“Experience” is the latest (but not the least relevant) addition to “E-E-A-T,” which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness – a component of Google’s search quality rater guidelines. This concept is a mix of factors that help Google determine if the content is relevant and helpful enough for users, thereby prioritizing it in search results.
E-E-A-T plays an important role in “your money or your life” (YMYL) topics.
But what happens when you want to create international strategies? How can you leverage E-E-A-T to boost your international expansion?
In my previous article, I discussed how to demonstrate expertise and authority on an international scale, using a case study on selling a local product from Barcelona.
Now, let’s will explore how to leverage experience to boost your international expansion.
How To Show Experience
As Google defines, “experience” is the extent to which the content creator has the necessary first-hand or life experience for the topic.
In this case, there will be two main ways of demonstrating experience with a product or in relation to a topic.
One is through your own experience as a creator of the product; the other is through the experience of consumers.
So, how can an international ecommerce company leverage its experience to differentiate itself from others and compete internationally?
Which actions that demonstrate experience are more likely to influence users’ purchase decisions on international websites? Let’s explore some actions you can take.
Demonstrate Your Experience Through Your Consumer: Product Reviews
Whether locally or internationally, getting product reviews from consumers is a key factor in demonstrating the experience of using the product or service.
Providing a good experience during the purchase process, as well as a quality product or service, will help boost reviews with better ratings from users – whether within the website, in directories, or Google Business Profile.
Include A Testimonial Page
One option to make it easier for potential new consumers to find user review content is to create a “testimonial page.”
On this page, the web creator can collect users’ experience and opinions regarding the product in different formats, such as text, image, or video.
Screenshot from www.tiodenadal.online, February 2024Here’s an example of a testimonial page.
In international ecommerce, providing and sharing cross-border user experience is also key to conveying confidence to users from other countries, regarding the veracity of the store.
Which Reviews Influence The Users’ Purchase Decisions On International Websites?
To create product review pages and show users the ratings, you must achieve a certain number of reviews demonstrating the user’s experience with the product.
On an international scale, there will be reviews that help not only demonstrate the users’ experience during the purchase process but also encourage new users to do the same.
Which reviews carry more weight in influencing users’ purchase decisions on international websites? And what specific actions should international businesses prioritize as a result?
Reviews For International Ecommerce Sites
When venturing into global markets, consider the user shopping experience ratings that tend to predominate and significantly impact purchasing decisions.
Case in point: high shipping costs and long delivery times.
The most common reason online U.S. shoppers abandon their carts is additional costs like shipping, taxes, and fees (47%). Also, 24% of consumers drop out of an online shopping session because shipping is too slow.
Changing the cost of shipping or delivery time from one country to another is usually not in the hands of the business but of external factors.
However, you can take these actions to get positive reviews related to shipping or delivery time – or at least prevent damaging reviews related to these factors.
- Include actual shipping times and explain them to buyers. Don’t try to risk getting more sales.
- Watch out for high-demand seasons (like Christmas and Black Friday).
- Stay up-to-date on the global international logistics situation.
- Follow up on carrier and logistics situations in your potential countries.
- Be aware of customs borders in each country.
Screenshot from author, February 2024Reviews For International B2B Or Saas Sites
While long delivery times and high shipping costs impact international sales across the board, B2B, industrial, and SaaS companies face unique challenges in achieving global competitiveness.
Factors that influence purchase decisions on international B2B/SaaS websites:
- Platform language: Lack of local language support can make it difficult for consumers to use the product.
- Price: Service or platform prices not adjusted for regional purchasing power can hurt market penetration.
- Customer support: The absence of local customer support or a contact person may impact the buying process.
- Customer service hours: Adapting to local schedules and holidays in each country is key for a good experience.
- Localization: Tailoring the product or platform to each country’s cultural characteristics or preferences helps enhance user experience.
Screenshot from author, February 2024
Screenshot from author, February 2024
Screenshot from author, February 2024How To Create Content That Demonstrates Your Experience
You can go beyond encouraging users to share their experiences with the products on your website.
By creating content, you can actively showcase your experience during product development or using the product itself.
Here are some ways to achieve this:
- How-to guides: Develop step-by-step guides or tutorials that show how to use the product effectively.
- Expert pages: Create engaging content (consider using photos and videos) that show how the product has been produced.
- Influencer content: Partner with relevant influencers or bloggers to share content on how they use the product.
- Forums and discussions: Build a vibrant community where users are allowed to share their experiences, ask questions, and learn from other customers about how they enjoy your product.
Image from outsideonline.com, February 2024Avoid creating search engine-first content and prioritize creating people-first content to increase the probability of success with Google search.
How To Generate Content Ideas To Showcase Experience Internationally
Developing content that reflects your product or service’s international reach depends on the type of project, audience, and potential markets.
However, there are key strategies to assist you in coming up with ideas and focusing on creating content that highlights your global experience.
Use Commercial Keywords For Your International Content Strategy
Including commercial keywords in your content strategy shows your experience with the product. Some of these keywords are important when the potential customer is interested in the product and wants to investigate more.
These keywords often include search terms for your product or service that combine concepts like:
- Free.
- Difference/vs.
- Reviews.
- Opinions.
Screenshot from Semrush, February 2024Get Inspired By Marketplaces And Directories
Ecommerce marketplaces and B2B/SaaS directories are the go-to sites for inspiration and ideas. These sites offer insights to inform your content strategy and help demonstrate the product experience.
By analyzing marketplaces, such as Etsy and Amazon, you can learn what people think and say about you, and see how your product is perceived globally.
What are the most highly rated factors? What do they complain about the most? What can you differentiate yourself with?
Identify Key Purchase Decision-Making Factors
Analyze the top-rated and worst-rated reviews of your competitors and understand why. This will help you identify key purchase decision-making factors for your target consumers.
Screenshot from author, February 2024Use Other Channels
Today, static content isn’t enough. You can’t just create text or image content to convey a product experience to potential consumers.
Utilize other channels, such as TikTok or YouTube, to create engaging content that showcases your experience – and expertise – with your product.
Leveraging Experience In The AI Era
Showing experience will enable you to differentiate from AI-generated content within the AI era.
You can see it with the same Search Generative Experience (SGE), where demonstrating first-hand experience will play an essential role in creating useful, quality, and helpful content.
However, as of writing, it is still not very clear what the final model will look like.
Expanding Experience Internationally
Experience, expertise, and authority are key factors that will help you achieve success in your international SEO strategies.
But Google emphasizes another key element within the E-E-A-T framework: trustworthiness, which the search engine defines as the most important member of the E-E-A-T family.
We’ll delve deeper into this element in our next article.
More resources:
Featured Image: William Potter/Shutterstock