What does this mean for paid and organic search results?

First, they’re changing big time!

Second, many searches get their answers without clicking through to a site.

However, when they do click through, the quality of the visitor may be greater than before because they’re far more prepared to do a deep dive on the information they seek.

How do you convert these folks from lookieloos to leads and buyers?

First, you may recall that Google users were looking for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EAT). These were achieved by including relevant content that was often sent to you by other website who referenced your expertise. The more traffic from other sites, the more authority you gained. And the longer visitors stayed on your site, the more trustworthiness you gained. These are the ingredients that got sites higher in ranking results.

Second, Google’s adjusted that search model by adding another “E” to the mix: Now it’s Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness (EEAT). Google has taken note that if a visitor has a bad experience with a site, the visitor is less likely to return, regardless of its expertise or authority.

What can you do to rise to the top of EEAT?

• More than half the world’s users view websites on mobile vs. desktop as of June 2025. That means your mobile site must be fantastic.
• For a good experience, your site must load fast.
• Remember that those viewing your site on mobile may have different objectives than those viewing your site on desktop. Trim the fat on mobile.
• Web pages that are built to answer a question will be more successful than those without this intent. (See an example with my new Website Design Services page.)
• Clarity and the structural integrity of the site help Google understand your offering.

Is that it?

• Add a FAQ page if you don’t already have one. Make the FAQs easy, such as, “Where is XYZ located?” “Does it have business hours?”
• The more cross-platform presence you have, the better. Instagram just began indexing posts in its results. If you’re not there, it’s time to join and post regularly.
• The more relevant content you offer than your competition (through pages and posts), you increase the probability of improving your search results.
• Shop your competition from an incognito window. Do a little detective work by testing out when you come out on top in results or someone else does. What are they doing differently that is garnering them better results?

Summary

The good news is that none of this requires you to overhaul your site completely. There’s no requirement to start over. Tackle one project or step at a time.

And will Google’s gamble pay off? In a recent survey, Google users were satisfied with their search results 37.4% of the time in 2024. That number increased to 75.1% as of June 2025. Sounds like they’re headed in the right direction. Are you?