How to Demonstrate E-E-A-T Through Digital PR

Developing your online presence is key to becoming an authoritative and credible source. The best way to do this is to embrace the Google E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) guidelines.

But did you know, E-E-A-T can play into your digital PR strategy? Find out how you can not only enhance your authority but improve your visibility and establish your dominance with both users and search engines.

Why should you demonstrate E-E-A-T through digital PR

Before we get into how to master the E-E-A-T guidelines with digital PR, let’s look at why.

• Increase your brand awareness – Google is a big fan of brands and rewards them. Brand-building increases awareness and can help show expertise.
• Establish author expertise – E-E-A-T can be shown at an author level. Through DPR, authors can share their insights and expertise to add value to stories
• Enrich brand searches – Brand searches indicate popularity to Google. Digital PR influences visibility and awareness in the press helping improve searches
• Higher than average CTR – Brand familiarity can help increase your click-through rate
• More links and citations – As an industry expert, you’re more likely to attract links and citations back to your site

How to demonstrate every element of E-E-A-T in your digital PR strategy

So now you know why, let’s look at how you can create an E-E-A-T digital PR strategy.

For each of the signalling factors, we’ve shared three tips.

Experience 

In your digital PR strategy, there are several ways to build signals for experience both on and off-site. 

1. Share product testimonials 

If you have an amazing product, show real-life case studies on your website that help humanise the product. You can do this through client testimonials and success stories, which can then be outreached in your product PR strategy.  

2. Promote awards and accolades

Has your company, an in-house expert or product won an award? If so, these recognitions of your capabilities can serve as social proof that you’re good at what you do. Make it clear on your website and utilise this expertise when sending a press release. 

3. Keep creating high-quality content 

Developing a catalogue of high-quality content onsite that highlights your brand’s experience in a specific topic area is key. This can include case studies, industry media features, and thought leadership articles. 

Expertise

As a digital PR, when you think of ‘expertise’ you most likely think of expert commentary, however, there’s a fundamental step that needs to be taken before you start answering expert comment requests.

1. Create author bio pages for your in-house experts 

Not only does this give the journalist a specific page to link to when you answer an expert comment, but more importantly, it builds credibility. At a time when many journalists’ inboxes are full of AI responses, this helps you stand out and shows that you have real experts working for you

What to include on every author bio page:

• Relevant industry experience and what they specialise in, including how long they’ve worked in the industry 
• Links to their social media if it’s used professionally i.e. LinkedIn and Twitter
• Any credentials and certifications they have that are related to their expertise  
• Links or the logos of any relevant coverage that they’ve gained 
• A photograph to prove that they’re real
• An automated number of articles written (if possible)

2. Answer relevant expert comment opportunities 

After you have set up your author bio pages, you can secure placements for your in-house experts to demonstrate ‘expertise’. Association with credible media outlets not only cements your expert status in readers’ minds – but it sends trust signals to Google.

If you’re unsure where to find expert comment requests, HARO and #JournoRequest are the best places to start, and they’re free. 

When answering expert comments, be specific about your in-house specialism. Refrain from referring to your client as a ‘marketing manager’ or ‘spokesperson’ as this doesn’t highlight expertise. Some journalists have said they’re less inclined to use a comment if it’s from one as it suggests that they’re just writing a comment for a link.

Instead, you should create a list of what topics can be attributed to who, and have them write the expert comment. 

3. Conduct more thought leadership

As well as providing answers to inbound expert comment requests, utilise digital PR to position your brand as a thought leader in your industry. Build relationships with journalists who regularly write about your sector. 

Email them directly and introduce yourself as well as your in-house experts. Then, insert yourself into any breaking or timely news by providing insight or internal data that supports the time-sensitive story. 

If you actively send journalists unique data and comments, they’re more inclined to come to you directly in the future for expert commentary opportunities.

Authority 

Perhaps the most obvious link between Digital PR and E-E-A-T, securing brand mentions and backlinks through Digital PR is an active way of sending signals of authority to the search engine. However, there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind when thinking about authority.

1. Focus on relevancy over virality

Ingrain yourself into knowing what keywords your client wants to rank for and ideate with this in mind. Whilst there was once a time when viral campaigns were deemed the most successful, the digital PR landscape has changed. 

Relevancy is more key than ever before following recent Google algorithm updates. 

2. Regularly monitor your competitors 

Make sure you regularly analyse your competitor’s backlink profiles for backlink gaps.

Also, sign up for Google Alerts for your client’s competitors and keywords i.e. “sleep tips” + “driving” + “data”

Don’t just focus on ‘direct’ competitors – think about those in the same industry that continuously build high-quality links. If you’re UK-based, think about who your competitors are in the US too for ideas. 

3. Keep an eye out for trending news topics

There are many ways to find reactive opportunities – TikTok’s Creator Hub, Google News specifically aimed at your topic, Google Alerts and, of course, sharing your thoughts, findings and ideas. Keep an eye out on these and your industry-relevant channels to avoid missing opportunities.

Trust

The last and arguably the most important factor in E-E-A-T is trust. Trust is something that every brand needs to demonstrate, and this is an area that Digital PR can support.

1. Incorporate data into your campaigns

Utilise brand-owned or proprietary data in digital PR campaigns to demonstrate trustworthiness. This data can be fact-checked and verified by journalists, adding credibility to the brand’s content and bringing a strong element of credibility to a campaign.

Even better yet, including primary data that only your client has access to. This could be a survey, Google searches or internal data. Make sure you include a data link in the copy so journalists can access it.

2. Ensure everything is accurate and easy to understand

A big part of trust is ensuring the information you’re sending out is accurate and easy to understand. Make sure you check your data and statements to ensure they’re right.

Also, your methodology should be accurate and clear. Hard-to-follow methodologies can put off journalists. You could try asking Chat GPT if the methodology is clear and if it has any suggestions on how it could be improved. 

3. Question your sources and link to them 

When referencing a stat or study that your client did not conduct, make sure it’s accurate. If this can’t be validated, don’t include it. If you are including a source, link back to the site to help readers and clearly show your sources.

Mastering Goolge’s E-E-A-T guidelines with digital PR is essential for developing and maintaining a strong and reputable online presence. Demonstrating Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness, can boost your brand’s performance, catering to key Google guidelines whilst benefitting site users and impressing journalists. 

Find out more about our unique approach to digital PR today or contact us to see how we can help your business and conversions.