How EEAT Directly Impacts SEO Success for Healthcare Practices
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has come a long way from keyword density and backlinks. Since the Panda update in 20111, Google has prioritized content quality over quantity, seeking to ensure that users find genuinely useful and relevant information at the top of their search results.
This shift paved the way for EEAT—Google’s comprehensive criteria for evaluating the expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness of web content, which now plays a key role in search rankings.2
This has significantly raised the bar for healthcare websites as Google now demands medical content that is not only easy to understand but also accurate and backed by reputable sources and expert opinions to ensure credibility.
This blog will cover the importance of implementing EEAT in healthcare SEO, diving into how Google evaluates medical content based on experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, and what medical practices can do to optimize their online presence.
Understanding the Importance of EEAT in Healthcare SEO
Google closely regulates Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) websites, especially medical content, as it directly influences the well-being of users.³ To effectively assess these sites, Google introduced the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG),⁴ outlining key criteria for trustworthiness and quality.
In 2018, the “Medic” update⁵ reinforced Google’s emphasis on E-A-T, ensuring healthcare content is reliable and authored by recognized professionals.
As websites offering medical advice or healthcare-related services are now subject to stricter scrutiny by Google, practitioners must now implement more robust medical SEO strategies. This means not only enhancing the quality of their content but also engaging in effective backlinking and utilizing local healthcare SEO practices to attract potential patients.
What are E-E-A-T and YMYL in SEO?
In SEO, E-E-A-T is considered a critical factor in determining a website’s ranking, especially for content that could impact someone’s finances or life (YMYL). Medical websites that publish health advice or information must prioritize accuracy and reliability, as failing to meet these standards can negatively affect their rankings and potentially harm their audience.
At its core, the principle behind YMYL is clear: Ensure your website’s content benefits your audience without causing harm.6 It’s especially vital for medical professionals to prioritize the safety and well-being of their readers seeking medical information online to establish themselves as a reputable health website.
Additionally, by fostering a secure online environment, you protect your users and position your site to receive favourable recognition from Google.
Breaking Down EEAT & What Each Component Means for Medical Practitioners
Failure to implement EEAT in your SEO strategy can result in a significant decrease in visibility in search results. To avoid this, medical websites must strive to create accurate, evidence-based content underpinned by the expertise of qualified health professionals.
Ensuring that all information is presented in a clear, accessible manner, with a strong foundation in authoritative medical research, is crucial. At Wisevu, we understand how to address each aspect of EEAT, especially for our medical clients, which is why we created this helpful overview to walk you through optimizing your medical website for better rankings and increased patient confidence.
Here’s how each EEAT component contributes to this goal
1. Experience (E)
Originally, EAT only included Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. But, in December 20227, Google introduced “Experience” into the equation.
Experience is especially important for medical websites, as medical information created by professionals with first-hand experience can enhance credibility and trust, as well as improve patient outcomes.
Additionally, content created by experienced medical professionals sets it apart from other generic health information found online. Such content provides deeper insights and more actionable recommendations, making it highly valuable to patients seeking reliable medical guidance.
Our medical writers at Wisevu have extensive experience in their field, with some having over a decade of clinical practice, ensuring that the content they produce is not only accurate but also rooted in firsthand medical experience and an understanding of patient needs.
Furthermore, by tapping into the deep experience of medical professionals, we create content that resonates with both medical practitioners and patients.
2. Expertise (E)
Expertise in healthcare entails delivering high-quality, evidence-based information that stems from a rich background of knowledge and skills. This is essential for maintaining the credibility and reliability of medical content, ensuring it aligns with ongoing scientific and medical advancements.
Healthcare professionals’ expertise is validated through their education, certifications, hands-on experience, and contributions to medical research.
Wisevu provides high-quality, research-driven content for medical websites created by industry experts such as doctors and dentists. Our editors collaborate with these experts to ensure the content meets search intent and resonates with the target audience.
We also work closely with our medical clients to tailor content to their specific needs while maintaining HIPAA and PHIPA compliance through ongoing education and best practices.
3. Authoritativeness (A)
Google highly values authoritative websites, especially for medical content, as they ensure users receive reliable information. In addition to the author’s credentials, Google also favours quality backlinks over quantity, focusing on links from trusted sources such as reputable medical institutions, journals, and trusted health organizations.
At Wisevu, we combine various strategies to help strengthen your medical site’s authority. This includes writing and publishing rigorously researched content on respected platforms, securing citations from trusted medical sources, and ensuring your content is always accurate and relevant.
Our approach also includes managing reviews and training staff to build patient trust and improve both your site’s credibility and search engine ranking.
4. Trustworthiness (T)
Trustworthiness is at the core of Google’s EEAT framework. Even expert and authoritative pages score low if they lack trust. Quality raters evaluate trust by examining the author’s credentials, content reliability, and site integrity.
