{"id":5172,"date":"2022-07-20T10:07:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T10:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T10:07:58","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T10:07:58","slug":"e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/","title":{"rendered":"E-A-T auditing: How to level up your credibility game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reading the Quality Raters Guidelines, all the blog posts and opinions and tests and trying to make sense of it can feel overwhelming. <\/p>\n<p>How do you actually figure out whether your website lacks E-A-T, or evidence of it?<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#What_is_E-A-T\" >What is E-A-T<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#How_to_audit_for_E-A-T\" >How to audit for E-A-T<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Off-site_reputation_signals\" >Off-site reputation signals<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#11_Online_recommendations\" >1.1 Online recommendations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#12_Online_press\" >1.2 Online press<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#13_Key_players\" >1.3 Key players<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#14_Third-party_review_sites\" >1.4 Third-party review sites<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#15_Wikipedia\" >1.5 Wikipedia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#16_Social_media\" >1.6 Social media<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#17_Link_quality\" >1.7 Link quality<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#On-site_reputation_signals\" >On-site reputation signals<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#21_Professional_bodies\" >2.1 Professional bodies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#22_On-site_reviews\" >2.2 On-site reviews<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#23_Links_to_industry_authorities\" >2.3. Links to industry authorities<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#24_About_us\" >2.4 About us<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#25_Proof_signals\" >2.5 Proof signals<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Related_entities\" >Related entities<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#31_Content_writersauthors\" >3.1 Content writers\/authors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#32_Team_qualifications\" >3.2 Team qualifications<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#33_Author_profiles\" >3.3 Author profiles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#34_Structured_data\" >3.4 Structured data<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Entity_recognition\" >Entity recognition<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#41_Knowledge_Panel\" >4.1 Knowledge Panel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#42_Wikidata\" >4.2 Wikidata<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#43_Organization_structured_data\" >4.3 Organization structured data<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#44_Social_consistency\" >4.4 Social consistency\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-27\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#45_Site_ownership\" >4.5 Site ownership<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-28\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Ads\" >Ads<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-29\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#51_Pop-ups\" >5.1 Pop-ups<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-30\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#52_Misleading\" >5.2 Misleading<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-31\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Content\" >Content<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-32\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#61_Purpose\" >6.1. Purpose<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-33\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#62_Accuracy\" >6.2 Accuracy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-34\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#63_References\" >6.3 References<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-35\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#64_Readability\" >6.4 Readability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-36\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#65_Freshness\" >6.5 Freshness<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-37\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#66_Misleading_content\" >6.6 Misleading content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-38\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#67_Titles\" >6.7 Titles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-39\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Compliance_Safety\" >Compliance &amp; Safety<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-40\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#71_Policies\" >7.1 Policies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-41\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#72_Protocol\" >7.2 Protocol<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-42\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#73_Security\" >7.3 Security<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-43\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Qualifications_and_awards\" >Qualifications and awards<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-44\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#81_Author_authority\" >8.1 Author authority<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-45\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#82_Business_awardsaccreditations\" >8.2 Business awards\/accreditations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-46\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/20\/e-a-t-auditing-how-to-level-up-your-credibility-game\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_E-A-T\"><\/span>What is E-A-T<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>E-A-T stands for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Expertise.<\/li>\n<li>Athoritativeness.<\/li>\n<li>Trustworthiness. