Yesterday wrapped up the World of Search Conference (WOSCON) 2024, and for those of you who aren’t familiar, this event is organized by our good friend Kherk Roldan, a SEO from Surigao, and his team. For the second year straight, I had the privilege of being one of the speakers, and I tackled a topic that hits close to home: E-E-A-T This: Why Traditional SEO Doesn’t Work in 2024. Now, for the SEOs out there who couldn’t attend—whether you missed it in person or online—I thought it’d be worth discussing this in more detail. The feedback from the presentation was great, and I believe the message needs to reach a broader audience. That’s why I’m recording this, breaking it down again, and uploading it on YouTube—so hopefully, you can pick up a thing or two.

Alright, let’s dive in. As many of you know, I’m Glen Dimaandal from SearchWorks. Our agency’s client portfolio spans both national and international brands, and I’ve been doing SEO for quite a while—since 2007, to be exact. Over the years, I’ve seen SEO evolve from its early stages to what it is now, and let me tell you, the game has changed. Traditional SEO strategies, the kind we’ve relied on for years, just aren’t cutting it anymore. If you’re still only focusing on technical SEO, content, and backlinks, you’re probably feeling the heat in competitive niches.

So, let’s talk about why E-E-A-T is now the most critical framework you need to understand—and why the old ways aren’t enough in 2024.

Case Study: Mediko.PH and the Power of E-E-A-T

Let me walk you through the Mediko.PH case study so you can see exactly what happens when you rely too much on traditional SEO and ignore Google’s new priorities.

We launched Mediko.PH, a health-focused website, with all the classic SEO strategies in place. We dialed in the technical SEO, made sure the site speed was top-notch, and loaded it up with well-researched content. Nothing too crazy—just long-form articles, 1,500 words or more, written in Tagalog, targeting local search terms about common health conditions. Stuff like “sakit sa tiyan,” “cancer sa atay,” and “sakit sa buto.” We didn’t even do a ton of link building because, frankly, it wasn’t that competitive of a niche. We were up against local competitors, not big players like WebMD or Mayo Clinic with the Filipino language format. And you know what? It worked. Within six months, the site was pulling in a million organic visits a month.

Then, E-E-A-T happened.

At first, everything seemed fine. Google was loving our content—consistent, well-written, and informative. But after a while, we noticed a gradual drop. We weren’t tanking completely, but there was a steady decline. From our peak of a million visits, we dropped to around 600,000 monthly visits. That’s a 40% hit. A lot of our top keywords, where we were comfortably ranking in the #1 or #2 spots, dropped down to the bottom half of page one—or worse, completely off page one.

We were scratching our heads, trying to figure out what went wrong. We dug into the site’s technical health, revisited the content, checked for any possible penalties—everything. Finally, it hit us: our content wasn’t living up to Google’s new E-E-A-T standards.

It wasn’t that the content was bad. In fact, it was well-researched, grammatically sound, and written in Tagalog, which meant less competition. But Google had become stricter about who was writing the content and whether they had the experience and expertise to back it up. Mediko.PH was covering medical topics, but none of our writers were doctors or certified health professionals. They were just good writers doing solid research, and that worked for a while—until it didn’t.

It’s like a relationship: at first, everything seems perfect, but over time, little things that were once overlooked start to matter. Google, in this case, started seeing through our content. The lack of true medical authority became a problem, and that’s where E-E-A-T hit us. Our content was no longer as valuable in Google’s eyes, even though it hadn’t changed. Google had changed, and it was enforcing E-E-A-T like never before.

This case study made one thing clear: if you’re operating in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) spaces like health or finance, you need real experts creating or at least reviewing your content. Experience and expertise matter more than ever. If you ignore E-E-A-T, even the best technical SEO and content strategies won’t save you.

The Anatomy of E-E-A-T and Its Importance in 2024

Let’s break down E-E-A-T, piece by piece, and see why it’s now the backbone of effective SEO in 2024. Google didn’t add “Experience” to the acronym for fun—this is a deliberate move toward more authentic, human-driven content. It’s not enough to just have a well-optimized site with decent content anymore. Now, it’s about who’s creating the content, what they know, and how they present it.

Experience: The Human Element Behind Content

Google added “Experience” because it realized that it’s not just about having knowledge—it’s about actually living through what you’re writing about. If your content shows first-hand experience, it adds a layer of authenticity that’s hard to fake. Experience-based content stands out because it connects with people in a real, human way.

For example, let’s say you’re writing about lower back pain. You don’t need to be a doctor to create engaging content about it. Maybe you’ve personally dealt with a slipped disk, and you know how debilitating it can be. That real-world experience makes your content more relatable and authentic, and it’s something Google wants to reward. You’ve lived it, so your advice holds weight.

Experience also matters when it comes to product reviews, travel blogs, or how-to guides. If you’re writing about a car, you better have driven it. If you’re reviewing a new gadget, you need to have actually used it. Aggregating information from other sources just doesn’t cut it anymore. Google wants the real deal—experience from people who’ve actually been there and done that.

Expertise: Not Just Book Knowledge

Now, let’s talk about expertise. A lot of people confuse experience with expertise, but these are two very different things. Experience is about what you’ve been through, while expertise is the deep knowledge you’ve gained through formal training or years of practice.

