E-E-A-T in SEO. What is it and what does it mean?

E-E-A-T stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness”. Until Google’s update in December 2022, it was just E-A-T (without “Experience”).

YMYL, on the other hand, stands for “Your Money or Your Life”. Understanding both concepts is important for anyone who wants to positively influence their SEO.

What is E-E-A-T?

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust) is part of Google’s quality rater guidelines – a handbook used by real people to assess the quality of search results.

Such people are known as quality raters. Their assessment helps Google check the effectiveness of algorithm updates. E-E-A-T is not a direct Google ranking factor. However, the company wants to provide results characterised by a high level of E-E-A-T. It is therefore an important concept in SEO. In addition, a high level of E-E-A-T increases user trust, which leads to a greater number of conversions on the site.

Additional information: Google updates the quality rater guidelines on average once a year. Below is a short history of key Google E-E-A-T updates:

• March 2013: Google officially publishes the search quality rater guidelines,
• March 2014: Google includes E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) in its guidelines,
• December 2022: Google introduces E-E-A-T, in which the additional “E” stands for “Experience”,

It is worth getting to know the four elements of Google E-E-A-T and learning how they work with content.

1. 01E-E-A-TQuality guidelines.
2. 02Quality ratersAlgorithm effectiveness assessment.
3. 03Indirect factorBuilds trust and conversions.
4. 04Regular updatesChanges once a year.

E-E-A-T is a key concept in SEO that is not a direct ranking factor, but it affects user trust and the quality of Google results.

Experience

High-quality content usually demonstrates the creator’s direct experience in a given topic. This makes it possible to prove that any suggestions have been tried and tested, and that the findings are authentic.

An example might be a board game review. In it, the author describes their personal experiences and opinions. In addition, in their content the author provides unique photos of the product to prove that they really played the game.

Expertise

Search quality raters need to determine whether authors have expertise in a given topic. In other words, they determine whether they have the knowledge and qualifications required to provide reliable information. Expertise often goes hand in hand with experience, but they are two different concepts.

An example might be a topic about saving money. Some people seek financial advice from an accredited professional (expertise), while others look for real-life examples of strategies that worked in specific cases (experience). Both types of content offer some value to searchers. This means they perform well within Google E-E-A-T.

1. 01Life experienceReal, practical knowledge of the topic.
2. 02Online credibilityBased on Stanford research.
3. 03First-hand knowledgePersonal, unique insights.
4. 04ExpertiseDeep understanding of the field.
5. 05AI and experienceArtificial intelligence does not have.

Real, human experience builds the foundation of trust that AI cannot authentically replace.

Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness means overall reputation in the industry, gained particularly among experts and influencers in a given niche. Google quality raters were instructed to assess the authoritativeness of the creator, the content and the website.

For example, an article about stomach pain written by WebMD has authoritativeness for the reasons below:

• WebMD is a well-known medical advice publication,
• WebMD’s authors and editors are specialists in wellness and health,
• the content is accurate because it includes expert advice and answers (usually from doctors).

It is best if other entities with authority in the industry link to your content because it provides value. In other words, people know you and your education and perceive you as a leader in the industry. They regard you as a good source of information.

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is the most important part of E-E-A-T SEO. Quality raters must take into account the creator, the content and the website. It is necessary to explain who wrote the content in question and edit it for factual accuracy or cite reliable sources. It is a mistake to hide content behind an ad wall.

This includes not only content marketing. In Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, a “checkout page in an online store that has an unsecured connection” is referred to as an untrustworthy page.

What does E-E-A-T mean for SEO and why is it important?

Trust is earned by demonstrating experience, expertise and authority, according to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. E-E-A-T is an important quality signal. In the real world, we also trust sources and information, as well as advice from people with authority.

Google gives a great example in the Google Search Central Blog, pointing out that if you want to find information about tax, you will browse content created by accountants. A tax adviser or accountant will be a highly desirable source of information because of their experience, expertise and authority on the subject. You can trust such people and be confident of receiving accurate information.

