E-E-A-T
Definition: E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness, the framework Google's search quality raters use to assess content quality; Google says trust is the most important part.
Also called: EEAT, E-A-T, experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness
Updated
Is it a ranking factor?
Not directly. Google says E-E-A-T itself is not a specific ranking factor; its systems use a mix of signals that tend to identify content with good E-E-A-T, and trust is the most important element (Creating helpful content). Search quality raters assess E-E-A-T when they evaluate results, but Google says rater data is not used directly in ranking. Raters help Google check whether its systems are working.
The framework was E-A-T until December 2022, when Google added “Experience” to its rater guidelines.
What each element looks like on a page
| Element | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| Experience | First-hand evidence: your own photos, test results, screenshots, original data |
| Expertise | Knowledge suited to the topic; medical, legal and financial topics need more of it |
| Authoritativeness | Others treat you as a reference: citations, mentions, links from respected sites |
| Trust | Accurate, sourced, up to date, clear about who runs the site and how to contact them |
Ways sites try to fake it
- Author bio boxes with inflated credentials and no work to back them up.
- “Expert reviewed” badges with no visible review.
- Stock photos presented as first-hand testing.
- Long lists of trust badges on a site with no contact details.
Our view: these are cosmetic. The signals that seem to matter are the expensive ones: original work, other people citing it and a track record of being right. The AI visibility guide explains why the same qualities make content more likely to be cited by AI assistants.