Take the example of a wedding. The couple has the experience of getting married—they know what it’s like, emotionally and practically. But the priest? He’s the expert. He’s performed countless ceremonies, knows the legal and spiritual intricacies, and is licensed to do so. The couple might know what it’s like to be in their shoes, but the priest knows the ins and outs of how a wedding is supposed to go.

In SEO terms, this means your content needs to be authored or at least reviewed by experts in the field—especially when dealing with YMYL topics. For example, if your site talks about health, you’d better have doctors or certified health professionals behind the content. If it’s financial advice, make sure you have a financial expert. Expertise is a big factor in reducing misinformation and building trust with your audience.

Authoritativeness: Becoming a Thought Leader in Your Niche

Authority is about establishing yourself—or your website—as one of the go-to sources in your niche. This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built over time, through consistent, high-quality content that people reference, share, and link to. In other words, it’s about becoming a thought leader that others trust.

You can boost authority by getting mentioned or cited by other reputable sources. If your site keeps getting referenced by respected publications or experts in your industry, Google takes notice. This also ties into how AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s own generative AI are shaping search. The more your brand is seen as an authority, the more likely AI-driven tools will pull from your content in their answers.

Trustworthiness: Why Trust is Everything

Finally, we have trustworthiness. In SEO, trust is earned through positive user experiences. It’s not just about the quality of your content—it’s about how reliable your site looks and feels to users. Trust is built through multiple factors, from professional web design to security features like HTTPS and clear privacy policies.

If your site looks shady or amateurish, even the best content won’t save you. People need to feel safe, informed, and confident when they land on your page. That’s why it’s critical to ensure your site is clean, well-organized, and has trust signals like security badges, transparent policies, and solid customer support, especially if you’re in eCommerce.

In a nutshell, E-E-A-T is Google’s way of ensuring the web is filled with content that’s not only accurate but also created by people who know what they’re talking about. It’s no longer enough to just say something; you need to prove that what you’re saying is coming from someone who’s lived it, learned it, and is trusted to speak on it. If you want to win at SEO in 2024, E-E-A-T isn’t optional—it’s mandatory.

How E-E-A-T and the Helpful Content Update Go Hand-in-Hand

Now that we’ve broken down E-E-A-T, let’s talk about how it connects with Google’s Helpful Content Update. This update is one of the biggest reasons why so many sites, including Mediko.PH, have seen their rankings and traffic plummet. It’s not just about E-E-A-T in isolation—Google’s raising the bar across the board, and helpful content is now at the forefront of its ranking factors.

The term “helpful” might sound straightforward, but don’t let it fool you. A lot of SEOs, especially in the Philippines, think that just because their content is intended to help, it’s automatically considered helpful by Google. But here’s the harsh reality: helpful intentions don’t always translate to helpful content in the eyes of the search engine. There’s a huge gap between wanting to help and actually providing value that meets Google’s criteria for helpful content.

Let me explain it this way. You ever had a pet cat? If your cat loves you, sometimes it’ll bring you “gifts” like a dead bird, a lizard, or an insect. Now, the cat’s intention is to help—it thinks it’s offering you something of value. But are you going to be happy with that dead lizard? Probably not. That’s exactly how Google sees content that has good intentions but fails to truly deliver value. It’s not just about meaning well; it’s about meeting the user’s needs with original and insightful content.

So, what does Google consider helpful? It’s content that offers insightful analysis beyond the obvious and is people-first—content designed with the user’s needs in mind, not just search engines. If your content is just rehashed information pulled from other sources, or if it’s stuffed with keywords to game the system, it’s not going to fly anymore.

This is where Mediko.PH got into trouble. Yes, we had well-researched content, and it was designed to rank on Google. But we lost focus on making it genuinely helpful. Our content was primarily created to hit certain keywords and boost organic traffic, rather than being laser-focused on providing value that went above and beyond what users could find elsewhere. That’s a mistake you can’t afford to make in 2024.

What Makes Content Truly Helpful?

Let’s go deeper into the hallmarks of helpful content so you can avoid the pitfalls we fell into. There are a few key factors that separate helpful content from the fluff:

  1. Needs Met. Your content has to answer the user’s intent directly. If your page title promises an answer to “sakit sa tiyan: Ano ang ibig sabihin nito?”, then the content better deliver that answer clearly and quickly. If your content beats around the bush or leaves the reader confused, it’s not meeting their needs, and Google will take note.
  1. Originality. This one is huge. Google doesn’t just want content that’s technically “original” because it isn’t copy-pasted. Real originality means offering a new perspective or fresh insights that others aren’t providing. Simply compiling existing information won’t cut it anymore. Google wants content that adds to the state of knowledge on the topic, not just regurgitated facts from across the web.

Back in the day, strategies like the “Skyscraper Technique,” where you’d create super long, comprehensive content by aggregating information from multiple sources, used to work like a charm. But now, that approach is becoming less effective. Google doesn’t just want long content—it wants original content that’s grounded in real experience or expert insights.

  1. People-First Content. Your content should be designed with the user in mind, not the search engine. This means no keyword stuffing, no filler content, and no tricks. Focus on making your content as useful and engaging as possible, answering the questions that people are really asking in a way that’s easy to digest.

If you want to survive and thrive in 2024, you need to understand that Google isn’t just looking at the superficial SEO elements anymore. Sure, title tags, meta descriptions, and backlinks still matter, but without E-E-A-T and truly helpful content, you’ll hit a wall. You need to aim higher than just ranking—you need to create content that actually helps people, and in turn, that’s how you’ll gain Google’s favor.