Trust & Worthy

Google Search Results (Especially for AI) Influenced by E-E-A-T (That’s Experience – Expertise – Authority – Trust for Artificial Intelligence)

Google is placing more and more emphasis on how it ranks websites and other sources of information dependent upon how trustworthy it perceives the site and the details provided. Whilst this has always been the case to a certain extent, the importance has escalated, particularly with the introduction of AI-generated search results and commentary.

Google have a framework for E-E-A-T: Experience – Expertise – Authority – Trust for Artificial Intelligence, which summarises the activities required to help gain their trust.

1. Experience: This is about demonstrating first-hand, real-world experience with a topic.

• • Share personal experiences and case studies: Write about the usage of your product or service, including your personal use, with photos or videos you’ve created.
  • Include reviews and testimonials: Especially those that mention, ideally in detail, use of the product and/or service.
  • Showcase practical application: Provide insights that can only come from real-world application and knowledge.
  • Accreditation and awards: Demonstrate your certification, membership and contribution to industry and trade bodies and associations. Seek to enter and win relevant industry and professional awards to generate further recognition.

2. Expertise: This refers to evidencing a high level of knowledge and skill in a particular field.

• • Create in-depth and comprehensive content: Go beyond surface-level information. Produce original research, detailed guides, and case studies that showcase a deep understanding of the subject and applications.
  • Showcase credentials: Clearly display the management team’s and contributor’s qualifications, certifications, education and/or industry and professional experience (possibly in prominent author bios). Link to professional profiles within your Meet the Team webpage and to LinkedIn profiles.
  • Incorporate data and research: Back up your claims with relevant statistics, studies, and expert opinions. Always cite your sources.
  • Use technical terminology accurately: Demonstrate your knowledge by using industry-specific language where appropriate, while also ensuring the content is still accessible to your audience.

3. Authoritativeness: This is about your reputation and how your community perceives you.

• • Earn high-quality backlinks: Get mentions and links from other reputable, trusted websites, industry publications, and respected blogs.
  • Be a source of information: Create original, high-quality content that other sources will want to link to.
  • Get cited and featured: Seek opportunities to provide press articles and feature contributions, be interviewed, publish guest posts on well-known blogs or be featured in industry media.
  • Build topical authority: Create a body of work that thoroughly covers a specific niche, establishing your website as a go-to source for that topic.
  • Utilise FAQs / Q&As: To create content that site visitors and Google can easily assimilate, the latter assisting with SEO.

4. Trustworthiness: This is about creating a secure and transparent environment for users.

• • Provide clear and accurate information: Be transparent about who you are, what your website is about, and how to contact you. Have a comprehensive “About Us” page, further information as appropriate and clear contact details.
  • Showcase genuine social proof: Display honest customer testimonials, reviews, and case studies to demonstrate that others have had positive experiences with your business or organisation.
  • Secure your website: Ensure your site uses HTTPS encryption, which is standard for security, and has all plugins etc up to date.
  • Link to authoritative sources: When you make claims, back them up with links to credible, external sources like government websites, academic papers, or reputable news outlets.
  • Keep content updated: Regularly update your content to ensure it is accurate and relevant. Delete or refresh old content that is no longer helpful.

As is usual with search engine optimisation, doing the right thing achieves the best results. Attending to and actioning the above will give you the authority required, both from the search engines’ and the visitors’ perspective, so encouraging more enquiries and/or orders.

To implement SEO in the right way and to gain the credibility your website needs please contact Calibre for a no-obligation discussion and a suggested schedule of optimisation activities and costs.