How does EAT influence SEO?
EAT doesn’t directly contribute to your rankings through any measurable factors.
However, it represents a group of aspects that can influence your website’s quality and actually reflect how your pages rank.
Is E-A-T a ranking factor? Not if you mean there’s some technical thing like with speed that we can measure directly.
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.
By meeting the EAT signals, you help Google:
- Better understand the context of the content on the Web, and
- Provide users with credible information within ranking pages.
Consequently, your content ranks higher because Google knows it is a reliable source of information that serves specific user intent.
There is no specific “EAT score” you need to qualify for a better position in SERPs. But not taking care of your EAT will certainly contribute to the lower quality of your content and reflect on your website’s rankings.
When taking care of EAT is important for all sites, it is particularly crucial if you manage a Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) website.
And, depending on what your area of expertise is, the way you approach your EAT optimization may differ.
For example, for an eCommerce website’s users, it is important to see real product reviews. On medical pages – it’s more important to get advice from an educated medical specialist.
Raising your EAT is a complex process that involves making sure you always serve high-quality content that is beneficial to users and doesn’t put at risk their safety or financial stability.
Still unsure of how EAT can influence your rankings?
Read the everydayhealth.com case study on our blog to learn how unoptimized EAT contributed to their significant visibility drop.
