EEAT, EAT, SEO, GPT, AI — are there any other acronyms we can throw at you? Probably, but we won’t. Instead, we’ll talk about what these are, and how you can use them to rank higher in search.
Table of Contents
What’s With All the Letters?
What’s Google Been Doing?
Why So Many Changes?
Why Can’t I Just Use AI to Write for Me?
What Is EEAT?
What Exactly Are the Guidelines?
How Do I Know If My Website Has Been Affected?
How Do I Recover If My Site Has Been Affected?
What’s With All the Letters?
You keep hearing these acronyms over and over, but it can be embarrassing to ask what everyone is talking about. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
EEAT — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness, a set of criteria used by Google to evaluate the quality of web content. More on that later.
SEO — Search Engine Optimization, the practice of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and ranking on search engine results pages.
SERPs Search Engine Result Pages, see above.
GPT — Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a type of artificial intelligence model developed by OpenAI.
NLP — Natural Language Processing, artificial intelligence models that can generate human-like text based on prompts they receive.
AI — Artificial Intelligence, enough said.
What’s Google Been Doing?
Short answer: Google only knows.
Long answer: Google is always behind the scenes working on updates to its algorithm. We’re talking thousands of updates each year. And to make it even more confusing, only some are announced publicly. If you’re thinking, “How on earth am I supposed to keep up with all that?” then you’re not alone. Luckily, we stay on top of the latest industry trends so you don’t have to.
Over 98% of Infomedia’s organic search traffic comes from Google.
Why So Many Changes?
You’re probably tired of hearing it, but the answer is — you guessed it — the rise of AI. It may sound like a bad line out of a Terminator movie, but AI-generated content has changed the game for the web and search results.
Historically, Google has prioritized quantity over quality when it comes to content. You were rewarded with more traffic if you posted more regularly than your competitors. This is true even if the competitor was posting better-quality articles now. Back in the good ol’ days, there were no robots churning out limitless content. You had to have a human with the time, interest and expertise to write the content. Google’s approach of prioritizing quantity over quality was to reward whoever put in the most effort.
Nowadays, you can tell ChatGPT to write a blog post on just about anything, and you’ll have a fully formed blog post in less than 60 seconds. (It might not be good, but it’ll meet your word count.) That means that rewarding quantity no longer rewards whoever puts in the most work.
Why Can’t I Just Use AI to Write for Me?
Short answer: There’s no replacement for humans, especially when it comes to EEAT.
Long answer: AI-generated content isn’t a replacement for well-thought-out, well-researched content on your website. You technically can use AI, but think of it as tool to help you write content — not a shortcut to avoid writing it on your own. That’s actually a whole other conversation that you can check out on our podcast, One Quick Question.
You Keep Talking About EEAT. What Does That Mean?
Now that you know why you should follow the guidelines, you might be wondering what exactly they are. First, we’ll take a deep dive into what EEAT means (formerly known as EAT).
E – Experience
Google added this E for Experience in 2023 as the key differentiator between human and AI written content. AI can’t have human experiences, so having that element represented in your content is key. This is a win-win, because not only does this experience speak to Google’s algorithm, but it also shows your customers that you know what you’re talking about.
Here are some questions to ask yourself about your website content to see if it fits this criteria:
- Do you have first-hand experience with the subject you’re talking about?
- Do you show that there is a real organization behind your site?
- Do you highlight the experience of your team and the people who write the content on your site?
E – Expertise
As a part of the original EAT algorithm, you want to show that your team has the knowledge and skills necessary to speak on this topic. At the bottom of every Infomedia blog post, we show the bio of whoever wrote that article. We cover their education, experience in the field and why they are the subject matter expert at Infomedia.
When reviewing your own content, think about this:
- How much expertise does the writer or the company publishing this content demonstrate?
- Do you share an author bio with qualifications, awards and certifications?
A – Authoritativeness
When discussing a topic, make sure you cover all aspects of the topic. (Notice how we covered acronyms before we ever even got into the nitty gritty details? That’s how we establish authoritativeness in this blog.)
Here are some specific ways you can establish authoritativeness on your site:
- Establish a pattern of covering all aspects of the topic.
- Create backlinks from other websites.
- Build a digital or personal brand as an expert on the topic.
T – Trust
Trust is what ties everything else together. You develop trust when you show Experience, Expertise and Authoritativeness.
Google is selling trust. We trust Google to give us the right answers when we type something in that search bar and hit enter. We trust the magical algorithm to give us the results we need right there are the top of Google’s search results. That means that Google has to trust you if it’s going to show your website to people searching for what you do.
What Exactly Are the Guidelines?
