What Is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, a framework Google's human quality raters use to evaluate content, described in Google's public Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Google has stated E-E-A-T isn't a single, direct ranking factor but rather a concept its various ranking systems are designed to reward.
What does each part actually mean?
Experience asks whether the content creator has real, first-hand experience with the topic. Expertise asks whether they have the necessary knowledge or skill. Authoritativeness asks whether the creator or site is a known, go-to source in its field, and Trustworthiness, which Google calls the most important of the four, asks whether the content is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable.
How do you actually build these signals?
Concrete author bios with real credentials, consistent authorship across a site's content, cited sources for factual claims, and transparent business information all contribute. For topics Google classifies as Your Money or Your Life (health, finance, safety), it applies these standards especially strictly, since inaccurate content in those categories carries real-world consequences.
Which primary sources support this?
- 01Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
Google's guidance referencing E-E-A-T and its Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
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