Modern business turns on clout. Every provider of a product or service &#151 from multinational corporations to small businesses to independent consultants and freelancers &#151 need to get their expertise noticed online. But what's the best way to do this while still maintaining your stellar reputation?

It helps to understand the details of Google's algorithm. In particular, you'll benefit from mastering the search engine's E.A.T. protocols. Applying these expectations will help you boost your rankings and find you more clients.

Here, you'll learn how Google's E.A.T. helps your business. At the same time, you'll get tips on how to improve your E.A.T. ranking, boosting your online visibility and increasing your chances of finding the ideal audience for your business.

What is the E.A.T. algorithm?

Let's start by defining the acronym. E.A.T. stands for:

• Expertise
• Authoritativeness
• Trustworthiness

These are the basic traits that Google wants to see in a high-ranked search result. These factors don't make up the entire algorithm, but they act as important pillars for getting your website noticed.

What do these items mean in practical terms? These conditions work together to create a website’s online reputation. Google is looking for you to prove that your content contains well-founded information that readers can rely on. It starts by being upfront about who you are and the sources you use for the information you provide. From there, you can take additional steps to improve your ranking, as we’ll see.

Google is looking for you to prove that your content contains well-founded information that readers can rely on. [Having a good E.A.T. ranking] starts by being upfront about who you are and the sources you use for the information you provide.

Why should business owners care about their E.A.T. ranking?

Google represents a central hub in the global economy. The ongoing push of e-commerce over the last few decades has secured the search engine's importance in the process of finding customers.

Once it mattered where a company had its brick-and-mortar location &#151 get a good spot in the mall or in the swanky part of town and you could attract the right foot traffic. These days, search rankings have become the most important kind of real estate.

How important is high placement on Google? Well, one study showed that fewer than 10% of people ever click past the first page of search engine results.

Even small adjustments on the first page can have a major impact. Another data set showed that the first position in search results drew about a third of traffic. The second spot received only around 15%. Thus, one ranking position more than doubled the share of traffic.

From there, the decline continues. The same study found that the number-three spot in a Google search attracted only 9% of the total traffic. The share starts to get minuscule after the fifth position. Clearly, fighting for every step up in Google can lead to significantly more attention.

Tips for improving your business's E.A.T.

As we've seen, you receive significant benefits from boosting your expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Beyond the better rankings and visibility you get from Google, these attributes will also improve your conversion rates. Potential customers will also respond to these traits.

With that in mind, here are a few tips that will improve your E.A.T.:

Update Your Content

The modern economy changes quickly. You'll need the most up-to-date information to impress potential customers and to drive your business forward. With its reputation as an innovator, Google understands this better than almost any company.

Given this focus, Google rewards content that is fresh and up to date. As such, don’t let your website get stale. Keep the content coming. Boost your E.A.T. ranking by constantly updating and upgrading your website.

That means investing in an ongoing schedule of updates. Use in-depth blogs to keep up with the latest news in your industry. At the same time, fill these out with reference and data pages, adding information as you can.

Get Cited

Having other trustworthy content cite your work will give your E.A.T. a boost. When other websites point to your content as a source of information, it increases your authority. This, in turn, will give you a lift in Google's rankings.

To get a higher number of citations, look to produce content at the cutting-edge of your industry. At the same time, invest in proprietary research. Consider content like white papers to deliver this high-value information. If you have insights that aren’t available elsewhere on the internet, you increase the chances that blogs and other content will turn to you.

Be Transparent

Getting cited by other websites is the best connection to make. However, you also get a boost by making your sources clear. Authoritative, trustworthy information, even if you didn't originate the data, boosts your credibility.

As such, show your work. Quote other websites as necessary. In addition, be thoughtful about where you grab information. Better ingredients make a better meal.

Use Credentialed Experts for Content

Who is producing your content? Some estimates show that 7.5 million blogs are posted each day. That's a lot of competition &#151 and a lot of new web pages for Google to score.

By making sure your information comes from a verifiable expert, you separate yourself from the millions of other posts, many of them anonymous (and often generated by bots). This added credibility will help with your audience, as well as in Google rankings.

Don't let competitors E.A.T. your lunch

Sales start by attracting new customers and generating leads. This process begins by making sure that you can find potential clients interested in your offerings.

For this, you need to turn to SEO optimization. These efforts should include a focus on maximizing the value of Google's E.A.T.

By getting the most out of this facet of your webpage, you increase your rankings and get yourself seen. As a result, your marketing efforts can reach the next level. With the information provided here, you can start the process of improving your expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness &#151 letting you E.A.T. all you can from the business buffet.