producing EAT-Worthy Content

Our experts suggest implementing the following tip to produce the most EAT-worthy content and improve your visibility in SERPs:

  • Create content around topics where you are most knowledgeable
  • Be a robust source for current and relevant information
  • Add more details to answer all search queries in one place
  • Use resources wisely to obtain the best research possible
  • Leave out tech-speak and heavy jargon
  • Include as much data, hard facts, and stats as you can
  • Make positive reviews easier to spot
  • Don’t forget to include contact information on all landing pages
  • Consider scraping or repurposing pages that don’t meet EAT criteria
  • Go after branding opportunities by beefing up your social media profiles and capturing online listings relevant to your company

Conclusion: Use Eat to Launch Your Content Toward Online Success

As your digital SEO strategy evolves, it’s vital to look for ways to enhance your success and capture more traffic. Taking Google’s EAT guidelines into consideration can help pave the way forward.

Are you using some of these strategies to produce optimized content already? We want to know what’s made the biggest difference for you so far, so fill us in with a few lines in the comments section below.


Learn something useful? Got a tip to share about creating EAT content? Let us know in the comments below.

And if you need help climbing the search results, the experts at LinkNow are here to help. We develop content-driven marketing campaigns that help small businesses grow their audience and turn visitors into customers. With over 10,000 clients across North America, we are your source for cost-effective digital marketing that works.

Book a free consultation to learn what we can do to power your web presence. Call 888.667.7186 or email website@linknowmedia.com to book your consultation today.

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.