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>E-A-T isn\u2019t a direct Google ranking signal. You can think of it more like a collection of all the things that really matter and impede your potential. Marie Haynes has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mariehaynes.com\/resources\/eat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">great E-A-T summary here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>In my 20 years of experience outside of technical-only updates from Google, just about everything has been leading up to this. Every update has been an aspect or forerunner of E-A-T. <\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_audit_for_E-A-T\"><\/span>How to audit for E-A-T<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>What follows is the exact approach my agency follows when auditing for E-A-T, with everything you need to consider and all the potential gaps.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Off-site_reputation_signals\"><\/span>Off-site reputation signals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"11_Online_recommendations\"><\/span>1.1 Online recommendations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019re looking to find any recommendation or commendation of the company, anywhere else online, on a site that isn\u2019t owned or operated by the business. It could be a forum posting, or number of forum postings, or a nice word or two on one of those neighborhood sites that\u2019s indexed well, unlike Facebook\u2019s walled garden.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"12_Online_press\"><\/span>1.2 Online press<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Here we\u2019re looking first to see just how much journalist-written media coverage there is about the business. In particular, we\u2019d be looking at the velocity and recency of coverage. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d also look at sentiment analysis on the past month, to three months worth of coverage if there\u2019s a lot. Nothing too deep, just a top-level positive, negative, neutral vibe. <\/p>\n<p>While we have no hard data that negative sentiment throttles rank and I think it\u2019s been largely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/google-sentiment-for-ranking-26083.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">debunked<\/a>, if I was building an algorithm that identifies and rewards trust, I\u2019d be sure to add temporal dimensions and an emphasis on sentiment or writing from trusted authors. It\u2019s an interesting topic for R &amp; D, but at this stage we\u2019re definitely collecting the data\/<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"13_Key_players\"><\/span>1.3 Key players<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Expanding on the previous point, that exercise again, but here we\u2019re going a level down to see if any of the business team are referenced in online coverage. <\/p>\n<p>At the other end of this is a picture of linked entities, which is why it\u2019s important for us to dig a layer deeper. Again, we\u2019re not just looking at whom and how often but we\u2019re also looking at a top-level sentiment analysis.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"14_Third-party_review_sites\"><\/span>1.4 Third-party review sites<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Consumers trust and value review sites, like TripAdvisor, Trustpilot and more. <\/p>\n<p>Here we\u2019re looking for how many review sites, how many reviews, general sentiment and importantly \u2013 interactivity (i.e., does the business visibility and positively interact with reviewers?).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"15_Wikipedia\"><\/span>1.5 Wikipedia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Really important, and not just because you may be able to obtain a link from a known editor. Wikipedia is a great source of trusted links in a place that naturally collates a business\u2019 history and story. Thus, solidifying <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/entities-eat-authority-trust-385156\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entity<\/a> understanding as well as graphing together social elements like \u201cowners\u201d and \u201cmanagers\u201d schema i.e. management team. (There\u2019s much more on entities in section 4, below, specifically 4.3.)<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"16_Social_media\"><\/span>1.6 Social media<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Importantly not so much on operated social media sites (i.e. those that the business operates itself) but rather on social media public profiles and social groups. Are there reviews and comments widely available here \u2013 and, again, if so\u2026 sentiment?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"17_Link_quality\"><\/span>1.7 Link quality<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the site have a disavow file and what\u2019s in it? Is there evidence of poor quality link building practice? Basically is there an engineered backlink profile that sticks out a mile? <\/p>\n<p>If a site looks trustworthy in all other ways, but has a backlink profile consisting of 20 Russian PBNs then they\u2019re probably not what they seem.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"On-site_reputation_signals\"><\/span>On-site reputation signals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"21_Professional_bodies\"><\/span>2.1 Professional bodies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Are there any references to any professional bodies that may regulate, accredit or otherwise validate the industry or individuals therein?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"22_On-site_reviews\"><\/span>2.2 On-site reviews<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Are there positive testimonials or reviews on site and are any negative reviews responded to?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"23_Links_to_industry_authorities\"><\/span>2.3. Links to industry authorities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the site make any reference to a wider professional community?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"24_About_us\"><\/span>2.4 About us<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the site have an about us page? Does it include the legal order of the site? Is there a limited company name or registration number to validate further?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"25_Proof_signals\"><\/span>2.5 Proof signals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the site state how long the company is doing business? What makes them an authoritative? Why should they be considered a trustworthy source of information? What proof is there?