When the specialists at our digital marketing agency evaluate a new client’s website, one of the key aspects we look at is whether it meets the Google EEAT criteria. This is one of the critical elements for ranking.
This blog explains the importance of Google EEAT for law firms and how to meet its requirements.
What Does Google EEAT Stand for?
The EEAT acronym means:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trustworthiness.
These are some of the most important criteria Google uses when selecting websites to display on search engine result pages (SERPs). The acronym used to have only three letters, standing for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. In a major update to the quality rater guidelines, Google added “experience” to the list in mid-December 2022.
YMYL Page Quality Criteria and Google EEAT
Google EEAT for law firms goes hand in hand with the YMYL page quality criteria. YMYL stands for “your money or your life” and represents websites dealing with topics that can have a direct impact on people’s lives and finances, such as:
- Financial information
- Legal information
- Health care information
- News
- Shopping.
Thus, your law firm website is automatically included in the YMYL category of sites which Google monitors very closely for the truthfulness and accuracy of information posted here.
Digital marketing specialists know that, by meeting all the EEAT criteria, your site will also pass all the YMYL page quality checks.
Let us analyze these four criteria and explain how to achieve them.
1. Experience
The essence of this ranking factor is that reliable information must be shared by someone with relevant, first-hand experience on the topic. When a potential client wants to know the steps to file a personal injury claim or a workers’ compensation claim, Google searches for articles and web pages written by lawyers who practice the relevant branch of law.
How to meet the experience factor in Google EEAT for law firms:
- Create detailed lawyer bio pages on your websites
- Add links to your lawyers’ LinkedIn and other relevant online profile pages
- Showcase your lawyers’ experience in guest posts on reputable platforms.
2. Expertise
Expertise is essential for answering the question: why would I believe the information in this article? As a professional and licensed lawyer, you have the expertise to share legal information in your practice area.
But you have to persuade both Google and potential clients that you have this expertise. This is achieved by:
- Researching content carefully
- Citing any relevant sources of information
- Fact-checking every piece of content published on your law firm’s website or elsewhere.
3. Authoritativeness
There are many law firms covering the same practice areas as you in your city or state. But some of them have more clients and their websites rank higher on Google. Why? Because they managed to establish authority in their field of activity through the content they publish.
Authoritativeness is one of the criteria of Google EEAT for law firms that take the longest to build. It involves:
- Creating in-depth content on specialized topics
- Showcasing your thought leadership in whitepapers or comment pieces on reputable professional websites
- Earning high-quality backlinks from reputable websites
- Maintaining a consistent brand identity across all channels: website, social media pages, guest post articles.
4. Trustworthiness
How does Google know that users can trust the content on your website? The search engine will look at various aspects to assess the trustworthiness of your law firm website:
- Client testimonials
- Law firm ratings on professional networks, such as Avvo
- The awards and recognitions your firm and lawyers received
- The fact that your website is secure (HTTPS) and protects users’ personal data.
We Will Ensure Your Law Firm Website Meets the Google EEAT Criteria
At EverConvert you will find a team of experienced digital marketing professionals specializing in the legal industry. We know how to meet the strictest YMYL criteria for law firm websites and build trust with Google and potential clients.
Our multidisciplinary team will work on all the essential aspects of your site, from structure and security to design and content, to make sure it meets the Google EEAT criteria. Call us to schedule a meeting with our experts!