It’s important to note that trustworthiness isn’t exactly a direct ranking factor, but if users feel uneasy on your page and leave quickly, Google notices.9 User satisfaction is Google’s top priority, so a high bounce rate signals a problem, regardless of the ranking factor name.
Another measure of how trustworthy a medical site is lies in its website security. Ensuring the site is protected with an SSL certificate and using HTTPS not only safeguards patient data but also signals to users that the site is reliable and secure.
At Wisevu, we understand the importance of protecting your users’ data, which is why we prioritize converting your site to HTTPS with an SSL certificate. This not only ensures that sensitive information remains secure but also signals to both users and search engines that your site is a safe and credible resource.
In addition to ensuring all of our medical clients’ content is reviewed by professionals and backed by authoritative sources, our team at Wisevu can secure SSL certificates for your site and manage your online reputation by actively monitoring and responding to reviews, addressing any concerns promptly, and promoting positive patient testimonials. This helps to build a secure, trusted, and credible online presence.
How to Know if Your Medical Website Follows EEAT Standards
To effectively evaluate how well your medical website aligns with EEAT standards, here are some questions to guide you:
| Experience (E) | Expertise (E) | Authoritativeness (A) | Trustworthiness (T) |
| • Is the content created by individuals who have directly applied the procedures or treatments being discussed? • Does the content reflect real-world experience? Is it clear that the content is informed by actual medical practice and patient care? • Are the contributors’ credentials clearly displayed? Are contributor bios, certifications, and experience easy to find? | • Is the content written or reviewed by qualified medical professionals? • Are we citing evidence-based research and reputable medical sources? • Does the content include references to peer-reviewed studies, guidelines from medical institutions, or trusted health organizations? | • Is our site recognized by other reputable sources? • Do we have quality backlinks from credible medical institutions, journals, or organizations? • Are we consistently publishing well-researched, in-depth content on authoritative platforms? • Are we engaging with online communities or forums like Quora and Reddit to build authority? | • Is our content fact-checked and accurate? • Are we following security protocols like SSL and HIPAA compliance? • Are we actively managing patient reviews and responding to feedback? • Do we provide transparent privacy policies and disclaimers? |
Selecting an Agency That Understands Medical EEAT
Achieving high rankings on Google for a medical website requires more than just basic healthcare SEO. The site must be a credible, authoritative resource that offers accurate and reliable information thoroughly reviewed by medical professionals. In addition to adhering to the best medical SEO practices, including obtaining high-quality backlinks and ensuring a clear, intuitive design.
At Wisevu, we have spent over a decade honing our expertise in healthcare digital marketing. We leverage our deep understanding of E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) to create content that not only meets Google’s standards but also fosters trust with your audience.
Our approach goes beyond healthcare SEO optimization; we work to establish your authority by strategically placing content on well-respected medical platforms, obtaining citations from credible sources, and carefully managing patient reviews across various platforms.
Additionally, as Google increasingly relies on AI to evaluate the quality and authority of content, Wisevu ensures that your site is structured with clean code and enhanced with schema markup, allowing Google’s AI to assess and rank your content according to E-E-A-T standards accurately.
Partner with Wisevu now to get tailored digital marketing strategies that align with your practice’s unique goals, ensuring you stand out as a trusted authority in the medical field while remaining compliant with all relevant healthcare regulations and standards.
References:
- Sullivan, Danny. “The Google Panda Update: A Complete Overview.” Search Engine Land, https://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-panda-update.
- Martinez, Roger. “How E-A-T Works According to Google Patents.” Search Engine Journal, 27 Oct. 2020, https://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-e-a-t-works-google-patents/385562/.
- “E-A-T and Your Money or Your Life (YMYL): Everything You Need to Know.” Search Engine Journal, https://www.searchenginejournal.com/on-page-seo/eat-ymyl/.
- Google. “How Search Works: Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.” Google, https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/hsw-sqrg.pdf.
- “Google’s Medic Update: Everything You Need to Know.” Yoast, https://yoast.com/googles-medic-update/.
- Kaye, Matt. “Google’s John Mueller Stresses Importance of E-A-T for YMYL Websites.” Search Engine Journal, 10 Mar. 2021, https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-john-mueller-stresses-importance-of-e-a-t-for-ymyl-websites/400605/.
- Google. “A Refresher on Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines: Understanding E-E-A-T.” Google Search Central Blog, 15 Dec. 2022, https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/google-raters-guidelines-e-e-a-t.
- “The A in E-A-T: What Is Authoritativeness?” Yoast, https://yoast.com/e-a-t-what-is-authoritativeness/.
- “The T in E-A-T: What Is Trustworthiness?” Yoast, https://yoast.com/e-a-t-what-is-trustworthiness/.