E-E-A-T Checklist
There’s no escaping the importance of building and demonstrating E-E-A-T if you want to see SEO success in 2024 and beyond, but many struggle with knowing where to start, especially given that it’s more of a concept than anything else. Over the last six years, I’ve spent countless hours studying what sites that are incredibly successful at SEO demonstrate regarding the signals that align with the things indicated in these guidelines. And whilst we absolutely must remember that E-E-A-T is a concept and guidelines that Quality Raters use, rather than a confirmed list of signals that an algorithm uses, that doesn’t mean we can’t consider the type of signals that demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. That’s why I developed this 83-point E-E-A-T checklist that you can use to audit how your site, its content, and its authors demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. More than anything, this E-E-A-T checklist is intended to get you thinking about how your site, content, and authors demonstrate the signals that Google’s QRGs could be looking for when evaluating sites.
- Is a physical business address visible on the site (not a virtual or mailbox address)?
- Is a phone number visible on the site?
- Is a contact email address (from the main domain) visible on the site?
- Does the site have a Contact Us page in place?
- Is contact information for the business easy to find on the site?
- Does the site have a valid SSL certificate in place?
- Does the site have a Privacy Policy page in place?
- Does the site have a Terms & Conditions page in place?
- Does the site have a Cookie Policy page in place?
- Does the site display a clear Copyright notice?
- Does the site have a Complaints Procedure page in place?
- Does the site have a ‘Meet the Team’ page that showcases key team members/authors / experts?
- If there is a ‘Meet the Team’ page in place, does it link to author profile pages?
- Does the site have a detailed ‘About Us’ page in place?
- Are any accreditations or memberships that the business holds shown on the site?
- Does the site have an ‘In the Press’ page or display ‘As Featured In’ logos that link to press coverage?
- Does the site have an Editorial Policy page in place?
- Does the site have a Favicon in place?
- Does the site display their company registration information clearly?
- Are links to the brand’s social platforms clearly visible on the site?
- Does the brand have active social profiles built out and being used across relevant social platforms?
- Do mentions of the brand on social hold a positive sentiment?
- Is the brand name being searched on Google, either as a standalone search or alongside keywords?
- Does the site clearly display any awards they have won?
- Is Organization Schema being used on the site?
- Is there a ‘Careers’ page in place?
- Are consistent and up-to-date NAP citations for the business visible across the web?
- Are positive customer/client reviews or testimonials displayed on the site?
- Are positive customer/client reviews or testimonials displayed on third-party sites?
- Is the brand consistently earning relevant press coverage, mentions, and links?
- Do links pointing to the site come from a variety of sources / are different link types?
- Do positive forum discussions exist about the brand’s products / services?
- Are case studies/customer stories being used and showcased on the site?
- Is the brand publishing informational/educational content to demonstrate their expertise?
- Is the brand publishing news posts on the site to keep their audience updated on business happenings?
- Does a brand search return positive results on the brand SERP?
- Does the site have a key topical focus area?
- Is it easy to find who wrote the content? Is the author clearly displayed on the page?
- Is the named author someone who is considered a subject matter expert within the business?
- Is there a clickable link on the page to a standalone author profile for the author on the page?
- The page should use Schema markup. Often, this will be WebPage Schema, but may also be Article, Guide or one of the other types.
- Is the published and/or last update date shown on the page?
- Is the content up-to-date? Has it been reviewed or updated recently?
- When content is updated, is it transparent what has been updated? Is there an ‘update log’ shown?
- Does the content use unique photos, videos, screenshots, or visuals that demonstrate experience actually using, doing, or visiting?
- Is the content free from spelling and grammatical errors?
- Does the main content link out to sources to back up claims or facts?
- Is the main content factually correct?
- Is the page free from ads that could be considered distracting from the main content?
- Is there a visible affiliate disclaimer in place (if relevant) on the page?
- Has a human put in clear effort to create the content?
- Does this effort appear to go beyond that displayed in the content that ranks in top 3 positions for the target keyword?
- Is the main content free from what could be classed as unhelpful filler content (or fluff)?
- Does the main content include unique quotes, opinions or insights from the author or other experts?
- Is the main content missing any information that an expert would always include?
- Does the main content match the searcher’s intent for the main target keyword(s)?
- Does the main content actually achieve the purpose of what it’s intended to do?
- Has the main content been written from a viewpoint of actual experience, or is it just a rehash of other content that ranks?
- Has the content been linked to as a source or referenced by other relevant content?
- Is there an author byline on the page alongside the author name?
- Does the content align with the key topical focus area(s) of the site?
- Does a standalone author page exist for the author?
- Does the author have relevant first-hand experience in the topics they’re writing about?
- Does the author have relevant expertise or formal education in the topics they’re writing about?
- Does the author profile page contain an up-to-date bio for the author?
- Does the author profile page contain a headshot or photo of the author?
- Does the author profile page include the author’s job title?
- Does the author profile page list the author’s key areas of sector expertise?
- Does the author’s profile page contain information on their credentials, accreditations and educational background?
- Does the author profile page include links to the author’s main social profiles?
- Do the authors social profiles link back to the website? Either the homepage or their author page?
- Does the author profile page include their direct contact details (where suitable)?
- Does the author profile page contain links to the content they’ve created on the site?
- Has the author written for other publications as a guest author/contributor?
- Has the author been cited (ideally regularly) in the press as an expert on their main topics of expertise?
- Does the author profile page contain links to external sources where the author has been cited as an expert?
- Has the author been publishing content on this topic for some time, or have they only recently started?
- Does the author regularly publish content on this topic, or infrequently?
- Has the author been featured on relevant podcasts or webinars?
- Does the author regularly share insightful content on their main topics of expertise on their own social profiles?
- Has the author written multiple posts around the main top-level topic? Either on the site or third-party sites?
- Does the author have a Personal Knowledge Panel on Google or are they understood as an entity in Google’s Knowledge Graph?
- Is the author profile marked up using ProfilePage Schema?
