How to E-E-A-T Your Way to Better SEO (WordCamp Canada July 2024)

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How to E-E-A-T Your Way to Better SEO WordCamp Canada July 13, 2024 Presented by Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries (@natasha_bd)

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries Director of Organic Growth at Flywheel Digital and Continuing Education Instructor at George Brown College (SEO and Paid Search) Lives In: Hamilton, Ontario Working in SEO Since: 2018 Spoken At: WordCamp Niagara, BrightonSEO, Women In Tech SEO Fest USA (September 2024)

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@natasha_bd #WCEH

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Thank You/Merci to My Canada WordPress Family

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This is an SEO talk. @natasha_bd #WCEH

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This is also, just a website talk. @natasha_bd #WCEH

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Because, frankly, the internet sucks right now... @natasha_bd #WCEH

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@natasha_bd #WCEH ...and SEOs are only partially responsible.

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If we really want to make the internet better, we all need to do our part. @natasha_bd #WCEH

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If you can do that, it will also help your SEO. @natasha_bd #WCEH

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@natasha_bd #WCEH And once we fix the internet, then we take over the world!

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@natasha_bd #WCEH What do you mean, the internet sucks?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Explosion of Low-Quality Content Generative AI has only made this worse.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Sites Dominated by Ads and Pop Ups

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@natasha_bd #WCEH (Actual) Fake News and Misinformation

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@natasha_bd #WCEH A lot of this is simply driven by people wanting to make money... #capitalism

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@natasha_bd #WCEH ...but some people have darker goals.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH According to Statistics Canada: “In 2023, 43% of Canadians said it was becoming more difficult than it was three years earlier to distinguish between true and false information.” Source: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231220/dq231220b-eng.htm

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@natasha_bd #WCEH In 2021, websites that repeatedly published fake news generated an estimated 2.6 billion U.S. in advertising revenue worldwide. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1253292/misinformation-publishers-advertising-revenue/

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@natasha_bd #WCEH How has Google responded?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH In July 2018 Google wanted a more secure internet…

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@natasha_bd #WCEH …so they made HTTPs a ranking factor.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH In May 2020, Google wanted a faster internet…

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@natasha_bd #WCEH …so they made Core Web Vitals a ranking factor.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH In August 2018 Google wanted to give users the most accurate and trustworthy results possible…

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@natasha_bd #WCEH …so they introduced E-E-A-T*. (It’s not a ranking factor, we’ll go over that later) *The first mention of E-A-T in the Search Quality Rater’s Guidelines was in March 2014, it was updated and got more traction in 2018, and then updated to E-E-A-T in December 2022

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@natasha_bd #WCEH What is E-E-A-T?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Experience Expertise Authority Trust

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Experience Does your website demonstrate first hand experience of the topic? Have you actually visited the business or destination? Have you actually tested the product? Have you actually worked in a specific field?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Expertise Do you have a high level of expertise or knowledge in the page’s subject matter? Do you have training or credentials? Do you have significant hands on or everyday expertise?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Authority Do you have a good reputation within your field of expertise? Do others recognize you as an expert or trusted source?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Trustworthiness Is your content accurate, valid and accessible? Are you disclosing relevant information like policies and advertising relationships? Does your website offer a good user experience? Are you sharing information like pricing and reviews that can help someone evaluate your quality and trustworthiness on their own?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH

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@natasha_bd #WCEH E-E-A-T is Not Considered Equally Across All Topics YYML topics (Your Money Your Life) require a much higher threshold of E-E-A-T than other topics.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Source: Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Stories of Why E-E-A-T Matters: Finding a Cofee Shop to Work at in London, England

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Stories of Why E-E-A-T Matters: Buying Blue Light Glasses

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Stories of Why E-E-A-T Matters: Boil Water Advisories

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Stories of Why E-E-A-T Matters: Navigating the Pandemic

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@natasha_bd #WCEH How will E-E-A-T actually improve my SEO?

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Let me be clear — E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Which means its impact can be hard to prove.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH I don’t have any personal case studies or clear examples to show you.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH But Marie Haynes, One of the Foremost Experts (and 🇨🇦) on E-E-A-T, Does Read More at: https://www.mariehaynes.com/resources/eat/

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Think of it in terms of the opportunity cost or as an insurance policy.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH And while there may not be a direct cause and effect relationship between E-E-A-T and rankings, it can still...

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Build your resiliency against algorithm updates.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Build AI resiliency (specifically with the launch of AI Overviews).

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Build trust with users to improve your conversion rate.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH It’s simply the right thing to do to help build a better internet.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH How to Demonstrate and Improve Your Website’s E-E-A-T

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@natasha_bd #WCEH E-E-A-T is relative and it’s never really complete. Demonstrate it as required and never stop working on it.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Make Your Contact Information Clear

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Make Your Contact Information Clear

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Use Original Photos

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Display Reviews and Testimonials

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@natasha_bd #WCEH List All Relevant Policies

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Create Author Bios for Content

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Conduct Fact Checks And/Or Expert Reviews of Content

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Engage Expert Authors

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Have a Comprehensive About Page

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Have a Comprehensive About Page

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Some Final Bite-Sized Thoughts

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@natasha_bd #WCEH E-E-A-T isn’t just about SEO, it’s about creating better websites and building trust with users.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH It’s hard to prove its impact but ignoring E-E-A-T is an opportunity cost and leaves your site vulnerable to algorithm updates that are increasingly focused on trust and quality.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Google wants trustworthy results so users are happy. You want happy users. Happy users generally spend more money.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH The internet sucks. Let’s fix it by showing off our E-E-A-T.

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@natasha_bd #WCEH E-E-A-T Resources E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness by Lily Ray https://lilyray.nyc/e-a-t-expertise-authoritativeness- trustworthiness/ Thoughts on E-E-A-T and SEO after 7 years of intensive study by Marie Haynes https://www.mariehaynes.com/resources/eat/ Google E-E-A-T by Moz https://moz.com/learn/seo/google-eat

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@natasha_bd #WCEH Thank You/Merci Beaucoup! speakerdeck.com/natasha_bd @natasha_bd https://natashabd.ca