Will Adding a Telephone Number Improve My E-E-A-T SEO Signals

What exactly is E-E-A-T?

The acronym E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. This concept was created by Google and is widely accepted as the standard for corporate websites. It is meant to ensure that a business’s content is trustworthy, easily accessible, and helpful to consumers.

In December 2022, Google updated its quality rater guidelines ^[1] by adding another “E” to its E-A-T acronym. The new acronym is now E-E-A-T, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The addition of “experience” indicates that content quality can also be evaluated through the lens of understanding the extent to which the content creator has first-hand experience in the topic^[2].

But how do telephone numbers come into play, and will adding them really improve your E-E-A-T SEO signals? When reviewing websites for SEO purposes, Google uses a variety of factors to determine an overall rating. One of the most critical factors is to what extent content can be trusted ^[3].

Telephone numbers are one way to show that a business is real, offering real products or services and being available to customers when they have questions, concerns, or feedback. In addition, Google Rater Guidelines indicate that the business is “legit” and human.

If a company doesn’t have a telephone number, it might be more challenging for search engine bots to trust the website as an authority on the subject matter.

Increase trust and legitimacy

Furthermore, if customers need help to reach a representative by phone, why would they feel comfortable providing their credit card and other sensitive information to purchase? To illustrate this point, let’s look at a real-life example.

“Health & Wellness USA” is a business selling products in the health and wellness space. The company provides a wealth of content related to nutrition and exercise but needs to include a telephone number on its website.

Not having a telephone number will likely prevent “Health & Wellness USA” from getting a higher E-E-A-T rating. Customers looking for specific information from the company will need help finding the necessary information online. If they don’t see what they’re looking for, they’ll be less likely to convert or even bother visiting the website at all.

Adding a telephone number serves as a sign of legitimacy and will help customers find the information they need faster. By making it easier for customers to contact the company, “Health & Wellness USA” will also show search engine bots that they appreciate customer feedback and questions. All of this goes a long way in improving E-E-A-T SEO signals.

The main benefits of adding a telephone number to a website are clear: you’ll increase trustworthiness, show customers you appreciate feedback, and give them an easy way to contact the company with their questions and concerns.

Furthermore, it will help search engine bots understand that you’re a real business with a product or service, which translates to a higher ranking in search engine results.

But what number should you purchase?

When it comes to adding a telephone number to your business website, you have a few options:

1. A local telephone number
2. A 800 (toll-free) number
3. A VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) number

A local telephone number is an excellent option if you target customers in a specific geographical area.

800 numbers benefit from being toll-free, and eager customers can reach out anytime. VoIP numbers are another option, especially if you’re a business operating remotely without a physical store. VoIP numbers are internet-based and used to usually require hardware and software installation, such as a VoIP adapter or a VoIP phone, but these days you can find plenty of providers of Google who will provide you a easy dashboard to purchase and forward numbers on.

Best websites to get local VoIP numbers

1. Our UK websites use Invoco.
2. For our other global websites, we host all of our numbers on Twilio.

Ultimately, the number you choose should be based on the kind of customer service you’re looking to provide and your budget. Regardless of the number you decide to use, ensure to include contact instructions, such as the business hours period, in addition to the number.

In conclusion, adding a telephone number to your website is an essential step in increasing the E-E-A-T SEO signals of your website. Not only will customers be able to contact you quickly with their questions, but the telephone number will also indicate your business’s legitimacy. Including a telephone number will go a long way in improving customer trust and helping you rank higher in search engine results.