The document discusses how expert content can help ecommerce sites build trust (E-E-A-T) and rank for informational queries. It recommends creating expert articles, reviews, guides and community forums to demonstrate experience, expertise and authority. While transactional rankings are difficult, this upper-funnel content brings traffic, links and may help product pages. The document also warns that poor reputation can hurt SEO and provides ideas for using ChatGPT to analyze content and refine an E-E-A-T strategy.

1. The Role of in Ecommerce
L I L Y R A Y
M A R C H 2 0 2 3

2. Sr. Director of SEO
& Head of Organic Research,
Amsive Digital
Lily Ray

3. is the criteria Google’s Quality Raters
use to evaluate content, authors, &
websites.
Trust
Experience Expertise
Authoritativeness
Trusthworthiness
Trust

4. The new E: experience
Google has framed as one of
the most important factors for
achieving optimal SEO performance.
Google added the new “E,” –
Experience – in December 2022.

5. matters most for YMYL
(your money, your life) queries

6. YMYL in Ecommerce:
NOT YMYL VERY YMYL
MAYBE YMYL
“buy pencils” “Toyota Rav4 reviews” “buy Zoloft”

7. Authoritativeness Experience Expertise
Keyword:
“cancer treatment”
Trust

8. Authoritativeness Experience Expertise
Keyword:
“cancer survivor stories”
Trust

9. Authoritativeness Experience Expertise
Keyword:
“buy an iPhone 14”
Trust

10. Authoritativeness Experience Expertise
Keyword:
“iPhone 14 reviews”
Trust

11. Important caveat:
Quality raters are scoring
content now with new
guidelines

12. Remember:
We haven’t seen the full
manifestation of the new
“Experience” signal in the
algorithms yet

13. What the search quality guidelines say
about for ecommerce.

14. Displaying policies on payments,
exchanges & returns is a sign of
Trust

15. Detailed customer service
representation builds
Trust

16. Being a well-known, reputable
merchant builds Trust

17. Selling products unique to that site is a sign of
Effort & Original Content

18. Focusing the site on one specific niche (e.g.,
fashionable baby furniture) builds
Expertise

19. Having a positive reputation is a sign of
Authority
&
Trust

20. Many user reviews are sign of
Effort & Original Content

21. Producing your own products makes you an
Expert
on the product, making that product page
Authoritative

22. Search intent for ecommerce sites

23. Just because you think a keyword is
transactional,
doesn’t mean it is.

24. informational
transactional

25. Adding “best” or “reviews” to
transactional keywords
returns informational
results.

26. But ecommerce sites are rarely winning
informational rankings.
The real winners:

27. Give Google the option to
rank your ecommerce site
when it wants informational
content.

28. Build an internal
“expert content” team

29. Drives
upper-funnel traffic
Earns links
and social shares
Builds
E-E-A-T
May rank in
Google Discover
Expert content:

30. guidelines
Important: consider

31. Google outlined a new set
of criteria for product
review websites.
1) Express expert knowledge about products where appropriate?
2) Show what the product is like physically, or how it is used, with unique content beyond
what’s provided by the manufacturer?
3) Provide quantitative measurements about how a product measures up in various
categories of performance?
4) Explain what sets a product apart from its competitors?
5) Cover comparable products to consider, or explain which products might be best for
certain uses or circumstances?
6) Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a particular product, based on research into
it?
7) Describe how a product has evolved from previous models or releases to provide
improvements, address issues, or otherwise help users in making a purchase decision?
8) Identify key decision-making factors for the product’s category and how the product
performs in those areas? For example, a car review might determine fuel economy,
safety, and handling are key decision-making factors and rate performance in those
areas.
9) Describe key choices in how a product has been designed and their effect on the users
beyond what the manufacturer says?
Product Review
Requirements

32. Some tactics used by winning
Product Review sites:

33. Ecommerce sites demonstrating

34. Why rank once when you can rank twice?
(or 3x?)

35. Keyword: “Moving Boxes”
Category page “Best boxes for moving” article

36. Position 2 in
“Buying Guide”
Position 1
in SERP
Keyword: “Moving Boxes”

37. Expert Advice
expert advice
categories brands
products
Ranks for
480k+
keywords
1.8MM
estimated monthly traffic
126
k
backlinks

38. Types of Expert Content
Instructional Checklists Product reviews How to & gear guides

39. Contributing Experts

40. Owning the SERP with Expert Content
bike shoes
#2 #2a
inflatable paddle board
#1 #5
hammock
#1 #6
socks
#10 #18

41. Skincare client:
Expert informational content drives visibility
expert advice
ingredient dictionary company pages ecommerce products ecommerce categories

42. Expert Content Supports Product Page
expert advice
ingredient dictionary
ecommerce products
Salicylic Acid
(Ingredient
Definition Page)
Which
exfoliant
should I use?
Creating a
skincare
routine
What is
salicylic acid
(benefits,
how to use)
Salicylic Acid
(Product Page)

43. Anatomy of an “expert article”
1
2
3
Relevant, unique,
engaging featured image
Key takeaways / expert quote
Editorial / fact check policy
Engaging, optimized title
Helpful subheadline
Author name with link to bio
Expert name with link to bio
Table of contents with jumplinks
Logical headlines
Citations
Internal links to relevant
pages and products
Unique images or videos
First-hand experience and expert insights

44. “Contributions from multiple
individuals on [forums] can
add up to a significant amount
of total human effort.”
- Google QRG

45. Online Communities Demonstrate “Experience”

46. Ranks for
68k+
keywords
81k
estimated monthly traffic
564k
backlinks

47. Don’t Forget About Trust Signals

48. Severe reputation issues can
cause performance declines

51. Using ChatGPT to
improve

52. Generic Prompts for Your Niche

53. Analyze Existing Content

54. Audience-Specific E-E-A-T Research

55. Summarizing Customer Pain Points

56. Key Takeaways
Expert advice content
can drive traffic, links,
revenue and builds E-
E-A-T
Severe reputational
issues eventually
catch up to SEO
performance
Online communities &
UGC demonstrate
“effort” and
“experience”
ChatGPT can assist
with refining your E-E-
A-T strategy and
evaluating your
existing content and
reviews