Learn about E-A-T and why it is so important for supplements and natural products websites
Sales for supplement and natural products companies are up. In fact, they are way up. Online search traffic for supplements and natural products has never been higher. On the flipside there are also companies that are not seeing a surge in sales or website traffic.
And this underscores why it takes more than having a good product to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic supplements sales spike. For both supplements companies who are seeing a surge in online sales and those who are lagging behind, your website and SEO must be working for you not against you.
When was the last time you updated your website? How frequently are you posting informative, high-quality blogs? Which keywords are driving traffic to your website? What is the search traffic for your niche and how is this translating to traffic and sales for you? Have you created landing pages that help consumers learn more about your products?
While the consumer interest in supplements is spiking, it’s important to remember that this is a very competitive market. As a supplements company owner, you need to do all you can stay ahead. You’ve got a proven product, you’re seeing a boom in sales, and now you need to keep the momentum going.
This is where your website, search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, content marketing, social media presence, and search traffic make such a huge difference for you, your consumers, and Google.
What Supplements Companies Need to Know about SEO, Search, and Google
This is a challenging time for everyone – along with the stressors of living during a pandemic, you have a company to run, employees to pay, and customers you need to serve.
So, it makes sense that SEO, search traffic, and Google are not top-of-mind for you. And this is exactly why I wrote this blog post.
At Know Agency one of our areas of expertise is website optimization, SEO, and search strategies tailored specifically for the supplements and natural products industry.
When I meet with companies like yours, my priority is in explaining SEO, search, and Google – so that our clients understand why it takes more than a flashy website, a good label, and a solid product to stand-out and get noticed online.
And here is what you need to know about SEO, search, and Google so you can thrive during the supplements sales boom and continue this momentum when life returns to normal.
- What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is a specialized approach that makes it possible for your website to stand out and be found in Google searches. When most people think of SEO, they think only of keywords.
While keywords are a critical part of SEO, they are just one piece of a bigger SEO strategy that includes page formatting, website layout, content structure, links, image tags, and more.
The optimal SEO strategy makes it easy for search engines like Google to give people the correct answers to their questions. This is why SEO is important for every website and market. - What is Search?
Search is the collective term that refers to your search engine results, search traffic, keyword strategy, content and social media marketing, and website optimization. Together these components determine your search results, strategy, traffic, and ultimately your online sales success.
The better your search, the easier it is for customer to find your company, brand, and products in search engine results and to click your link, visit your website, learn about your products, and click buy. - Google and Your Supplements Company Website
As you know, Google is the most popular search engine worldwide. Google is the primary portal that connects people with brands, products, companies, information, and services. And this is exactly why Google is so important to your supplements company.
Google has very strict policies that ensure only valid, trusted, and proven content is displayed in their search engine results. Google is trying to provide searchers with information that is scientifically backed and proven. They depend on scientifically backed publications such as Healthline, the Mayo Clinic, or WebMD.
Google wants companies and marketers to understand the criteria they use to rank websites, content, and other online collateral. In the Google Search Quality Raters’ Guidelines, Google makes it very clear what their employees who analyze websites are looking for and what website owners can do to improve their search engine results.
In a nutshell, Google is looking at the Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E-A-T) of each website and piece of content.
What is E-A-T?
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trust. Google uses these metrics to measure and quantify your website’s ability to be a leader in the supplements and natural products domain.
- Expertise: Who is writing your content? You need to let Google know that the person writing your content has the credentials, education, and experience to be a supplements expert. The author should be an individual who is an expert in your field and works at your company. Use an author bio to tell Google who this person is – provide their credentials, education, links to third party websites with great information, and anything that clearly shows why your author can be trusted.
- Authority: Being an expert is good, however you need to also be an authority. Are there mentions about your company or products on other websites? Is your content widely shared on other websites or social media? These are indicators for the Google quality raters that you are an authority in your field. If this doesn’t exist due to oversight or because your company is young, this should be a part of your strategy moving forward to help build your organization as an industry authority.
- Trust: Is your website secure and using HTTPS protocols? Can people easily find your company terms and conditions? Can people find your email, phone number, and address to contact you easily? What about your review ratings on Google and social media? Look up your product and “fraud”. What do you see? What does your BBB rating look like? Each of these indicates trust in your products, brand, and company.
Google uses these three factors to determine your E-A-T score.
Why E-A-T is so Important for Supplement Company Search Traffic
E-A-T is so important for supplement company search traffic because your E-A-T score determines where you appear in the Google search engine results.
Based on how well you display and prove expertise, authority, and trust, Google’s search quality raters (actual people) determine the value your website and content give people.
The better your E-A-T score, the higher you’ll rank and the higher the likelihood that customers notice you, click your link, visit your website, and buy from you.
And this is key to capitalizing on the current interest and sale volume for supplements. You need to be confident that your website is getting found and that your customers can easily find the information they need to make a purchase decision.
Contact me to talk about SEO, search, Google, E-A-T, and how the Know Agency team can optimize your website and search strategy so you can thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the future.
About the author
Jane Phelps is the CEO/Partner at Know Agency. Jane is the main point of contact for our clients and handles all aspects of in-house SEO demands. This includes providing SEO training, competitive analysis, keyword research, algorithm analysis, and the review of all new content to ensure SEO best-practices are followed. Jane holds a Master’s Certificate in Online Marketing from the University of San Francisco, is BrightEdge Certified and is the head of the BrightEdge User Group in Atlanta, GA.
