Google has in the past used a set of guidelines to evaluate the quality of website content. Their original guidelines followed E-A-T, or Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Expertise is fairly self explanatory, Google wants to show you content from pages and individuals that know what they are talking about and have skills regarding whatever the content may be. Authoritativeness is a matter of the credibility and reputation of a website, its content, and the creator of the content. Trustworthiness is measured by the correctness of content and content creators. It is measured by the accuracy and reliability of the content, and can be considered more reliable by including reviews and including contact information.
In 2022 Google made a change to their guidelines and added another E, this one for Experience, which changed the acronym to E-E-A-T. Google added this E to measure if content was produced with some degree of experience. Examples would be product or location reviews from individuals who have actually used the product or visited the location. Or, if you were searching for expertise in a certain field, content from creators with actual experience in the field would be more promoted. By adding experience to their guidelines, Google showed that it recognizes the importance of not only expertise with certain fields of knowledge and content, but actual human experience in said areas.
But why has Google developed E-E-A-T, and what content does it affect most? E-E-A-T is most heavily applied to content that Google refers to as YMYL content. YMYL stands for “Your Money or Your Life” and refers to content that can impact a person’s health, finances, or well-being such as medical advice, financial planning, and legal counsel. Because of the impact this kind of content can have on people, credibility and accuracy are crucial and as such, Google applies the E-E-A-T guidelines to this type of content more heavily.
3 Responses
You did a really good job explaining these two important acronyms! I also really like the point you made how EEAT actually plays into YMYL content and how the two mesh together when working with SEO. EEAT is very important because it plays into so many other parts of SEO such as YMYL content
Great post clearly explaining why Google added the extra E and why that is important. I had never heard of the category YMYL before, but after reading your explanation I definitely see why that content being checked is so important. It would be so dangerous for content to be posted giving recommendations for health or finances from someone who no experience or knowledge in either area. I was always taught to never trust what you read on the Internet 100%, but some people might just consult one online source before making a decision, so having this extra layer of evaluation is a good safeguard.
Wow, this is interesting for sure. I had not heard of these acronyms, but this provided me with a clearer understanding and knowledge of why these are important, especially within the context of SEO. I think it’s very important to highlight areas that pertain to others more personally and affect them directly, and they can gain a better understanding of these areas and how they pertain to their personal lives. This use of Google SEO and search allows for a more personalized experience, which I believe is important when you are searching for more traffic on your site or just this general influx of information in general.