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_entities\"><\/span>Related entities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"31_Content_writersauthors\"><\/span>3.1 Content writers\/authors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Who writes the content for the site? Is it particularly clear are there any references to these writers elsewhere online (e.g., LinkedIn or have they contributed to content elsewhere?).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"32_Team_qualifications\"><\/span>3.2 Team qualifications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Is the team qualified in particular the senior management team or any R&amp;D team members, particularly if the company is producing \u2018product\u2019 that might be sold to regulatory standards?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"33_Author_profiles\"><\/span>3.3 Author profiles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Do content writers have <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-help-document-adds-author-markup-best-practices-385533\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">author profiles<\/a>, including a bio as well as links to other places like LinkedIn or known media where the author contributes?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"34_Structured_data\"><\/span>3.4 Structured data<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Are all structured data from the site marked up this can be as simple as author structured data or even explaining qualifications and more. The more structured the data, the more signal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"395\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/e-a-t-audit-related-entities-800x395.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386614\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Entity_recognition\"><\/span>Entity recognition<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"41_Knowledge_Panel\"><\/span>4.1 Knowledge Panel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the business have a knowledge panel that appears in the Google Search results for brand name queries? Is it comprehensive? Do commonly used variants of the brand name give a result with the business Knowledge panel?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"42_Wikidata\"><\/span>4.2 Wikidata<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Super important, as Wikidata is one of a few original sources of entity validation used by Google. Here we\u2019re looking for a broad and error-free entry.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"43_Organization_structured_data\"><\/span>4.3 Organization structured data<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Using structured data has already been mentioned. However, does this extend to the organisation wherever it is referenced? This helps with entity recognition; thus reinforcing exactly who the business is. <\/p>\n<p>Think about all of the rich aspects of an organization or corporation and the scheme for \u201cowners\u201d or \u201cmembers.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">There\u2019s just so much you can mark up here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"44_Social_consistency\"><\/span>4.4 Social consistency\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the site link to all social profiles and do all social profiles in turn link to the site and each other. Moreover, are they all using the most current direct URL?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"45_Site_ownership\"><\/span>4.5 Site ownership<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Is there a clear listed site owner? This can be different to the site name. For example, if a publishing company owns a number of \u201ctitles\u201d (i.e., websites). <\/p>\n<p>You can see this, if you search for [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=conde+nast+magazines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Conde Nast Magazines<\/a>] or look at the footer of a Conde Nast website, the company details are clearly\u00a0 displayed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"415\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/site-ownership-conde-nast-800x415.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386615\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><figcaption>Results of Google Search query for Conde Nast, which generates a Featured Snippet style of in-SERP result, which in this case tells us there\u2019s an obvious parent\/child relationship that is understood here in entity terms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ads\"><\/span>Ads<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now having ads above the fold and where the page subject should be has been the explicit focus of algorithms in the teens, such as Google Page Layout. There was a particularly wild tuning in January 2012, which t<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/too-many-ads-above-the-fold-now-penalized-by-googles-page-layout-algo-108613\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he industry quickly labelled \u201ctop-heavy\u201d <\/a>but the point is poor quality ads, in places where the page subject should be is one of the oldest signs of poor quality. <\/p>\n<p>Poor quality is the exact opposite of trustworthiness. Pages with bad ad experiences are not going to score well in terms of trust. But AdSense is cool, so where exactly are we defining the line?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"51_Pop-ups\"><\/span>5.1 Pop-ups<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Here we\u2019re looking for the time to pop, the number, if obtrusive; then if hard to close or if deceptively impossible to close.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"52_Misleading\"><\/span>5.2 Misleading<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Here we\u2019re looking specifically for stuff like advertising disguised as content. It\u2019s the worst. <\/p>\n<p>It might be currently something that seems to fly below the radar, but it won\u2019t be long until we start to see more \u201ctraditional\u201d media types eroding further in the SERPs for stuff like this.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Content\"><\/span>Content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"61_Purpose\"><\/span>6.1. Purpose<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the content have a clear purpose, and does it fulfil that purpose? Does it offer some benefit or usefulness to the user?