E-E-A-T and Its Impact on Local SEO for Health and Wellness Brands

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In 2024, experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) will become crucial signals for local search engine optimization (SEO), especially for businesses in the health and wellness niche. 

With the rise of voice search and featured snippets highlighting critical information directly in search results, Google aims to better match user intent by surfacing content from reliable and knowledgeable sources.

For health and wellness companies competing in local markets, optimizing for E-E-A-T provides an opportunity to build trust and credibility with potential customers searching for your services. 

As users increasingly turn to Google to find healthcare providers and health information, ranking well requires showcasing your expertise and trustworthiness.

What is E-E-A-T?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It refers to Google’s assessment of the overall quality and reliability of a website.

Experience is pretty much self-explanatory and refers to how much experience the author or brand has about the topics being covered. If the author or brand is a subject matter expert, then the content is considered to have experience.

Expertise relates to whether the creator of the content has sufficient qualifications, like formal education or awards/recognition. For health and wellness content, expertise may come from medical certifications, training credentials, years of practice, patient testimonials, etc.

Authoritativeness refers to whether the content reflects consensus from well-established medical bodies and experts. Health content should align with guidance from reputable health organizations and cite trustworthy sources where applicable.

Trustworthiness encompasses website attributes that engender user confidence, like transparent contact info, accurate business details, positive online presence and reputation, etc. Users must find a health business reliable to share personal health concerns.

For quality purposes, Google’s quality raters assess websites based on these E-E-A-T parameters. 

A health and wellness site should demonstrate satisfactory expertise in medical topics for users, reference authoritative sources, and have traits that make it trustworthy for medical advice and services.

Why Does E-E-A-T Matter in Local SEO?

Optimizing for E-E-A-T is crucial for local SEO success, especially in the health and wellness space, for several reasons:

Helps build trust and reputation with local customers

By demonstrating experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, you can establish credibility with potential local customers searching for your services. 

This will make them more likely to choose your business over competitors. 

Things like relevant credentials, positive reviews, community involvement etc. signal E-E-A-T to build trust.

Signals expertise in health/wellness topics

As a YMYL business, you need to convince Google you have the required expertise on health and wellness topics related to your services. 

This expertise is shown through employing certified staff, high-quality content creation, citations from authoritative sources, etc.

Allows you to outrank low-quality competitors

Many local SEO competitors may be less concerned with optimizing for E-E-A-T. 

By building a solid E-E-A-T foundation, you can outperform these low-quality players in local rankings.

Improves click-through rates from SERPs

Quality signals like positive reviews and clear business info increase the chances of local customers clicking on your listing vs. competitors. 

Strong E-E-A-T makes you stand out.

Increases dwell time and reduces bounce rate

By satisfying E-E-A-T needs, visitors from local SEO results will find your website helpful, encouraging engagement and reducing bounce rates. 

This signals Google your site provides a positive user experience.

How to Optimize E-E-A-T for Local SEO

Optimizing your local health and wellness business for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness involves both on-page and off-page factors. 

Here are some best practices:

Start With Google My Business

Complete Your Business Information

Fill out your business name, address, phone number, website, and other information completely and accurately. This helps customers find and trust your business.

Select Relevant Categories

Choose appropriate categories like “Gym/Fitness Center”, “Yoga Studio”, “Health Coach”, etc. This helps your business show up for relevant searches.

Add Good Quality Photos

Upload high-quality exterior and interior photos to give customers a real glimpse of your business. Show off your facilities, classes, staff, etc.

Create Useful Business Description

The description should highlight your services, expertise and credentials to establish your business as a trusted local authority. Mention certifications.

Enable Appointment Booking

Turn on appointment booking so customers can conveniently schedule services through your GMB profile. This can generate more leads.

Respond to Reviews

Be prompt in responding to customer reviews positively. Thank happy customers and address constructive feedback professionally.

Post Regularly

Post updates showcasing new classes, staff, facilities etc. This shows customers your business is active and engaged with the community.

Get Customer Reviews

Politely encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews on your GMB profile. Reviews boost visibility and trust.

Optimizing your GMB profile helps establish expertise and trust for your health and wellness business. 

Completing your profile fully and keeping it active are key to being discovered by local customers.

Create locally relevant and valuable content

• Research specific health/wellness issues and topics that your local community struggles with. This allows you to create content that resonates with their needs.
• Interview local residents to discover their top health concerns. Quote them in articles (with permission) to demonstrate you understand community issues.
• Feature local landmarks and businesses in your content. Reference local events that are relevant.
• Create content centered around upcoming local health activities/workshops, seasonal issues, new regulations that impact your services, etc. This demonstrates your business is woven into the fabric of the community.

Build local backlinks from authoritative websites

• Getting listed and linked from newspaper sites like the Local Gazette, radio stations like WXYZ, and sites like the Local Wellness Association builds community awareness and trust in your business. But look for websites that are relevant in your business geographical area.
• Reach out to local nonprofits and offer tailored workshops or events as a sponsor. Having their link and endorsement is extremely powerful.
• Guest post on sites like the Local Community Center blog with useful health content for locals. Link back to your business site. Again, look for resources from your local area.

Ensure accurate and consistent information across listings

• Mismatched business details across directory listings and social pages looks unprofessional, harming trust signals. Maintaining cleanly consistent NAP (Name, Address and Phone) and categories across the web is vital.
• Set up monitoring alerts to track mentions and listings of your business across the web and local citations. This allows you to quickly amend inconsistent details that crop up.

List your business on reputable local directories

• Ensure your business is claimed and optimized on key local directories like Yelp, TripAdvisor, YellowPages, etc. Filling out directory profiles thoroughly (description, hours, photos etc.) helps build citations.
• Encourage customer reviews on these platforms by sending review requests and making the process easy. Positive local reviews build trust and social proof.
• Keep an eye on your profiles and respond professionally to any negative reviews. Being attentive and transparent helps resolve issues.

Showcase local success stories and case studies

• With their permission, collect and highlight inspiring stories of local customers who have achieved health/wellness goals from working with you.
• Share details of their journey, goals, and the tangible results they experienced. This helps build social proof and shows you understand local community needs.

Engage with the local community through events and workshops

• Sponsor and get involved with local 5K races, health fairs, school fitness events, gym workshops, etc. This raises awareness and gives you an opportunity to provide value.
• Host free workshops and events at your studio/facility focused on health topics that resonate locally. Share your expertise.

Ensure your website is mobile-friendly

• The majority of local searches happen on mobile devices. Using a responsive design and optimizing for mobile site speed is essential.
• Check your site on mobile devices and use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. Optimize images, code, etc. if needed.

Maintain an active local social media presence

• Be responsive to user comments, questions, and reviews on your social media profiles. Quick responses build relationships with locals.
• Share local news and events relevant to your audience. Partner with local influencers to expand your reach.

Conclusion

Optimizing for expertise, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness is crucial for health and wellness businesses trying to rank well locally and build credibility. 

By demonstrating knowledge, referencing authority sources, and encouraging signals of trust, you can stand out from low-quality competitors. 

The specific local SEO and content strategies outlined here will help you satisfy Google’s E-E-A-T standards and meet user needs.