Is there any feeling more universally demoralising than googling your business, only to realise you haven’t even made the first page, even with efforts placed in SEO? What do all these other search results have that you don’t? Is it their fancy font choices? Their big-budget marketing teams? Is it because you got a bit overly clever, creative or out there with your business’ name to be properly e-commerce googleable?
Ok, if it’s that last one then yes, that is absolutely why. Call it something else.
Failing that, you’re likely falling victim to Google’s dreaded search engine optimisation (SEO) algorithm. At some point, Google in all of its wisdom has evaluated your website and, unfortunately, found it lacking.
How did this happen? Well, the folks over at Google give your site ratings in 3 categories: Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness. E-A-T. The more EAT-ible Google finds your site to be, the more likely it is that you’ll be amongst the first search results when someone tries to find a site or store like yours.
So how do you make sure your site cuts the mustard? Read on to discover more of what it what it takes to be e-commerce Googleable.
The E-A-T of E-commerce SEO
Expertise
It doesn’t take a lot of time on the internet to realise that sometimes people pretend to know a little more about things than they actually do. In fact, Sturgeon’s Law, named for science fiction writer and person who has been on the internet Theodore Sturgeon, eloquently states with regards to online content that: “90% of everything is crap.”(other laws in the same vein include Skitt’s Law: “Any post correcting an error in another post will contain at least one error itself.” And Cunningham’s Law: “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it’s to post the wrong answer.”) Because of this, Google likes to make sure that people claiming to know something can back up that claim with dome good evidence.
To put it plainly, any expert needs to have credentials. Whether they be academic or based on life experience, to be an expert in the metaphorical eyes’ of Google, you need to be able to prove you know what you’re talking about. For SEO purposes, add a few accomplishments to your ‘about us’ page. If you’ve got information about you personally on the site, make sure to mention either your business experience or what’s led you to become an entrepreneur, anything that can act as a paper trail that ends in Google’s algorithm deciding that yes, this is the website of a business and yes, the person running the show knows their stuff.
Authority
Google wants to make sure that when you search out your tax requirements for 2021, the top results are from ATO, not Cousin Benny’s homespun, advice blog about which taxes he thinks really matter (spoiler alert: Cousin Benny doesn’t pay his taxes). Have you ever gone to google a brand and had the top search result be an article about that brand instead of their actual site? You don’t want that. That means something has gone awry and for some reason, Google believes that article is a better authority on that brand than the people running the website. However, that doesn’t necessarily hurt you as, if the article is any good, can build brand awareness and reinforce your brand benefits.
But it you want to rely less on others and have your site front and centre, don’t hide the name of your brand 3-clicks deep into your site and make sure to update your Google Business information correctly to avoid any confusion. You’ll also need some corroboration from outside sources. The simplest way to tick this box is with reviews from outside sources. For SEO, anything that implies that your site is the most appropriate place to find information on your brand is a good start fo
Trustworthiness
Once Google has established you’re the most informed, most influential site in charge of your brand, they want to know you aren’t using that position to scam anyone. If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably not in the business of taking people’s money and running for the hills. But be aware that in the eyes of your customers, a scam isn’t just a fraudulent operation. Plenty of e-commerce websites end up with low trust scores because the quality of their product isn’t reflected in their online presence. Think of every discount clothing brand that advertises beautiful garments, photographed perfectly on statuesque models that turns out to be ill-fitting and poorly made. Or that your brand routinely makes mistakes with shipping, loses items, etc. Whilst it’s not fraud in the ‘legal’ sense, but it does make you less trustworthy in the eyes of your customers and they will certainly have no problem in letting other people know about their poorer than expected experience.
Of course, you want to put your best foot forward when it comes to your products but make sure you’re setting your customers’ expectations correctly. Better for them to be dazzled by your over-performance than disappointed when you don’t measure up. It doesn’t take many reviews making liberal use of the words ‘dodgy’ and ‘duped’ to tank your trust rating and leave your EAT-optimisation hungry for ‘T’.
To make sure your site meets the standards for trustworthiness, ensure you have support contact details readily available. There must be some kind of mechanism in place for your customers to complain or seek help when things go wrong. This can sometimes be as simple as a social media link, as that creates a certain amount of accountability. However, we strongly recommend having a dedicated customer service contact to expedite the process for your customers and keep any hiccups from becoming social media fodder.
Once you’re SEO is EAT-ing like a king or queen and sales are flowing your way, we’d be delighted to help with all of you’re pick-pack and shipping needs. You can always give us a call on +61 2 9828 0111 (Sydney) or +64 9 263 8855 (Auckland) or drop us a note via the form below. Alternatively, you can find a full list of available services here.