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"62_Accuracy\"><\/span>6.2 Accuracy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Is content generally free of errors and mistakes\/typos? Does it concur with scientific consensus online (if there is one)? Does contradict erroneously and without other sources to amplify the contradiction?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"63_References\"><\/span>6.3 References<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Are statements backed by source references for any information if it\u2019s used or cited? Are the references to high-authority, reliable or credible sources? Do these sources evince symptoms of authority (like qualifications, professional validation, published as experts.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"64_Readability\"><\/span>6.4 Readability<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Is the content easily readable? Is there any evidence of keyword stuffing or repetitive sentences that add no meaning?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"65_Freshness\"><\/span>6.5 Freshness<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Is it frequently reviewed and updated? Are statements fact checked as times change. Is it tended like a rose bush or left to rot and disappear in the wind like a pile of autumn leaves.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"66_Misleading_content\"><\/span>6.6 Misleading content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, it is incredibly easy to mislead people on the internet, but it is very unethical and should be avoided.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"67_Titles\"><\/span>6.7 Titles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Do the titles over-promise and the content under deliver. Clickbait titles are so awful and jarring on site pages. We find that they will not help, but hinder your progress.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Compliance_Safety\"><\/span>Compliance &amp; Safety<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I am so pleased you are still with me Dear Reader, as compliance and safety are very important. So please pick up your clipboard and dig deep..\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"71_Policies\"><\/span>7.1 Policies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Are all of the formal policies that the legal entity (LTD company for example) is operating under, clearly displayed. These may be things like:-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Privacy Policy<\/li>\n<li>T&amp;Cs of using the website and your data<\/li>\n<li>T &amp; Cs \u2013 for customers, if you by a product there are further terms\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Shipping information<\/li>\n<li>Returns Policy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of these should be really clear and usually linked in the site footer.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"72_Protocol\"><\/span>7.2 Protocol<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does the site have any known security vulnerabilities? Does it make use of HTTPS?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"73_Security\"><\/span>7.3 Security<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Has the site been hacked? Is there any evidence of hacking? Malicious intrusion or any other form of nefarious activity that renders the security ergo, trustworthiness of your site a moot point.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Qualifications_and_awards\"><\/span>Qualifications and awards<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Huzzah! Let\u2019s end on a high note, dig out that Duke of Edinburgh award and sew that Gymnastics Level 2 onto your Leotard; because being proud of your achievements shows that you have persevered to accrue some level of expertise and authority.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"81_Author_authority\"><\/span>8.1 Author authority<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-authorship-dead-author-rank-202254\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What makes the author qualified to write<\/a> about how much collagen is actually bioavailable following ingestion? Get those letters after the name; link to their University profile page, link to their Linkedin page which also shows all their other professional references and recently published works!<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"82_Business_awardsaccreditations\"><\/span>8.2 Business awards\/accreditations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Has the business won any awards or does it have any accreditations? Are these mentioned on-site? Are these mentioned on third-party sites?<\/p>\n<p>Your potential customers need ways to evaluate if they can really trust certain organisations. However passing these accreditations; investing in your standards and people, is all part of building a credible business with growing Expertise, Authority and Trust.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As a process; this approach is exhaustive and provocative; but the prioritised outputs drive immediate and long-lasting results for your business. <\/p>\n<p>Working on anything that improves your company E-A-T is never time wasted. That said, it takes experience and context to understand which items to prioritise and which to park temporarily or permanently. <\/p>\n<p>I hope you enjoy the process and relish working through the opportunities you discover!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/e-a-t-audit-386611\" target=\"_blank\">E-A-T auditing: How to level up your credibility game<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading the Quality Raters Guidelines, all the blog posts and opinions and tests and trying to make sense of it can feel overwhelming. How do you actually figure out whether your website lacks E-A-T, or evidence of it? What is E-A-T E-A-T stands for: Expertise. Athoritativeness. Trustworthiness. E-A-T isn\u2019t a direct Google ranking signal. You can think of it more like a collection of all the things that really matter and impede your potential. Marie Haynes has a great E-A-T summary here. In my 20 years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5172\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}