E-E-A-T: How to Create Content That's Valuable for People and Google

In today's online world, content quality is critical to a website's success. Google introduced the E-E-A-T system and the Helpful Content System to weed out low-quality content and promote trustworthy, valuable information. In this article, we explain what E-E-A-T is and how to create content that's both valuable for users and aligned with Google's guidelines.

Fighting thin content - what is Helpful Content?

In March 2024, Google rolled out another core update - one that made fairly significant changes in response to a trend that had become more visible online as AI technology spread. It introduced a mechanism that evaluates content based on how useful it is to users, not just on content volume, link counts, and keywords.

Its main goal is to promote content that is genuinely helpful and valuable to users - in short, helpful content. In the AI era, mass-produced content began satisfying Google's algorithm while offering users no real value whatsoever - worse still, sometimes it didn't even make sense! You've probably run into this yourself - you wanted to quickly look something up, but the article you found kept repeating the same point over and over, or never actually addressed the problem it claimed to cover. That kind of thin content - low-quality content - is a textbook example of Unhelpful Content: text that's useless, misleading, or produced with no oversight or proofreading, created mainly to rank high in search results.

The March update took a heavy toll on sites relying on low-quality content, and significantly affected their search rankings. The algorithm now pushes websites to focus on providing real answers to real user needs, rather than simply meeting technical SEO criteria. The update drew a clear line between helpful and unhelpful content.

What does Google consider good? Helpful Content vs Unhelpful Content

Helpful Content

Content that falls into the Helpful Content category:

• Answers users' questions in a comprehensive and understandable way.
• Is created by experts or people with real experience in the topic.
• Offers unique value that can't be found elsewhere.
• Is readable and clearly formatted, improving the user's experience of the site.
• Follows the principles of E-E-A-T - combining experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.

Unhelpful Content

Unhelpful Content, on the other hand, is quite similar to the older idea of thin content. It's content that:

• Contains language, structural, or punctuation errors serious enough to affect overall readability.
• Is generated automatically, shows the hallmarks of AI-written text, and was published with no human review or proofreading.
• Is shallow and provides no real value to the people reading it.
• Repeats information from other sites without adding anything new.
• Exists purely to rank high in search results, with no real benefit to the user.
• Contains errors, unclear information, or misinformation.

E-E-A-T - what is it and how does it affect content quality?

So how do you create content that satisfies Google? Counterintuitive as it may sound, you need to act more human. That's where E-E-A-T comes in - the standard Google uses to judge content quality in search results. E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Content gains value in the eyes of Google's algorithms based on these four principles. And in the eyes of your users too!

Google introduced E-E-A-T to fight the problem of thin content - low-quality content, often mass-produced by AI tools. Such content:

• Provides little value to the user.
• Is created solely to rank in the SERPs.
• Sometimes contains errors or is misleading.

E-E-A-T helps Google assess whether content delivers real value and meets user expectations.

What are the elements of E-E-A-T?

1. Experience

An author's hands-on experience with a given topic is essential. Google favors content from creators who can demonstrate genuine understanding of a topic based on their own experience. Share the knowledge you've gathered on the subject.

2. Expertise

Expertise refers to the depth of an author's knowledge. It matters that content is created by people with a thorough understanding of the topic. When writing about a topic, try to address the real problems or questions you're covering - and the ones a user might actually ask. It's worth digging into ideas and concepts and including practical guidance.

3. Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness relates to an author's or website's reputation within its industry. Google takes into account backlinks, user reviews, and the site's presence in credible sources.

4. Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is the trust that content and its source inspire. Factors like transparency and data accuracy influence trustworthiness. Build a foundation of high-quality, informative content.

Why does E-E-A-T matter for Google AI Overview?

There's a lot of talk about Google AI Overview - opinions vary; some think it spells the end of SEO, others see it as just another evolution in the ever-changing world of online marketing. AI Overview provides users with a short summary, which means it looks for content that covers a given topic thoroughly, with an emphasis on substantive value and trustworthiness. That's why a website built on content that follows E-E-A-T principles has a better chance of being the one featured in the summaries generated by Google AI Overview.

Summary - how do you create content aligned with E-E-A-T?

Remember that success in SEO comes from delivering value, not from gaming algorithms. It's also a marathon - plan a strategy for expanding and refreshing your content, and think about what your users actually need when they visit your site. Here are a few final tips:

1. Write for people, not algorithms. Create content that answers the needs of your target audience. Don't chase keywords that fall outside your site's actual scope just because they rank well.
2. Build authority. Work on your brand's reputation, earn backlinks, and gather positive reviews.
3. Use evidence. Back up your content with data, sources, and quotes from experts.
4. Ensure site quality. Pay attention to readability and text formatting. The site should be fast, responsive, and offer good UX. Make it easy for users to find information - don't make it harder!

Have questions about SEO? Wondering whether this might be the reason your website or online store isn't performing well? Get in touch with us and run an SEO audit - we'll show you exactly what and how to improve, to make your site more search-engine friendly!