Understanding Google’s EEAT Algorithm: Why Experience is Now Crucial for SEO

Google’s EEAT framework—incorporating Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust—has become a fundamental element of the search algorithm, enhancing content quality and relevance across the web, especially for high-stakes YMYL (your money or your life) content.

Google’s EEAT update added ‘Experience’ to their EAT algorithm, setting a new standard for ranking content online, favouring creators who can demonstrate experience in their content and web pages.

If you want your website or content to rank on Google, you need to understand the core requirements of their search algorithm and standards. Read on to learn what’s changed, why, and how to create content for the new EEAT algorithm.

What is the EEAT Algorithm

Google’s EEAT algorithm is an updated version of its EAT algorithm. It stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust. It is used to assess how accurate and reliable website content is based on the experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness of the website owner and content author.

Trust is the most important factor within Google’s framework and it considers how accurate, honest, safe, and reliable a web page is. Above all else, Google wants to serve quality, authoritative and ‘safe’ information to its users; EEAT provides a framework to ensure content meets these standards.

Google’s EEAT standards provide a framework for determining page quality, In Google’s latest Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Google states that “Raters must consider EEAT:

• The first-hand experience of the creator.
• The expertise of the creator.
• The authoritativeness of the creator, the main content itself and the website.
• And trust: the extent to which the page is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable.

How to showcase Experience for Google’s EEAT Algorithm

As with all Google algorithm updates, Google advises you to create helpful content for people, not algorithms. However, there is a way to improve the user/customer experience whilst optimising content for the algorithm. Showcasing your relevant experience helps build trust and inspires action, here are some easy ways to do it:

• Include Customer reviews on your site or embed Authenticated third-party review sites like Trustpilot on your website.
• Add Case Studies/ User cases to your website / weave them into your content
• Interview past and existing clients – add videos or quotes to your content
• Update your About page with details of past experience
• Include photos/ videos of your work
• Include expert opinions based on your experiences

EEAT becomes NEEAT – Google cares about Notability & Transparency

The Google Search Leak in 2024 revealed many insights that SEO experts have long suspected and confirmed the importance of brand recognition in the form of Notability and credible sources of content in the form of Transparency, which has been tacked onto the core EEAT algorithm in a neat acronym NEEAT.

Notability in SEO

Google gives higher weight to content it perceives as being written or shared by Notable experts, which is why you’ll often see articles from known brands or experts ranking at the top of SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages) – think The Times Newspaper, BBC, Psychology Today, New Scientist etc

If you’re in the wellness field, you should consider seeking:

• PR opportunities in mainstream media
• Guest posting or podcasting opportunities with your peers and other experts
• Optimising your online reputation, including updating any professional listings or bios
• Claiming social media accounts in your name & posting regularly, as well as
• Actively growing your social media audience

Transparency

The requirement for Transparency in SEO is nothing new. Citing reputable sources of your content has been essential since Google’s Helpful Content update. If you’re a wellness practitioner, make sure to only cite or link to authoritative and trustworthy sources of information.

Good SEO practices for EEAT

If you’re creating content with EEAT in mind, its worth noting that whilst Experience is a new addition to the Google EEAT algorithm, the original elements of Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust remain crucial good SEO practice; in fact, Google has repeatedly stated that Trust is the most important element for any website.

Trust considers the extent to which your page is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable.

Include essential trust markers on your website

• A valid SSL certificate (HTTPS)
• Links to any relevant research or authoritative sources of information
• Online stores need secure online payment systems and reliable customer service.
• Reviews & testimonials
• Honest product reviews that help others make informed purchasing decisions.

Review your About Page

Google cares about the authority, expertise, experience and trust-worthiness of the business, people or person behind the content, so make sure you optimise your About page with this information. Add details of your experience, qualifications, training, clients, press mentions and anything else that helps position you as an expert.

Enhance your Online Brand Identity

How people perceive your business/brand identity matters. Google cares about brand sentiment, i.e., what other people say about you and your business. Google cross-references independent reviews, references, news articles, and other credible sources of information about your website or you as an expert.

Actively seek relevant Backlink Opportunities

Google sees reputable backlinks as independent, reliable evidence of your experience, relevant expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. If you’re an Integrative Doctor and you’ve been cited in the BMJ or you’re a Psychologist with a featured article in Psychology Today, Google is more likely to see content on your website as credible.