Next, we’ll cover some of Google’s biggest updates in recent years.
Google loosened the guidance on AI-generated content.
In September of 2023, Google rolled out the Helpful Content Update. While Google still prefers intentional content, it doesn’t necessarily have to be written by humans for humans. While they still prioritize original content in search results, they now state that they want content created for people but not necessarily by humans.
Basically, you can use AI-generated content but make sure it’s original, helpful and follows the EEAT guidelines. You don’t have to do all the writing yourself, but you have to be a very active editor. Don’t just copy and paste.
Google is cracking down on third-party content hosted on subdomains or the main part of the website.
Yeah, we know that probably doesn’t make sense. Here’s the simpler explanation: If you’re doing a paid affiliation and just reposting content from someone else’s site on your blog or on a subdomain (think: news stations that have sponsored content from credit card companies), then Google isn’t going to give you any points for that anymore. In fact, you might actually be penalized for it now. If you have to do it, then block it from Google’s indexing. But ideally, just don’t do it.
Google issued new warnings on attempts to fake updates to pages and faking freshness.
Basically, don’t try to trick Google. If you’ve thought of some shortcut or workaround, I promise that someone else has already thought of it, and Google already knows about it. It won’t work.
Here’s how you can do things that do work:
- Make sure your content is reviewed or written by an expert or enthusiast who knows what they’re talking about.
- Don’t change the dates of pages to make them seem fresh when the content hasn’t been significantly updated.
- Don’t just add a bunch of new content or remove a bunch of old content for the purpose of making your site look fresher.
Google aims to reduce unhelpful content by 40%.
In March 2024, Google rolled out one of the most complex updates that affects multiple core systems.
Here are the highlights:
- The goal is to reduce unhelpful content by 40%.
This is a massive mission, and Google has been signaling it with all the changes they have implemented so far. Content that would have performed well in the past has now be de-prioritzed by Google if doesn’t meet guidelines.
- New spam policies target scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse and expired domain abuse.
This means websites with a poor user experience, with pages created specifically for search engines and not for users or pages created just to match a certain search query, would be de-prioritized in search results.
How Do I Know If My Website Was Affected by These Updates?
This one is an easy answer: review your analytics! If you see a drop in organic traffic, then odds are you’ve been affected.
If you’re not familiar with Google Analytics and what to look for, reach out. We’d be happy to take a look and walk you through what we find.
How Do I Recover If My Site Has Been Affected?
Google looks at hundreds of factors when evaluating your site, but here’s where I’d start. Keep in mind that it can take several months for your pages to recover rankings lost due to a core update, even if you make improvements.
Follow EEAT Guidelines
Remember: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust.
Don’t rely solely on AI to write your content. Make sure you’re heavily editing and adjusting it to meet these guidelines. Write about topics that showcase your expertise and give a well-rounded view of your services, products or industry topics related to your business.
Create Helpful Content, Not Just for SEO
Don’t create content pages just for Google. Your content should serve your users and fit naturally within your site. Don’t try to trick Google.
Update Old Content Thoughtfully
Don’t simply reuse old content without significant changes. It’s okay to revisit old topics, but write new articles or heavily edit the old ones to actually update them. Don’t just republish old articles with a new date.
If old content is no longer relevant, go ahead and update it — but do it genuinely. Ensure updates reflect your business or organization’s current status and are necessary for the user experience.
Focus on User Experience
Do what you can to avoid walls of text. Break up your content with bullets, quotes, images and videos to make it easy to digest and read. Use cross-linking within your site.
Make sure all content is accessible. Ideally, posts and pages should be around 1,000 words, but 500 at a minimum. If your content reads like a textbook or a 5th-grade essay, you’re doing it wrong. It should be easily scannable and digestible.
When you mention your services in a post, link to them. If you say “contact us” in the last paragraph, provide a link to your contact page. Cross-linking helps users and Google understand and navigate your content better.
Make Your Content Easy to Find and Read
Ensure your website navigation is clean and well-organized. Your content should be easy to find and accessible. Text should be easy to read — avoid light text on a light background or dark text on a dark background. Don’t place text over busy or cluttered backgrounds. Don’t overload your site with plugins and widgets. Your content should be easy to find and read, and users shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to access it.
Invest in SEO
If you’ve seen significant drops in organic traffic, consider investing in SEO. A marketing company can create an action plan to help increase your click-through rates, conversions and search rankings.
Call Us
If you’re ready to get your site back on track with a solid website strategy, let’s have a conversation. We can help you create a strategy that leads to a solid online presence. Don’t let your site fall behind — reach out now and let’s work together.
