Working in web design requires lots of time in front of a computer, and I have been doing this for some time now. But, back in the days of my youth, I also spent a lot of time on the beach playing football, volley ball, swimming, sailing, surfing and lots more. So maybe, this growth is a symptom of my youth!?

I don't want to make this story too long or go too off topic. There is a likelihood that there will be more on this in the future.

So I recently had the pterygium removed from both sides of my left eye. It required placing a slither of my eye material on the inside of the eye closest to my nose in hopes of preventing the growth from coming back. All in all, I had seven stitches on one side and two on the other. The outcome was good, but it required me to rest my eyes for a considerable amount of time. Something that proved difficult as I use my eyes not only for work but.. ok, I am guessing you already know - so how was I to survive this?

So what was the answer?

Podcasts!

Prior to the operation, I did a little research on things that I could listen to while just laying there. A very interesting option was old "Old Time Radio Horror, Suspense Thriller, Mystery" - recommended.

But after a short period, I needed something more familiar and more informative. That led me to a group of design & SEO related podcasts, mostly SEO related.

This is where the real story starts. As much as I thought I was keeping up with my industry, recent trends and up to date tech... it seems I was mistaken.

I spend the first 10 days in a relatively dark room with my phone and a portable speaker. I spend 10 days+ catching up on so much that it make me eager to get back on to my computer and start testing, tweaking and writing.

I got caught up on many things Google (does over 90% of all searches online). Learnt who the competitors are and aren't. What the best trends are in search, tips for ranking, what tools are popular and a lot more. Moving forward, I am going to try and break down a little of my new found knowledge.

Lets get started with E-E-A-T

What is E-E-A-T and why is it important?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Note that this is not a ranking factor but more of guide from the search giant - Quality Rater Guidelines.

What they are telling us is if we want our sites to rank well in Google, follow these simple rules:

Experience
Google places an emphasis on the authors of Your Money Your Life (YMYL) sites having a high level of experience and expertise.

Do you have real world involvement is what it is you say you do on your website.
Take the opportunity to explain and or show, what experience you have in your field of work. How it differs from your competition. Write useful articles, create a video. How it differs from your competition. Prove your experience to your audience.

Expertise
Consider questions like:

• Who is the person behind the force behind the content?
• Does the author know what they are talking about?
• Are you known in your industry?

Are you officially qualified in your field, is it time based experience, an apprenticeship or a diploma / degree? Do you have any achievements, awards or other? Are you well know for what you do, can you prove that?

Example:
You’re looking for articles about iPhone repair.
You find an article written by a guy with hundreds of videos, how to's and likes with thousands of follows. They own their own store and have images and videos of the location in a number of different places online. They have even written books on the subject. Additionally, he has created purchasable tools to aid you in your repair. This person has proven that they are indeed an expert in there field.

Authority
Refers to how much authority a site owner or a website holds. Is the content fresh, new and written by you or someone who truly knows what they are talking about. This kinda goes with the previous two headings.

A common indicator for this is having people and website reference you as a source of information.

Trust
Are you trustworthy?

Trustworthiness is one of the most important factor in E-E-A-T.

Why? Because if you can prove to Google that you are experienced in your field, show your expertise and they consider you an authority then they may link to your site as a source of trust online.

One point to make, even if you demonstrate many of the about but not trust, there is a good chance you are likely to be pushed down the ranking or worst - unindexed.

A large part of this comes down to your content, write for your audience, educate them and make sure what you are saying is indeed correct and helpful.

Still, how important trustworthiness is to a page or site depends on the type of content.Google considers the intended purpose of the content when it evaluates its trustworthiness.

Why E-E-A-T is Important?

Google values your point of view, provided you know what you are talking about. Their aim is to provide users with search results that can help them, places that proved value and answer truthful answers.

They want to provide you with a source of truth, this ensure they are useful and you continue using their services. Site owners now need to do their part and spot scamming, be honest - get business.

If you follow the guide above, write for your audience and educate, Google will reward you hopefully.

Pro tip: Ensure that you have a Bio Page for yourself or the person writing for you, this ensures Google/users have a way of finding out a little more about who is writing the information. If you are writing for other sources, ensure that you link back to the Bio page each and every time to build your authority and trustworthiness.