The algorithms are frequently changing and adapting to different things, but I feel Google E-E-A-T is a constantly growing SEO topic. I believe that in 2023, the following three areas down below are going play key role in SEO strategies succeeding.
Lets quickly break down what E-E-A-T is.
The SEO acronym E-E-A-T stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust.” It is a model applied to authors of online content to help determine if they can ultimately be trusted or even viewed as a experts in the subject matter. In the nearing future, you will see more and more focus on who the author in correlation to how a piece of content ranks in search results.
The switch in gears is a great move by Google in my opinion. It indicates that Google is ready to put more weight onto the various knowledge graphs it has been building. I suspect they will shift to using Author Schema down the road more heavily than relying on external backlinks from websites. Do not take this as a reason to stop building backlinks all together, but as a signal to keep the focus on building a porfolio of only high-quality and healthy organic backlinks. This might mean less of the backlinks from the vast pool of citation/directory hubs and more focus on a link from your local city’s Chamber of Commerce.
What are knowledge graphs?
Think of a knowledge graph as a database that holds all related information to a specific subject or thing. That knowledge graph can be queried and then return a detailed roadmap of all the specific relational data to a given topic. They do this so that computers can understand the big picture of a unique subject better. An example of relational data could be the given in the context of the movie ‘Die Hard’. We know this movie falls into both the ‘Action Films’ and ‘Christmas movies’ genres. Therefore, in the search for “entertaining films to watch in December”, the film ‘Die Hard’ could be recommended as a pretty solid option. Sorry I had to include it in there. It is almost Christmas!
Relational data is nothing new. Relational databases have existed for a very long time. The new part here is the concept that Google is building its own database on who we are. Then with that data, they are building algorithms to help determine our relationship and expertise to content we produce. Algorithm like this will then allow the system to make valuable connections and provide more accurate and relevant results to search queries.
I like to think of the vast topic of knowledge graphs in comparison to what they would be in nature – Mycelium Networks. Giant mycelium webs of living information that under the surface transmitting non-stop information about anything it touches like the forest floor, inhabitants, and the overall environment. Each fruited body emerging up from the surface, gathering information, and then sending it back through the database to better grow and evolve.
How to get started with building E-E-A-T?
The simplest way is to just put yourself out there in the many popular areas of the web. Areas that you know the crawlers may focus on to determine authority on a specific topic. These various hubs of expertise are seen as nodes in what is known as a knowledge graph. Some quick examples of this could be forums or public facebook pages.
Build Authority with JSON-LD Schema Markup
JSON-LD schema is important to a website as it helps search engines understand the content and structure of the website better. JSON-LD stands for JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data. In a nutshell, it’s a snippet of code displayed for the crawlers to obserbe various objects that make up the page. By using JSON-LD in a website, you unlock providing additional context and information about the website’s contents. This can improve its visibility and ranking in search results.
Some interesting ways to use Schema :
Additionally, JSON-LD schema can also help to improve the user experience of the website, as it can provide search engines with information about the content that can be displayed in rich snippets or other interactive elements in the search results. I feel a shift here as Google expanded on the topic of E-A-T in their own newly revised Search Quality Guidelines (section 3.4) today.
How do I get myself into knowledge graphs?
As mentioned before, you very likely already are in some knowledge graphs. The real goal is to make sure that you are represented in them accurately. Making sure you provide Google with accurate information will help them bridge together authoritative areas of your work across the web.
Ways to help build better knowledge graphs:
- Implement JSON-LD Schema on your website!
- Use the sameAs properties to link over to your related content on the web.
- Sending crawlers to your related social profiles.
- Sending crawlers to your various community author pages like on forums.
- Linking crawlers to your to your Wikipedia page.
- Go into other networks and link back to your website or author page.
- Produce well-written and digestible content!
- Don’t just write content for the search engines.
- Do not let a robot write for you! Be the expert.
- Learn Schemantic HTML5 and use it to enhance your content structure.
- Write relateable and factual content for your readers.
- Have somebody review your content for grammatical mistakes and accuracy.
Keep in mind, sameAs can be found on businesses, authors, and much more.
Build your website with your audience in mind.
Never shy away from improving User Experience (UX)! It is super important to make sure you are catering to the masses in all aspects of content and design. Firstly, it ensures that the website broadly meets the needs and expectations of the target audiences average viewer. For example, if a website is aimed at a younger audience, it may need to have a more modern and visually appealing design. The content often times has to also be delivered differently to a younger audience. While on the opposite side, a website designed for a professional or business audience may have a more straightforward and functional design with content more formal.
Furthermore, building a website based on the audience helps to improve the user experience. By focusing on this, you could see increased traffic and engagement on your website. Understanding your target audience makes it possible to create an experience that is easy to navigate as well as become a customer through. You also show Google valuable data like how long users spend on your site and other important content they found along the way. As an SEO, I see this as a super important way to help build trust and credibility around your content.
Use your social media!
Sharing your content on social media can be crucial to how that content performs in the search results. I’ve come to this conclusion for several reasons.
Firstly, social media can help to increase the visibility and reach of your content, as it allows you to share your content with a larger audience. When people share your content on social media, it exposes it to various new audiences who may not have otherwise discovered it. This can help to drive traffic to your website, which *points to above section* can help improve your search engine rankings.
Additionally, social media can help to improve the credibility and authority behind who created a piece of content. When that content is shared on social media, it can help show Google the author is an expert on the subject. I have a feeling, Google crawls shared content on social media to see if others interacted with it or promoted it further.
Finally, social media can also help to improve the user experience of your website. By sharing your content on social media, you create a direct channel for feedback on single slices of your website. This opens up the opportunity to directly engage with users about a topic or page. This could mean answering questions about the content and then updating the content to reflect that. Further improving your content and user experience. This will ultimately help to improve how long a user spends on your website and reduce bounce rates, both of which can influence your search engine rankings. Overall, sharing your content on social media can be an important aspect of SEO, as it can help to increase the visibility, credibility, and user experience of your website.
Conclusion
I believe in 2023, the 3 biggest areas you can focus on for E-E-A-T will be:
- Implementing robust JSON-LD Schema
- Make organizations and authors relational with sameAs schema!
- Focusing on refining and improving User Experience
- Growing your expertise through Social Media