By: Rachel Reynolds
While “EAT” leads most of us to think about restaurants or a plate full of yummy food, it means something totally different in Google’s world. And because it’s critically important, law firms should familiarize themselves with the ins-and-outs of “E-A-T.”
Defining E-A-T
“E-A-T” is insider SEO lingo for the elements that Google says are essential to achieve credibility and excellence in your online content. It also likely affects Google’s assessment of your site’s quality. These elements include:
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trustworthiness
On what factors does Google base its evaluation of site quality? There are far too many to list here, but one of the most important is your site’s content. No amount of bells and whistles with design can make up for low-quality content when it comes to user experience and Google ratings. Haphazard and low-grade content are deal-breakers!
Why Authorship Matters
Google likes content that users can trust is accurate. Don’t you? One way to evaluate trustworthy content is to evaluate the author. Imagine reading a book about quantum physics written by a chef. While some chefs may have a past life as physicists, it is probably pretty rare.
How do you determine if a writer has expertise in quantum physics? You research the author to find evidence of education and achievement in that field. Similarly, if you find a legal resource online, you can trust the information more fully if it’s written by an attorney; preferably an experienced, well-qualified attorney. This is why you need to be the legal resource upon whom people feel safe and confident relying.When your readers have clear reason to view you as a credible, trustworthy source, Google does, too.
Now it’s time to pull up a chair at the kitchen table and E-A-T. You can prove your credibility by building your online reputation of Expertise, Authority and Trust. Let’s look at how.
Prove Expertise in Your Content
Highlight the expertise of your lawyers and firm by creating richly textured attorney bios, including educational pedigree, achievements and professional citations or awards. Be viewed as a subject-matter expert that potential clients, even journalists or peers, can rely on. Content should be authored with expertise and agility, and when applicable, information needs to be backed up by undisputable facts and reliable sources.
“Good enough” is no longer, well, good enough where content is concerned. Invest in high-quality, compelling, original content.
Illustrate Authoritativeness
Ask yourself: why should potential clients listen to me? What authority do I have? There are thousands of law firms and web sites out there competing for clients’ attention. Users make split-second decisions about whether to stay on your page and keep reading or jump to a different page and forget about you. Tell your readers relevant information that they can’t find elsewhere. Ditch happy marketing language and focus on clear, concise, informative statements. Content should speak with authority and command the reader’s attention.
Trustworthy Content
Nobody likes a blowhard or a speaker who comes off as shady or less than trustworthy. Trust is key in getting user buy-in (as well as Google’s).
So set your content bar high! Google’s algorithms are extremely sophisticated and sensitive when it comes to ranking content, and the old run-of-the-mill writing or cut-and-paste solutions don’t make the grade these days. Do yourself a favor – invest in skilled, high-quality, original content that causes your website to stand out and shine. You’ll be glad you did!
Who is this Author Anyway?
When you evaluate the credibility of a writer, you will look at specific factors that help you determine whether or not you trust the information they provide. If you’re reading about wrongful death claims, you want to trust the person writing that content has a solid legal background.
Prove yourself. Make clear to your site’s readers that you are a law firm they can trust. Show off the experience, expertise and commendations of your attorneys. How do you do that? There are many ways, and we’ll dig more deeply into them below.
For starters, don’t be shy about listing awards attorneys and your firm, overall, have won. Note memberships in law-related organizations and don’t forget to note any positions of leadership held in those organizations – past or present. Mention quality ratings on law directories like Martindale-Hubbell or Avvo. List titles of presentations you’ve given. Don’t forget to show your education, too. Be sure to note the degrees earned and at what schools. Did you win a big case and get press coverage? Were you a legal resource to whom a journalist turned for input? Promote such stories by linking to them from your website. While you’re at it, be sure you also linked to organizations and directory profiles with ratings, as well as information about awards you won.
Ok, so you’ve proven you are at the very least well qualified to provide informative legal content to site visitors, what next? Prove that those you helped give you a thumbs up, too. Obtain positive, credible client reviews in locations like your Google My Business page, Avvo and even Facebook. Don’t ignore legal sites that offer opportunities for peer reviews. Client (and even peer) testimonials on your site can boost your trust factor. Any kind of online third-party endorsement that Google can find from clients, media, and community leaders can also increase the perceived trustworthiness of your online content.
