EEAT is a combination of various factors that help Google determine whether content is relevant and useful to users, and then prioritize it in search results.
In a recent article, we discussed how you can leverage experience, authority and expertise to strengthen your company’s international strategy.
However, there is still one very important area to cover within the EEAT family. trustThis was the last thing we did, but it's by no means the least important; quite the opposite.
As Google’s search quality rating guidelines indicate, trust – which considers the degree to which a page is accurate, honest, safe and trustworthy – is the most important element at the heart of the EEAT.
No matter how experienced, professional, and authoritative a website is, if it is not trustworthy, it will have a low EEAT.
Demonstrating trust is highly relevant to the topic of “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) – topics that can have a significant impact on the health, finances, safety, security, knowledge and well-being of individuals or societies.
But what if you want to develop an international strategy? How can you use EEAT to drive your international expansion and, in particular, show a global audience that you are an honest and trustworthy company?
Let’s look at some detailed actions that can be taken to achieve these international outcomes.
How to show trust to users around the world
Accessibility and Usability
If you're looking to sell your products or services internationally, one of the first steps is to make sure your site can be properly accessed by users in each region.
This means your website must be fast, secure, display correctly, and be easy for users to use – they must be able to easily find relevant information and purchase your products and services.
International Brand Name
In addition to making your site accessible, it’s also highly recommended that you make it easy for consumers to find your brand.
if possible, “International” Brands or Domain Names It's a name that's easy for users in any country around the world to remember, spell, and search for online, even if they don't speak the local language.
Localization: A key component to demonstrating trust
Localization is essential to demonstrate the reliability and trustworthiness of your site to users in different parts of the world. Each country, language and region has its own idiosyncrasies.
We can't sell to all users in our target market with the same message and strategy, as that would not give them enough confidence that we are the most professional, experienced and authoritative website in our field.
For this reason, if you want to sell internationally, it's crucial that you:
- Analyze the languages spoken in each region Evaluate whether and how to include these on your website as a priority.
- Not only do we translate, we also transcribe. The knowledge that users have about our products and services may vary depending on the region, so it is important to tailor our messaging to each market.
- Make sure your language is displayed by default Proper translation and hreflang settings on your site are very important when users search from their location.
- Understand local buying habits Local cultural practices regarding products and services and their use.
- Study how people search for products and services Define what type of content is best to create: text, video (such as a tutorial or how-to), images (such as a demonstration or instruction on how to use a product).
For example, if you search for the same keyword “Tió de Nadal” or “Caga Tió,” which are local Christmas traditions celebrated in the Catalonia region of Spain, the results and the type of message you need to create will be geared towards a local audience.
Certainly, this type of search is informational, but it can also be transactional, as the tradition is already well known in the country.
However, if you search for the same thing in the United States, your keywords will be more informational since users are less familiar with the tradition. In this type of search, users want to know more about the custom before viewing the results.
Therefore, the content type becomes more descriptive.
For all these reasons, it is essential to geo-localize your content in each region in order to convey sufficient trust to potential customers.
Communicate that you are the safest site
One of the main factors that makes selling on an international scale difficult is the inability to prove that your website is sufficiently secure.
When users purchase our products, they must remember that we cannot make any physical claims regarding legal aspects, refunds, etc. Therefore, it is important that we communicate all aspects regarding payment methods, shipping accurately and properly so that users know that we are a reliable, safe and trustworthy site.
To achieve this, we strongly recommend that you:
- Include Currency Please see each country's product page.
- Incorporate the most popular payment methods Payment methods used in each country. You should include not only the payment methods we are accustomed to, such as credit cards, Bizum, PayPal, but also payment methods familiar to users in your target region.
- Details of the delivery systemFrom delivery times to return policies, shipping companies and tracking codes, you need to provide all the information necessary to instill confidence in people who live thousands of miles away from where your product is located.
Tell us who you are with a detailed “About Us” page
Explaining who you are is crucial for any locally focused business, and it becomes essential when selling on an international scale.
We need to consider that users who want to buy our products or services may not know anything about our business, the products we sell, or us in advance.
That’s why you should create a very detailed “About Us” page that includes information like:
- Company location and originsWith images and videos.
- Manufacturing process and product creation details.
- Team member detailsIf possible, include links to other platforms such as social networks.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the subject Through awards, certifications, quality assurance, etc.
- Include reviews and opinions from third parties.
Reliable customer service
Finally, if you want to entice users to purchase your products or services on an international website, it’s essential to show that you have reliable customer service.
You need to communicate that there are real people behind the website.
Here are some actions you can take to demonstrate trustworthy customer service on your site:
- Include an FAQ page We focus on international questions, including questions about international shipping.
- Offering options for direct human contactWhether it's chat, WhatsApp, phone, or email, giving users the opportunity to have their questions or concerns answered immediately by a human agent helps build trust.
- Include location informationLink to Google My Business complete with a detailed profile including images and information.
- View customer service reviews We post it on our site so users can see other users' experiences.
Links to other platforms and sites
Finally, another action you can take to build trust with users around the world is to show that you have profiles on other social networks and show what other users are saying about us.
To achieve this, do the following:
- Create and link to other things Social Network Profiles.
- obtain Mentions from local influencers Or an industry leader.
- Featured Local Related Websites.
- Published Related Directories In our field.
Leveraging trust to strengthen international strategies
Trust is very important in YMYL topics.
But let's not forget how important it is in other areas and sites, such as if you want to sell internationally.
Demonstrating that our site is accurate, honest, safe and trustworthy is an important part of building trust with our users around the world, as is demonstrating that we have the experience, authority and expertise relevant to your industry, products and services.
Additional resources:
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