Let me tell you something that sounds obvious but took me way too long to truly get: helpful content wins. Not flashy content. Not keyword-stuffed monstrosities. Just good, honest, helpful stuff.

But here’s the catch - in the age of Google’s EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), “good” content has a much higher bar. And yes, I also like to throw in a silent "E" for Effort because Google knows when you're just phoning it in. Spoiler alert: I’ve tried. It didn’t go well.

Let’s break this down - with a few confessions from the trenches.

So What the Heck Is EEAT?

Glad you asked (I pretended you asked). EEAT is how Google evaluates whether you're legit or just faking it 'til you make it.

• Expertise means you actually know your stuff. Not just “Googled it twice and summarized a summary” vibes.
  
  
• Experience means you've been there, done that. Bonus points if you’ve stubbed your toe doing it.
  
  
• Authoritativeness means others in your space trust you enough to link to you, quote you, or at least not roast you in their blog.
  
  
• Trustworthiness means people don’t feel like they need to wash their hands after visiting your site.

Oh, and that Effort thing I mentioned? Yeah - it’s real. One of my pages tanked last year, and the only thing different was: I didn’t include any original images. One quick smartphone photo of a tool I was writing about later, and rankings started crawling back. Coincidence? Google says nope.

This donut is an example of a handcrafted image to EEAT.

My EEAT Blueprint (The Not-So-Secret Sauce)

1. Start With the Right Audience (Not the Algorithm)

Every piece I write starts with a real question. Sometimes from a client. Sometimes from Reddit. Sometimes from my very curious aunt who thinks SEO is “that thing you do with the emails.”
But I ensure I’m answering people’s questions - not just what Ahrefs says is trending. Once, I wrote a whole guide based on a Slack convo where someone asked, “Why does this take so long to load?” That post still drives traffic.

2. Choose Topics That Let You Flex (Not Bluff)

Look, I could technically write about underwater welding. But unless you want metaphors involving jellyfish and regret, it’s not happening.

Instead, I lean into stuff where I actually bring something new. For example, I created a guide on content silos - but added screenshots of my real templates and a walk-through of how I built them. No fluff. Just the good stuff. (And yes, I also removed the “Underwater Welding: A Complete Guide” draft from my queue.)

3. Inject EEAT Into Everything

This is where the rubber meets the road. Here’s how I sprinkle in EEAT like parmesan on pasta:

• Author bios: Yup, I write them myself. One of my best-performing pages literally opens with, “I’ve spent five years breaking content marketing so you don’t have to.”
  
  
• Real images: That time I snapped a pic of my monitor showing Google Search Console data while holding a donut? It ranked. Don’t ask why. Just know that effort counts.
  
  
• External links: I treat linking out like picking teammates in dodgeball - only the strong survive. I link only to top-tier sources (or at least ones that don’t look like they were coded on a flip phone).
  
  
• Multimedia: I once made a 60-second “how-to” GIF from a screen recording. Took 30 minutes. Boosted dwell time on the page by 18%. Worth it. Even if my cat walked across the keyboard during the first take.

What I Avoid (Because I’ve Already Screwed This Up So You Don’t Have To)

• Keyword stuffing: Been there. Penalized for that.
  
  
• Skipping author info: One article I ghostwrote with no byline? Flatlined. I added a short “About Me” two weeks later - rankings lifted.
  
  
• Phoning in mobile optimization: Learned that one the hard way after someone messaged me saying, “I can’t even see your CTA on my phone.”

Tools I Swear By (And Sometimes Swear At)

• Google Search Console: My favorite dashboard frenzie.
  
  
• Ahrefs: Great for finding out who’s linking to your smarter competitors. And then... making friends.
  
  
• Grammarly: Because typos are like spinach in your teeth. No one tells you, but everyone notices, note it can be way of mark as I often found out, but as far as ease of use goes it is pretty cool.
  
  
• ChatGPT: Yup, I use it. (Hi, self!) Mainly for rewrites, tone tweaks, or when my coffee wears off mid-sentence. Bonus points it pretty much can replace Grammarly but that can sometimes break the flow a little bit, up to you in the end.

How I Measure EEAT Success (Without Losing My Sanity)

• Time on page: More time = more love.
  
  I could add dozens more but this one is always going to be the big priority and more importantly Google sees it, knows it and recognizes it.

What’s Next for EEAT (and Me)

Let’s be honest: AI isn’t going anywhere. But what wins is effort. You can spot AI-written fluff a mile away (unless it’s written by me, in which case… thanks!).

So, I’m doubling down on:

• Creating my own visuals
• High-quality prompts that go the extra distance
• Embedding real-life examples
• Trying new engagement formats like calculators, checklists, and quizzes

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll finally make that “SEO Bingo” printable I’ve been joking about since 2022.

Final Thoughts (And a Bit of Motivation)

Helpful content built with EEAT is more than SEO voodoo. It’s the stuff that builds trust, drives traffic, and - eventually - gets you that sweet, sweet “featured snippet” dopamine hit.

So if you're out there grinding away, keep going. Keep adding real insight, show your face, take that dorky picture, share the mistake you made, and do the work.

Because in the end? Google knows. And your audience does too.

And hey - if all else fails, throw in a photo of a donut. Worked for me.