Google continues to hold the lion’s share of the search engine market. While its market share declined slightly between 2022 and 2023, it still conducts more than 83% of searches. Bloggers overwhelmingly rely on search engines to bring in organic traffic, so it makes sense to tailor SEO efforts for Google. From your backlink strategy to keyword research and more, you’re likely already taking numerous steps to move up on SERPs. One area that you may not pay much attention to, however is E-E-A-T and YMYL. Google hires content raters specifically to focus on these two important factors. How can you optimize your content for E-E-A-T and YMYL?
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Who Are Google Content Raters?
Google content raters are responsible for training algorithms to separate low-quality content from high-quality content. These raters are contract workers who generally work on a part-time basis. To learn more about raters and their impact on results pages, I did the job for a few months in my free time. Raters undergo an extensive hiring process that includes studying a 100+ page manual, taking practice tests and completing a multi-part test. The test itself requires at least 8 hours of your time, so you can see that Google puts its raters through the ringer before allowing them to train its AI.
Content raters specifically focus on E-E-A-T and YMYL. These are two primary components that Google’s algorithms look at when determining the quality of a page. Keep in mind that Google rates high-quality pages toward the top of SERPs while low-quality pages may be buried many pages back or not ranked at all.
One of the things I learned is that Google doesn’t expect its raters to simply determine quality from the website’s content. It expects raters to do off-page research as well. We’ll talk about this more below.
The best way to fully comprehend what content raters do and how Google looks at EEAT and YMYL is to go through the content rater training yourself. The training is extensive, but it’s free if you apply for the job. Google contracts with companies like Teemwork.ai, Appen and others for this position.
What Is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T is a major factor that determines page quality, and it stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Google’s algorithms are trained to rate a page in each of these areas, so you need a superior mark in all four areas for optimized placement on SERPs. Let’s take a look at each of these factors.
Experience
While anyone could do some research and write on an unlimited number of topics, Google links a better user experience with real-life or hands-experience from the content creator. These posts go beyond research. They include helpful suggestions based on the author’s experience as well as opinions and insights. In addition to telling about your experience, you can take this to the next level by incorporating photos or videos of yourself involving the topic.
Expertise
Page quality is also determined by Google’s understanding of the page’s or author’s expertise. For example, a botanist with a PhD in biology and a decade of professional expertise as a nursery owner will have more expertise than a guy who has a vegetable garden in his backyard. Expertise may initially be established by the author’s bio and the website’s About Us page. Ensure that your website includes both of these.
Authority
Authority is tied to the reputation of the website, organization, business or individual. Sites with the highest authority in their niche might include those for the CDC, the Social Security Administration, Google, Better Homes & Gardens and many others. Keep in mind that the authority of the writer also plays a role. Does the writer have authority to communicate on the subject. An authority on writing fiction books, for example, would be Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and other highly- popular and established authors with many titles to their name.
Trust
Trust is established by supporting the text with links to high-authority websites. It can also come from infographics and images created by authorities. These signals tell the user and Google that your content is supported or factual. Other aspects of trust include ensuring that the author and either the author’s bio or a link to his or her bio is provided. In addition, the post or page shouldn’t be riddled with huge blocks of ads. Google doesn’t penalize websites for having ads, but the ads shouldn’t interfere with the user experience.
Optimizing Your Website for E-E-A-T
One of the most important things to know about E-E-A-T is that you can’t trick the algorithms. Google’s raters are trained to research the page’s reputation as well as the author’s reputation and credentials both on and off the page. This includes gathering information from other pages on the website. It also includes searching for the author’s name, the business name and the website off the page. Independent reviews, LinkedIn and other reputable sources can be used.
Write content that is backed by your credentials. What are you an authority or expert in? Always include information in your bio that describes your experience and authority related to the topic. Then, go a step further to verify that your information across the internet supports your bio.
Ensure that all of your factual comments and statistics are supported or verified through links or other references. Opt for links to high-authority pages over low-authority pages that may not rate well with E-E-A-T criteria.
Periodically, read reviews about your business and website. Look for news stories with your name. While a few negative reviews are to be expected, extensive poor reviews can be detrimental to your trustworthiness. Understand what information is available for others to read, and take steps to improve your image and reputation as necessary.
In addition, write unique content, and write that content for humans. While AI has a purpose for writers, your content should be hand-crafted to be helpful or useful to your readers.
What Is YMYL?
YMYL stands for Your Money or Your Life. Broadly, it refers to how the website or the page could affect the user’s finances, well-being, safety and health. It also extends to how the content may affect other individuals or groups. Google’s content raters can mark a website as poor, excellent or a gray area in between. This means that the algorithms are being trained to look at YMYL as something beyond a black-and-white topic.
YMYL Examples
YMYL initially seems fairly straightforward, and it sometimes is. For example, a get-rich-quick website that urges you to make specific investments will have the lowest rating in this area most likely. A website that tells you what the latest pro sports scores are is generally harmless and may rank high.
Topics that rank poorly in this area could have severe or even life-threatening ramifications. For example, if a website lists the wrong wildfire evacuation route, people could get hurt or worse. Don’t create false or misleading content.
Topics that fall into the gray area are often harder to see. For example, a website about natural herbal remedies could provide information that is detrimental to the health and well-being of some people. Some herbs, for example negatively interact with prescription medications.
Optimizing Your Website for YMYL
The best way to avoid running into issues with YMYL is to avoid topics that could have negative consequences for readers or others. If you venture into a gray area, ensure that you back up your text with links to high-authority content. Refer to authorities. Advise readers to seek professional, personalized advice or to talk to their doctor, lawyer, etc. Understand how your content could negatively affect some people.
It’s wise to review your existing content for E-E-A-T and YMYL. Make updates to your content as necessary, and focus on these factors as you add fresh content to your site.