A practical guide to E E A T: real-world strategies for content success
If you want your content to stand out, you need more than just great writing. You need to demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E E A T) every step of the way.
Google’s evolving algorithms and search quality raters prioritise content that genuinely serves users, rewarding those who build credibility and trust. But E E A T also goes deeper than just Google.
We’re now seeing the influence of E E A T show up in AI search results. So, that means the likes of GPT, Perplexity, Gemini are pulling and pooling sources it deems to be valuable and trustworthy,
Here’s a practical guide, with real-world examples, to help you implement E E A T best practices in your content strategy.
First things first, E E A T stands for:
Now Google uses these criteria to assess content quality, especially for topics where accuracy and trust are critical, such as health, finance, and legal advice.
But what we’re finding, in the age of LLMs and ChatBots, is that these nascent tools are doing the same. AI-generated content uses these parameters to shape and guide its outputs.
You might have heard this referred to as ‘helpful content’, but you might be thinking, how do I actually create helpful content?
This is how you can ensure you’re creating content that suits search results, quality raters and newer AI tools.
When it comes to creating helpful content, E E A T doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a sum-total game.
The cumulative impact of multiple sources, backlinks, and referrals all adds up; it all starts with the experience of the individual.
Assigning content to qualified, relevant authors is the first step. From a PR perspective, this works in two ways.
If you’re creating your own content, be it blogs, LinkedIn posts, videos or whitepapers, then, whatever subject matter expertise the author or presenter must have adequate expertise in order to make this content fit the parameters of E E A T.
For example, if you’re creating content around bridge design, then an expert engineer who has successfully built many bridges would be the prime candidate to front up that piece of content.
The same applies for a studio manager talking about workflow process, a tax advisor talking about making tax digital or a surgeon talking about cutting-edge medical developments.
Experience should be the bedrock of your content.
Add author bios and bylines. You need to make it eminently clear who the author is and why the reader, or listener, should trust in their voice.
A byline or summary, which compiles their experience, their qualifications and achievements, serves to achieve this. Even more so, linking the content out to other relevant pieces of content they have contributed towards is a good thing.
It’s even better if you can supply links and references to third parties like media outlets. More on that later!
Go beyond surface-level advice. Support your arguments by citing essays, papers, peers and industry experts.
By demonstrating that your thought leadership is grounded in reality, not just opinion, you’re showing to Google’s quality rater guidelines and LLMs that you’re offering actionable insights and that you should be seen as an authoritative source.
Also, keep up the cadence of content. The more accurate, relevant and timely content you can produce, the better you’ll fare in standing out.
Trust is an outcome. Not an input or a tactic. Building trust requires commitment to the process, and true quality content comes at a frequent pace, and you achieve trust by doing all of the above.
One blog or a couple of YouTube videos does not make you a trust magnet.
Commit to creating a regular cadence of content across multiple platforms and channels, and you’ll see, over time, that your content starts to show higher in search engines. Your insights and knowledge are being used to generate outputs within LLMs and ChatBots.
Now, everything we’ve covered above is primed in the theory of creating quality content that you, or your business’s own.’
But ‘owned content’ isn’t the sole way to build authority and expand your expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
One way to supercharge your expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness is through media engagement. Having your experts appear in reputable and relevant media is huge. It really can’t be understated.
This is a really broad church. There are a lot of opportunities out there, if you know where to look.
Start with something as simple as commenting on the pressing issues in your sector. These are the building blocks of reputation building. The more you appear in your sector press, the more you position yourself as a voice to be trusted.
Then, with enough of an industry profile, you can begin to explore what opportunities may exist in a national sphere. National news commentary is competitive, and what helps distinguish you as a trusted voice is a back catalogue. Producers and news editors are cautious by their very nature. They have to ensure that their programmes are consistent, factual and valuable.
A great way to prove this is a back catalogue of quotes, interviews and appearances. This reassures them that, as a guest or contributor, you are both valid and valuable. As you start racking up these national opportunities, you’ll start to notice the reputational effect it has on how you appear in search engines.
Then there’s the wealth of opportunities that exist within ‘new media’. So, exploring where you might be able to contribute towards PodCasts, YouTube appearances, even a TikTok channel or Reddit thread can all prove to be incredibly valuable in the long term.
This approach is reinforced by Rand Fishkin, one of the most esteemed voices in the world of search, who recently said:
“If you ask ChatGPT or Gemini to recommend a plumber in Seattle, it is going to look for plumbers who frequently come up in all the documents where Seattle and plumbing are talked about and PR makes sure that your plumbing business is mentioned in as many places as possible that talk about Seattle plumbers.
“In other words: if you want to show up in AI results, you need consistent, high-quality, relevant coverage… and PR is how you get it.”
AI can help create content, but it requires human oversight and review to ensure accuracy and relevance.
Outright AI content will only work against you.
Google’s guidelines emphasise the importance of human review and editing of AI-generated content to ensure that it meets E E A T standards. Also, media outlets are becoming more and more aware of AI-generated content.
Solely relying on an AI tool to generate content will only work against you. It’s a reputational risk that simply should not be take;. Google’s search algorithm and the search quality raters will know!
To keep both happy, creating quality content should always be led by human experience.
Building E E A T isn’t a one-and-done task. It’s an ongoing commitment to quality, transparency and value.
By consistently applying these principles throughout your digital marketing and broader PR and communications strategy, you’ll improve your search rankings and increase the chance of appearing in LLM searches.
But most importantly, it’ll help you build lasting trust and authority with your audience.
So when approaching E E A T, remember:
AMBITIOUS by name and by nature, we are a PR led communications agency that delivers integrated strategic communications - online, offline and everywhere in-between. Proud to be crowned winners of The Drum Magazine's RAR Best PR Agency of the Year.
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