E.A.T. Guidelines for Insurance Marketing

27 April, 2020

Expertise. Authoritativeness. Trustworthiness. These are good goals for any content marketer. They’re also factors that Google considers important when providing a page quality rating. Here’s why Google’s E.A.T. guidelines are important when creating your insurance marketing approach.

What Are Page Quality Ratings?

Google uses third-party Search Quality Raters to provide feedback on search results. Search Quality Rates conduct search engine queries and provide ratings for the results. The ratings are used to evaluate search engine quality.

When selecting a page quality rating, the first criterion that Search Quality Raters consider is whether the page has a beneficial purpose. If it does, the next criteria are expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, or E.A.T.

Why Should Content Marketers Care about E.A.T. Guidelines?

Although Google’s E.A.T. guidelines were developed for Search Quality Raters, content marketers can also use them.

The E.A.T. guidelines show what Google values in high quality search results. Additionally, the feedback the Search Quality Raters give Google could impact future algorithms.

Using E.A.T. guidelines is different from regular SEO, and it won’t necessarily result in immediate page rankings. However, the guidelines can help you elevate your content and keep up with Google’s evolving search algorithms. This is a long-term insurance marketing strategy that focuses on quality.

How Do Raters Assign an E.A.T. Score?

According to the Google guidelines, raters should consider the expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.

Expertise refers to the expertise of the creator of the content.
Authoritativeness refers to the authoritativeness of the content, the creator of the content and the website.
Trustworthiness refers to the trustworthiness of the content, the creator and the website.

The Google guidelines for raters list several factors that impact E.A.T. ratings:

The quality of the content
Whether clear website information is provided
Whether the website has a positive reputation

These guidelines are used regardless of the type of content you write. In its guidelines for raters, Google says that there are high E.A.T. pages and websites of all types, including sites that cater to gossip, fashion, humor and so on. Some content – like medical or scientific content – will need to come from a source with formal expertise to obtain a high E.A.T. rating. Other types of content, such as reviews and posts about life experience, only need “everyday expertise.”

How Can Content Marketers Improve Their E.A.T. Ratings?

In its guidelines for Search Quality Raters, Google spells out exactly what it looks for in high quality content. Content marketers can use the criteria to judge their own content.

Take these 10 steps to make your insurance marketing content shine.

Establish the expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness of your content and site. You probably don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Neither do your readers. Develop your content as a credible source that provides reliable information on certain topics.
Pay attention to the “who” as well as the “what.” Even if your content is great, people will want to know they can trust the source. Consider the information provided in author bios, the company’s About Us page, and the employees’ bios.
Think beyond the individual content. The individual content pieces should demonstrate high quality, but the website as a whole also needs to be considered.
Focus on branding and reputation management. For example, developing a strong social media presence and publishing articles in industry magazines can help establish expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
Use quality sources and link to respected sites. You can’t be an expert on everything, so sometimes you need to refer to other sources. Make sure you cite your sources and that these sources are reliable.
Get the facts right. It’s important to check your facts for accuracy. When doing so, make sure you stick to respectable sources so you’re not just spreading misinformation.
Go with a word count that is appropriate for the topic. Not all content has to be long – but some content does. You don’t want to add fluff to a simple topic, but a complex topic will require an in-depth approach.
Pay attention to your use of language. Use vocabulary and sentence structures that are easy to understand, and proofread for any errors in grammar, spelling or word choice.
Check the site for technical issues. If shopping carts, online forms and links don’t work properly, the overall quality of the site, and therefore of its content, will be reduced.
Provide contact information. For business websites, provide an easy way for people to contact customer service or get additional help.

Rest assured that content provided by Inbound Insurance Marketing upholds these guidelines. Of course, the content we provide is only one part of the equation. Your website and its authors also must be reputable. This is one more reason to resist the temptation to use cheap, content spinning providers. With E.A.T. guidelines gaining importance, the quality of your insurance marketing content can have long-term implications.