Promote your firm’s involvement in the community and announce events sponsored by your firm. This shows you are committed to your community and invested in serving those local to your firm.
And while you’re at it, do a review of the back-links to your website – are there links from credible and trustworthy sites? Consider backlinks to be a vote of confidence. If writers on another site believe the information you provide is so trustworthy and useful that they link to you, it is a strong signal to Google that your information is high quality.
Be Aware: Google Considers Law Firms “YMYL” Websites
“YMYL” stands for “Your Money or Your Life,” which is Google’s shorthand for identifying online content that it considers critical and life-impacting. Such content includes medical, legal, financial and transactional websites. Google holds YMYL content to an even higher standard of quality because it believes users’ safety and well-being are at stake when they use these sites. So be forewarned, any legal online content is going to face the highest level of scrutiny by Google.
Google’s Quality Raters’ Guidelines
In many ways, Google tries to mirror in its algorithms the same evaluative approach you take in deciding whether or not to trust an author. Thankfully, we have access to some of their criteria. Google has very extensive guidelines when it comes to ranking the quality of online content. You don’t need to guess or feel around in the dark to create compelling, highly readable content. Instead, familiarize yourself with Google’s Quality Raters’ Guidelines (QRG) and keep a synopsis of the guidelines nearby for handy reference. Another great source that explains the guidelines and provides examples of their impact is an article by Dr. Marie Haynes about Google’s core algorithm update in March 2019 related to site quality.
Our Gladiator staff would be happy to do a quality rating audit of your firm’s online content and make specific recommendations, too. Contact us for an initial consultation.
Where Do I Start? Ask Yourself These Questions
To move to any new place, you first have to get a snapshot of where you are now. Take a focused moment to assess the current quality of your online content. Then you can create a plan for increasing its quality. Begin by asking yourself these questions:
- Is it clear who is the content author and that he/she has expertise and credibility?
- How does my content score where E-A-T is concerned?
- What off-site reputation information is available about my firm?
- Are there any on-site testimonials, user reviews or other third-party endorsements?
- Is there legal advice or statistics that should be kept up-to-date on my site?
- Is there obvious evidence of low-quality content?
- Is there an obvious way to contact the site’s author?
Evaluate Your Site’s E-A-T
Author Expertise
Quality content should make it abundantly clear who has authored the information. Now, the author can be a person, a firm or another organization that is cited, but it should not be a rambling, omniscient voice that is untethered to any easily identifiable source. The “voice” or “point-of-view” is essential to creating content that is credible, trustworthy and authoritative. On your firm’s site, an author should appear to be an attorney. An obvious example is the byline on blog articles.Tip: You can add brief author bios to your site to show off a few important examples of an attorney’s expertise.
Off-Site Reputation
Are the attorneys listed as authors of the content on your site clearly identifiable as skilled, experienced and even esteemed by peers and legal organizations? If you were to research your reputation, can you find clear examples of why the attorneys at your law firm should be trusted? Do Google search of your firm’s and attorneys’ names to see what being said about you on other sites. You might be surprised.
It’s Not Just What You Say,
It’s How You Say It
When it comes to E-A-T, there are clear factors Google can identify both on your site and elsewhere that demonstrate the expertise and trustworthiness of your firm and attorneys. If your bio pages are lacking, is there simply information missing, or are there holes yet to fill? Consider strengthening your online reputation as an expert in providing legal information. The more details that your readers can potentially find that helps them trust you, the better your quality in Google’s eyes.
Should You Improve Your Trust Factor?
Where possible, consider pursuing membership in legal organizations, build out profiles on major legal directories and for those that have ratings and reviews – actively seek a strong score. Promote your educational background. Pursue added activities that can be found online, such as presentations.
In some cases, show proof of the above on your site. Link out to legal organizations, to your speeches and even to major directories where you have a high rating. Help guide Google right to the proof of your expertise and qualifications.
Reviews and Testimonials
There’s no way to overstate the importance of positive client reviews and testimonials when it comes to brand equity and Google quality ratings. They are essential and should be part of your content planning and intake process. For a full discussion of client reviews and how to secure them, see Gladiator’s recent blog about steps to an effective intake process.
