When is a content audit not an audit?
Jennifer Esty breaks down the why, the how and the what when it comes to content audits in this blog article.
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E-A-T is the summation of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines which provides an eye-watering 168 page document to help “webmasters understand what Google looks for in a page.”
Whilst Google state that E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor (i.e. a factor that helps determine how well your content ranks for different keywords/phrases in the search results), there are practical applications of these guidelines that are direct ranking factors.
Confused yet?
Let’s take a step back and look at what E-A-T stands for.
This ultimately boils down to Google’s ambition to further elevate the quality of the SERPs, with high quality, original content written with credibility.
This seems pretty all-encompassing, so why the extra E?
This extra E stands for Experience which, granted, seems very similar to Expertise but there is quite a distinct difference.
In short – Google wants to see that the content is written by individuals who have ‘first-hand experience’ of the topic.
If E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor, then why optimise content to meet these guidelines?
The key is how you translate the guidelines into things Google can measure. Google’s Danny Sullivan helps explain:
Is E-A-T a ranking factor? Not if you mean there's some technical thing like with speed that we can measure directly.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) October 11, 2019
We do use a variety of signals as a proxy to tell if content seems to match E-A-T as humans would assess it.
In that regard, yeah, it's a ranking factor.
Quite often the guidelines from Google are very B2C focused so we’ve compiled some tips to help B2B marketers elevate content to E-E-A-T standards:
This article from the Innovation Centre Knowledge Gateway in Essex perfectly highlights how they’ve selected the right individual, the Innovation Director, to talk on the subject of Scale Ups.
Barbour ABI cites government and independent organisations which help builds both authority and trust with the visitor.
Arguably the E-E-A portions work together to build trust amongst your visitors. However, we have pulled out a few additional tips to help bolster this:
We’ve talked here about E-E-A-T because of its relevance to B2B SEO. But Google isn’t your only stakeholder! It’s worth remembering that almost all of the E-E-A-T factors are also relevant for engaging and converting your website visitors. For example, third party reviews will help prospective customers decide whether your product or service meets their needs, and including contact details on your page will help them to get in touch when they are ready for a conversation with sales. So both of those things will increase conversions from your website visitors.
In general, following the E-E-A-T guidelines will make your content more persuasive and more engaging for your human readership, as well as more attractive to Google – with all of the marketing benefits that flow from that.
Jennifer Esty breaks down the why, the how and the what when it comes to content audits in this blog article.
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