If you’re looking to improve your website’s SEO and rank higher on Google, understanding E-E-A-T is crucial. You might have heard about it before, but let’s break it down in simple terms and see how it can help your website—especially if you’re in the healthcare industry, where credibility and trust are everything.
What is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T stands for:
- Experience – Does the content creator have firsthand experience on the topic?
- Expertise – Does the author have the necessary knowledge or qualifications?
- Authoritativeness – Is the website a recognized source in its field?
- Trustworthiness – Is the content reliable and transparent?
Google uses these factors to determine the quality of content, especially for Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics like healthcare, finance, and legal advice. If your website lacks E-E-A-T, it might struggle to rank well, even if your content is informative.
Why is E-E-A-T Important for SEO?
Google’s ultimate goal is to provide accurate and trustworthy information to users. Websites that follow strong E-E-A-T principles are more likely to rank higher in search results because they are considered more reliable and authoritative.
For businesses in the healthcare sector, maintaining high E-E-A-T is critical. Users need to trust medical-related content, and Google prioritizes pages that meet stringent accuracy and credibility standards.
How to Improve Your Website’s E-E-A-T?
Now that you know what E-E-A-T is and why it matters, let’s explore actionable ways to improve it on your website.
Publish High-Quality, In-Depth Content
Google values well-researched, informative content that provides real value to users. To meet this requirement:
- Ensure your content is factually accurate and free from misleading information.
- Use clear, concise language that is easy to understand.
- Support claims with credible sources, such as research papers, government sites, or medical journals.
For example, if you’re writing about cancer treatments, having an oncologist review or contribute to the article can significantly enhance its credibility.
Showcase Author Credentials
Would you trust a random blog for medical advice? Probably not. Google also wants to ensure that readers trust the content creators.
- Include author bios with qualifications, certifications, and professional experience.
- Mention any affiliations with reputable institutions.
- Link with official pages that establish credibility, such as LinkedIn profiles or research publications.
For example, if an article on robotic surgery is written by a certified oncologist, Google and readers will consider it more reliable than a generic blog post.
Strengthen Website Authority with Backlinks
Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) are a strong signal of authoritativeness. When a high-quality website links to yours, it tells Google that your content is valuable and credible.
- Get backlinks from reputable healthcare organizations, medical news sites, or government health portals.
- Publish guest blogs on authoritative websites and link back to your own.
- Create original, research-backed content that others want to reference.
Maintain Up-to-Date and Well-Researched Content
Medical information is constantly evolving. If your website still contains outdated facts, Google may lower your rankings.
- Regularly update old articles to reflect new research and medical guidelines.
- Check for broken links and update them with current references.
- If new treatments emerge, modify existing content instead of writing from scratch.
For example, if a medical blog from 2018 discusses breast cancer treatments, updating it with the latest 2024 treatment options makes it more relevant and useful.
Enhance Website Security and Transparency
Google prioritizes websites that are safe, secure, and transparent. Here’s how you can improve trustworthiness:
- Implement HTTPS to ensure website security.
- Provide clear contact information (phone numbers, emails, and physical addresses).
- State privacy policies and terms of service properly.
MfunL, a healthcare digital marketing company in Kolkata ensures that client websites meet these standards, as medical content requires high security and data protection.
Encourage Positive User Reviews
Google considers user reviews when evaluating trustworthiness. A business with strong positive feedback is seen as more credible than one with negative reviews or none at all.
- Encourage satisfied clients to leave Google reviews.
- Respond professionally to both positive and negative feedback.
- Display testimonials on your website to showcase patient trust.
For example, a medical clinic’s Google My Business page with 4.9-star ratings and real patient testimonials will be viewed as more reliable than one with no reviews.
Use Structured Data Markup
Structured data (or schema markup) helps Google understand your content better. For medical sites, it provides additional information about:
- Medical conditions
- Treatments and procedures
- Healthcare professionals
Adding schema markup ensures that your content stands out in search results, making it more trustworthy in Google’s eyes.
Improve Your Website’s User Experience (UX)
If your website is slow, difficult to navigate, or not mobile-friendly, it affects trust. Google prefers websites that offer a smooth user experience.
- Improve page load speed for better performance.
- Ensure the website is mobile-friendly.
- Use clear headings and bullet points to enhance readability.
For example, a healthcare digital marketing company should optimize client websites for fast loading and easy navigation to improve user experience.
How E-E-A-T Affects Healthcare SEO
For industries like healthcare, Google applies stricter E-E-A-T standards to prevent misinformation. Websites that fail to demonstrate expertise and trustworthiness may experience significant drops in rankings.
Consider this scenario:
- Website A – A blog about cancer treatment written by a qualified oncologist with sources linked to medical journals.
- Website B – A generic article with no author credentials and outdated treatment methods.
Google will prioritize Website A because it meets E-E-A-T standards. This is why healthcare providers must invest in credible, well-researched content.
Conclusion
E-E-A-T is not just a SEO buzzword—it’s the foundation of successful content marketing, especially for industries that require high trust and credibility.
By focusing on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, you can:
- Improve your search rankings
- Build user trust
- Establish your website as an industry leader
For MfunL, a healthcare digital marketing company in Kolkata, implementing E-E-A-T can drive higher visibility, increase organic traffic, and boost client credibility.
If you haven’t already optimized your website for E-E-A-T, now is the time to start!