Keep Time-Sensitive Information Updated
There’s nothing worse than going to a website with outdated statistics or information that is sleepy and past its prime. And we’ve all seen those sparkling announcements about “upcoming events” that took place 6 months ago. Ouch! Nothing sinks your credibility faster than outdated content. As we always say here at Gladiator, a website is a living, breathing organism that must be tended continually just like a garden. Be sure to review your online content regularly and update statistics, event dates and news references.
Nix Low-Quality Content
Very often, an attorney or a firm is not the best judge of its own content. We are too close to it and enmeshed in the information. Our website is our darling and we think it’s perfect. To get an objective view of the quality of your site’s content, ask an outside agency or a group of users to give feedback on what they read. Then, hard as it may be, take a buzz saw to any content they identify as low-quality, confusing or irrelevant. Content must be edited and pruned just like rosebushes.
Contact Us and “About”
This may seem obvious on its face, but you’d be surprised how many websites require a lengthy fishing expedition to find contact phone numbers and email addresses. Users’ frustration can be compounded by vague or wordy “About” tabs and sections that forget to mention firm name, geographic location, purpose and a call to action. You certainly don’t want a site visitor to suspect that your contact information is hidden because don’t want to be contacted. Law firms want site visitors to contact them so they can get a potential case. So, it’s hard to imagine law firm sites lacking very clear contact methods.
Always Remember E-A-T When Creating Content
So, the next time you hear “EAT” you’ll no longer be thinking of sandwiches and desserts. Instead, you’ll have insider knowledge about Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness in online content. Google is very clear about what it considers high-quality content, especially for YMYL (read: law firm) websites. You can’t afford to allow low-quality, sloppy or rambling content to drag down your firm’s Google Quality Rating. Take action! Create authoritative and informative original content and enjoy the return on your investment.
About the Author:
Rachel Reynolds was born with a pen in hand and a story on her mind.
Adept at all things Content, Rachel enjoys working as a storyteller at Gladiator Law Marketing, weaving unique and compelling narratives for each individual client. She earned her B.A. in journalism at Northwestern University and her M.A. in writing at Johns Hopkins University.
She’s also taken legal writing classes at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. A native of California, Rachel loves traveling internationally, sampling local cuisine and taking photographs.
Attorneys – Check it Out!! LET STEVEN HEISLER, “THE INJURY LAWYER”, AND THE LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN H. HEISLER BE YOUR GO TO INJURY ATTORNEYS IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. If you have a client who has been in an accident, job injury, or any other type of injury in Maryland, don’t hesitate to call or email Steve personally to discuss. Steve has received referrals from numerous attorneys throughout the United States and will gladly provide references. sheisler@injurylawyermd.com410-625-4878 (HURT)877-228-4878 (HURT)www.theinjurylawyermd.comCell- 443-854-2471
Quick TipBy: David M. Ward, Esq.
Are you bored with your marketing? Are you doing the same things over and over again, lost in the routine, feeling like you don’t want to do it anymore?
Yeah, that sounds boring.
But we all do things we don’t enjoy, don’t we? We do them because we have responsibilities, or because we like the results we get more than we dislike the routine.
If your marketing is boring but you’re making a fortune or you’re accomplishing worthwhile goals, does it matter?
On the other hand, who says our marketing has to be boring? What if you loved marketing and looked forward to doing it–wouldn’t you get even better results?
Indeed.
But how? How do you un-borify marketing?
The answer is different for everyone, of course, but here are a few thoughts.
First, your routine may be boring but people can be interesting. Maybe you don’t need to change your routine, you need to change your people.
Find a different crowd to network with. Target a new niche market. Get rid of the clients with boring problems and replace them with clients with exciting problems.
Second, it might not be what you do, it might be how you do it. What if you improve your skills?
Maybe you find networking boring because you come home with a bunch of business cards and not much happens after that. What if you got better at making things happen?
Third, maybe it’s as simple as trying something different.
Make a list of all of the things you do or have done in the past that could be considered marketing. Make another list of things you’ve never done, or did before and gave up.
What if you could find a strategy that wasn’t boring?
All you need is one.About the Author
David Ward is an attorney and marketing consultant to attorneys. His website is The Attorney Marketing Canter where he offers a free newsletter about marketing, productivity, and personal development.
You can learn more at http://attorneymarketing.com
That’s it for this week. I’ll have a brand new issue for you this time next week. Also, if you have any questions or comments about the content in this newsletter please email me at sheisler@injurylawyermd.com ~SHH