It’s worth trying to gain backlinks to your site from reputable sources. Whilst I don’t recommend spending loads of time on a backlink strategy, it’s worth investing at least some time to show that your content has credibility.

Read more: Building backlinks for SEO

EEAT and YMYL: The impact for Health & Wellness professionals & coaches

If you’re a wellness professional, integrative medicine doctor, therapist or health coach, the EEAT algorithm will likely impact you more because your website is already subject to the higher content standards required for YMYL businesses.

YMYL stands for Your Money or Your Life, and Google created it to recognise that a higher bar of credibility must apply to matters affecting health, wellbeing, finances and safety. 

Google defines YMYL as:

Topics that can directly and significantly impact people’s health, financial stability or safety, or the welfare or well-being of society because of the following reasons: 

The topic itself is harmful or dangerous. For example, there is clear and present harm directly associated with topics related to self-harm, criminal acts, or violent extremism. 

The topic could cause harm if the content is not accurate and trustworthy. e.g., mild inaccuracies or content from less reliable sources could significantly impact someone’s health, financial stability, or safety, or impact society, for topics like: symptoms of a heart attack, how to invest money, what to do if there is an earthquake etc.

YMYL is applied to topics that require a high level of accuracy or trust to prevent harm. So if you’re creating content that discusses high-stakes YMYL topics like health treatments, investment advice or societal wellbeing, it’s more important than ever to share the experiences that qualify you as an expert in this area.

Read more about YMYL for Health and Wellness brands

Why Experience Matters to Google

Let’s be honest; experience matters. Plenty of so-called experts have made a name for themselves online coaching or teaching a subject that they have only just learned themselves. What value are they adding? In some cases, their lack of experience, understanding and applied knowledge in the area can be dangerous.

Anyone can claim to be an expert by completing an online course, reading a book, or even watching a webinar. However, lived experience adds a depth of understanding, skills and knowledge that surpasses simply remembering something you read once.

The addition of experience to the EEAT algorithm means that content created by individuals/companies who can prove they’ve got experience in that particular area will fare better than content creators without the expertise and experience to back it up.

Why Experience matters to your clients

Nobody wants a brain surgeon who has never held a scalpel. Whether you’re selling, serving, or educating, your clients generally want the benefit of an experienced mind.

Clients care about the experience because it usually brings with it a faster solution, fewer mistakes through the benefit of hindsight, and a layered and nuanced understanding of your niche or area of expertise. Experience says ‘I’ve done this for others, I can do this for you’.

Experience also usually provides a higher standard of service and a greater guarantee of a specific result, which is why I get my hair coloured by the salon owner and not her new salon junior.

 The Experience Opportunity 

Experience isn’t just a tickbox exercise to please the algorithm. Experience offers an opportunity to create connection with your audience: because experiences are how humans bond.

Shared experiences create shared emotions, so as a business owner, sharing your experiences gives you an ideal opportunity to show your clients that you:

• Understand their problems or
• Share their goals 
• Empathise with their situation
• Know how to solve their problems or 
• Can get them to where they want to be

The new Google Algorithm encourages a more personalised expression of your knowledge and skills, inviting you to bring more of yourself into your content – which is music to my ears – I didn’t call my business Be More You by chance! 

You’ve probably heard that people need to ‘know, like and trust’ you before they’ll buy. If you’re creating content with EEAT in mind, you’re baking the know, like and trust factor straight into your content.

EEAT is an opportunity to connect on a deeper level, build trust and express your expertise in ways you previously might not have.

Google EEAT Algorithm in summary 

Google’s EEAT algorithm is simply an evolution of its former EAT algorithm, which prioritises lived human experience over theoretical advice. It effectively puts the real experts in charge—I wonder if this is Google’s answer to the AI craze gripping the content creation world right now?

Nothing much has changed in terms of creating content for Google. Google has always been very clear about its standards for content creators: create high-quality, high-value content, and it will rank highly.

Consistently deliver high-quality, high-value content across your entire website, and Google will recognise that too.

This is an ideal opportunity to showcase your expertise to your audience, so include those personal experiences and examples and watch your rankings (and enquiries) increase.

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