Google Still Wants You to E.E.A.T.: SEO Best Practices in 2024

This past month, Google began rolling out its Broad Core Update. This particular iteration of the Helpful Content Update aims to complement previous core updates by continuing to promote “useful” content created by experts in their fields, whether they hail from a small independent publisher or a massive media powerhouse. In other words, Google wants to show its users more high-quality authentic content and less performance-focused junk.

So what does this mean for your website and other web-based content? Well, the answer is simple: keep producing content that’s factually sound and true to your brand. And if that concept sounds familiar, that’s because it’s been the cornerstone of SEO best practices for years. (There’s lots to say about promoting that content, but that’s content for another day!)

Content Integrity Pays Off

EVG Media’s approach to SEO has always been based in white-hat practices. And now more than ever, that content integrity is paying off. Google favors content that matches a user’s intent and provides them with truly helpful information from reliable sources. This perfectly aligns with Google’s long-standing E.E.A.T. guidelines for search quality. We’ll dig into the details of this later.

If you’ve done your due diligence by publishing informative content that pertains to your area of expertise, you likely haven’t seen a major change in rankings since Google first started pushing its Helpful Content Updates (unless you’re a small publisher, in which case, the August update should help). However, if you’ve been chasing rankings by stuffing your pages with trending keywords and fluffy content… you’ve probably already experienced the repercussions.

But it’s not too late to course correct.

What is E.E.A.T. in SEO?

EVG and other global SEO experts recently met at BrightonSEO conference, and we agreed that the search game is still all about user search intent and content that follows Google’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E.E.A.T.) guidelines. Let’s take a closer look at how each aspect of E.E.A.T. applies to websites.

Experience is all about showing you have human first-hand knowledge. For example, you wouldn’t (or probably shouldn’t) trust a product review written by a person who has never actually used the product in question. Likewise, Google won’t promote your content if you don’t have experience with the subject matter.

Expertise builds off of Experience by offering more knowledge about the topic than the standard user. This includes providing insights, explanations, or tips about a subject that would help a non-expert. This blog is a great example of EVG demonstrating our expertise in the world of digital media! And with our clients, we often interview SMEs (subject matter experts) like engineers or developers to inform the content we create, such as this expert blog we wrote for WIKA.

While Expertise is all about showing mastery of a certain subject matter, Authoritativeness refers to whether or not others recognize a website as a source of expert information. This can be accomplished through backlinks. When quality third-party websites link to content, it shows Google that the linked page is also a source of quality content.

Lastly, Trustworthiness refers to why your website should be trusted. Note that this refers to the website itself and not the content. No matter how helpful the information, if your website seems suspicious, it won’t rank well. This can be avoided by ensuring your website includes up-to-date contact information and easily accessible policy information. If your website or company has reviews, you’ll also want to make sure that they’re presented in a way that accurately reflects user’s experiences. In other words, don’t try to hide negative reviews. Instead, respond to them and try to resolve the reviewer’s grievances as much as possible.

If this sounds like a daunting task, that’s because it is. Ensuring that all content that appears on your website is optimized for search takes time, and staying on top of Google updates and algorithm changes requires the finesse of an SEO industry expert. That’s where EVG Media comes in. As digital marketing experts, we work directly with subject matter experts to create accurate, optimized content centered around your area of expertise in your brand’s authentic voice. If you think your website is due for an SEO check-up or if you want to add additional content, let’s talk.