Building authority with your website and online presence takes time and commitment. There are multiple factors that influence your search engine rankings, and EAT is one of them.
EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. At its core, EAT can influence your rankings because Google uses it to evaluate the credibility and accuracy of the information on your website. Using EAT to verify a site’s quality and credibility, Google can provide more valuable, helpful, and accurate information to users.
So how can you build authority as Google focuses more on EAT and content transparency? Here are a few tips to get you started.
Reference Credible Sites and Data Sources
One of the simplest ways to establish EAT is to back up your claims or information with data and links from credible websites. This is especially true if your website contains what Google calls Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content.
YMYL content contains information on topics that are highly relevant to a person’s life or well-being, such as medical information, financial advice, news, government, or other such matters.
With any information, but especially YMYL content, Google wants to ensure that the person who created the content is credible, the website is trustworthy, and the content is current or updated.
So not only should you have relevant and helpful content for your readers, but it should also be updated, written by someone with experience (or, if this isn’t possible, link to credible, high-authority websites), and be posted on a trustworthy site.
Have Detailed Author Bios
Another way to establish EAT is to have author bios on your website. An author bio can either be a page or a simple byline that includes the author’s relevant experience on the topic at hand, their authority, and their credentials.
To build authority, the author of the content must have experience or expertise in their field. This is one way Google uses EAT to establish trustworthiness and evaluate credibility for users.
Consider having an expert write content that you can publish on your website or have your content reviewed by an industry expert or professional, and be sure to include their bio or byline. However, the author doesn’t necessarily need to be an industry leader—they can simply be a qualified person with the credentials to back up their experience.
Include specific details about your professional experience that builds on your expertise and/or authority:
- Have you been published?
- Have you spoken or been on a panel at an industry event?
- Have you received awards or recognition?
- What are other professional or volunteers roles have you held?
- What on-going education or conferences have you attended?
Your website should also have an About page and a Contact page to build trustworthiness and credibility. The About page is also a great place to include author bios or information about your contributors or experts and showcase their experience.
Get and Respond to Your Online Reviews
Show Google that you are not only a real business or brand but one that cares. You can do this by managing your online reputation, and part of this includes getting and responding to reviews.
Deal with or respond to any negative content or information published about your brand as soon as possible. Be sure to be diplomatic and flag any spam or inaccurate content or reviews so Google can remove them if necessary.
You should also claim your Google My Business (GMB), Bing and Yelp listings and social media profiles so you can better control how your brand is represented online and ensure no one else can operate or identify as you on the internet.
Start Building Authority Online
Building authority and establishing EAT should be an integral part of your SEO strategy, as it will influence your website’s position in the search engines. Get started establishing expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness with your online presence by contacting our team at Gazz Consulting today.
