As a local service businesses, you likely advertise on Google but my guess is you also rely heavily on SEO to generate leads online. Therefore ranking higher on the search engine results page, (SERPs) will be a top priority. With this in mind in this article we will discuss one of the most important SEO ranking factors: EEAT.
What is EEAT?
Google loves throwing curveballs…especially when it comes to organic rankings.
The recently updated EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) guidelines, evolved from EAT(Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) is just one curveball Google throws when it comes to evaluating SERP quality...especially for your local business.
While it’s one of many ranking factors, EEAT is the one you really want to pay attention to. If you’re unfamiliar with this factor, here’s a quick breakdown:
1. Experience: Despite being the newest addition, Experience isn’t something that is new. Local businesses lie yours have been posting Google Business reviews about their business on their website homepages/landing pages for some time now. Apart from customer testimonials, videos of business owners themselves using their own products or oral customer testimonials in video formats on their website can also demonstrate the business’ credibility and legitimacy online by having had a proof of direct experience with the products.
2. Expertise: Often confused with Experience, Expertise is everything related to degrees, local biz. signage, and years of experience of your business, possibly in images. If you are a professional it can also include explanation of your professional degrees, accreditations, and awards…showcased in diverse forms of media across different channels.
3. Authoritativeness: Authoritativeness depends on whether the customers see you, the business owner, as an expert or not. If your field of work requires official certifications and memberships, then being affiliated to and cited on the accredited regulatory bodies of the industry is an excellent way for you to validate your authority.
4. Trustworthiness: The T of Trustworthiness in EEAT is best exemplified by features like crystal-clear contact information, transparent privacy policies, and secure payment options. By keeping things simple and transparent, not only will your customers feel more confident about your business, but also more brownie points with Google's ranking algorithms.
Make sure you're business is taking the above seriously, your rankings will depend it.