7) Writing with Expertise, Authority, and Trust
As discussed before, several best writing practices help ensure content that is valuable for awareness and support.
In this discussion, we will understand how to ensure quality content alongside best writing practices through incorporating expertise, authority, and trust within the content.
Background
The internet is a primary place where users worldwide look for information and support. The topics searched up include those that fall into the health, safety, or financial domains. Consequently, false information or content that has quality problems such as those that violate best practices can be potentially damaging to significant levels thereby negatively impacting a user’s happiness, health, or wealth. To buffer this, the Google algorithm (and Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines) used to display top content pages considers factors that include: Expertise, Authority, and Trust to ensure protection from low-quality content. These factors are commonly known as EAT in short.
As mental health is part of the health domain and is a significant area searched, the EAT factors are vital to consider when developing content.
Since 2018, the EAT factors not only apply to a website’s main content pages but are also considered when reviewing the content creators (i.e. authors).
EAT and How To Incorporate EAT into Website Content:
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Expertise:
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When considering the expertise factor for website content, expertise refers to the extent to which the website or organization is known and has the suitable credentials and any expertise supporting factors such as awards or external recognition.
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Expert Content is Researched Based: consider stepping into the shoes of your audience and perform a keyword research whilst thinking about their needs. Through your keyword research, grasp why the audience has searched for those keywords (topics). Knowing the intent of the topic queried helps you guide content on solutions and helpful information that can not only meet but exceed the user’s needs.
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Expert Content is Comprehensive yet Digestible: Try to ensure your content is simple and has good formatting, avoid confusing structures or things that are too difficult to understand unless you break down and explain difficult concepts.
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Expert Content is Supplementary: After answering the main intent of a searcher’s query or possible needs regarding a content topic, supplement your content by thinking about further supporting/supplementary content that could further enhance and support the topic: this is when back-linking comes in handy! Audit your existing content and identify which of your published pages can be backlinks to the new content piece. Think of what further topics/content pieces can be branched from existing content and include them on your content development agenda.
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Authority
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Authority refers to the ratings the website and its content get on the basis of genuine ratings as well as content relevance.
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Authoritative Content is Cited: External pages rely upon and cite the content as their sources of information. Citations include external back-linking as well as mentions on the news or social media.
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Authoritative Content is Widely Shared: This is where marketing can help boost the content to build authority. Content with authority is regularly and widely shared and mentioned across social media. Engagement efforts can help drive this factor.
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A Wikipedia Page Boosts Authority: A Wikipedia page for the brand, organization, or even people in a company helps boost authority.
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Brand Authority Matters: A signal to authority is when users search your brand name for their content needs.
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Trust
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Trust refers to validity - a website can have validation pages such as an About Us page or other main pages. Trustworthiness is also determined through positive reviews and user support.
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In terms of content, trust can be boosted through the inclusion of an author's biography as well as external sources being cited, especially if they are other authoritative sources.
Feel welcome to share your opinions on each of the EAT factors or ask any questions!
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This post is brought to you by the Content Development and Marketing Program, find out more information about the program here
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Thank you so much for these guidelines and valuable infromation.
@CupcakeCaring agree
@SoulfullyAButterfly I understood every bit of that eat method it would probably help me with my writers block and myself doubt thank you
@SoulfullyAButterfly
2 years ago, I wanted to start a blog online, where I talk about common health issues in my community and raise awareness towards local diseases. I was personally amazed by how well I did in writing these articles, how useful and professional they are. Yet, the site had little traficking, although I kept sharing it with people I thought would be interested.
I did try to learn about SEO, and how to make your article visible. And, honestly, this little post taught me tips way more valuable than I could ever find somewhere else.
Thank you for sharing this informative post, @SoulfullyAButterfly. I’m very interested in learning more about the EAT factors and how to apply them to my content writing for 7 Cups. 😊
@SoulfullyAButterfly
thank you! Im excited to apply this to my writing both in life and on cups!
@SoulfullyAButterfly
The first thing I was taught at College was about using this method, it is so important to make sure what we write is true!
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Very easy way to represent the right practices. "EAT"- comfortable to remember and I will surely incorporate these methods in my upcoming writings.
@SoulfullyAButterfly
I love the way E.A.T is delivered. I feel that it not only highlights the importance of the audience but also the deliverance of the message that is being conveyed/ resolution to the topic at hand. I also feel that gaining trust within the audience is also very important and should be recognized. Thank you for this
@SoulfullyAButterfly
In cybersecurity, where information integrity is paramount, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (EAT) principles are the backbone of credible content creation.
I learned a small chunk of knowledge, underpinned by over two decades of experience, that naturally imbues your writings with expertise.
To elevate my authority, I'd like to engage with peers for joint publications and harness my professional network to broaden the reach and citation of your work.
Renew trust, showcase client successes, and maintain rigorous data privacy standards within my content to foster a strong sense of reliability and security for my readers.
I have tried to align the EAT principles with my professional ethos and enhanced the value and impact of my online presence.
Please feel free to share your valuable feedback.
@SoulfullyAButterfly
This post was very detailed and helpful. I had no idea about EAT, so I learned a lot. Thank you for keeping us informed, as well as brining such important content to us.