Google wants to provide users with accurate information. To achieve a higher position on the search results page, you need to demonstrate E-E-A-T.

Demonstrating E-E-A-T in Google

SEO activities are responsible for delivering what is needed to meet E-E-A-T standards. There are various ways to demonstrate experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness.

Stantford Persuasive Technology Lab developed a range of guidelines for creating web credibility. These were based on three years of research involving more than 4,500 participants. They are as follows:

(Experience) Experience

You should think about life experience. First-hand experience related to the topic being described is especially important. Experience is particularly important in an increasingly AI-generated digital world. AI is not able to demonstrate real experience. At best, such solutions allow assumptions to be made about people’s experiences, but the generated content will not be unique.

It is probably no coincidence that Google announced the addition of “Experience” to the Search Quality Rater Guidelines shortly after launching ChatGPT. Experience is a core element that helps distinguish content created by humans from content written by AI. Nevertheless, the topic is debatable, as Google removed the section about AI-generated content from its documentation. Currently, content is supposed to be helpful.

Experience can be demonstrated by sharing information with your audience about the people behind the content. This aligns with Stantford Persuasive Technology Lab guidelines, such as:

You can showcase your experience by sharing the faces behind your website. This statement lines up with Stanford’s web credibility guidelines to:

• show that a real organisation or company is responsible for creating the website,
• highlight expertise within the organisation and in the content and services provided,
• show that the website is created by honest and trustworthy people.

Achieving this does not have to be complicated. It is worth thinking about creating a well-considered “about us” page to provide information about the team’s qualifications. Think about what would make you feel safe before you spend money on a given product or service. Then transfer that to the digital world.

(Expertise) Expertise

Expertise refers to the level of knowledge demonstrated in an article or by the writer. The guidelines for raters suggest that the author’s expertise or authority on a given topic plays an important role.

However, there is some evidence suggesting that author authority on its own does not matter in E-E-A-T. One example is a WordStream article. The author is unknown, but searching for the phrase “Google E-A-T” makes an article by an unknown person appear on the first search results page with the appropriate snippet.

It can be assumed that Google considers this article the best result in the search results and it is probably getting many clicks. In this example, it seems that author authority does not affect Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. However, it should not be underestimated. WordStream is probably a site with high authority. Moreover, the author’s expertise has been specified in the Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

In the age of AI development and a more sophisticated Google algorithm, it is a good idea to build trust with the people reading the content. It is therefore worth considering adding the following elements:

• the author’s first and last name,
• a descriptive biography containing:
  • relevant qualifications,
  • links to social media profiles,
• a person schema with various certificates and information relating to the profession.

Building trust among your audience will result in their positive engagement. This signals to the algorithm that the site is trustworthy and deserves a high ranking in search results.

(Authoritativeness) Authority

Authority means the extent to which the content creator is known as an excellent source of information on a given topic. This can be achieved in three main ways:

• building a strong content architecture covering all aspects of the given topic,
• earning external links from other sites with authority,
• building a digital profile or personal brand that is an expert in the given field.

Authority, expert knowledge and experience work together. You cannot be an authority in a given field without experience and expert knowledge, and vice versa. Building topical authority makes sense in terms of meeting Google E-E-A-T requirements and in the real world.

For example, by hiring an SEO consultant who can provide information about keywords, such a person may be regarded as an authority. If that same person provides information on keywords, external links and technical SEO while remaining confident, then their authority will be even greater. If an SEO specialist can do all of the above and prove their expert knowledge through case studies (experience) and connect SEO with other forms of marketing, then such a person will have the highest authority.

You will most likely trust and hire the person with the greatest authority. When it comes to E-E-A-T, you can demonstrate authority through a solid content creation strategy. Your content strategy should cover everything a potential buyer/site visitor wants to know. So develop and document a strategy for providing answers in a way that demonstrates E-E-A-T in every article.

The more high-quality content is successfully indexed in Google, the greater authority your site will gain in the given field. Again, the idea of creating useful content is supported by Standford’s guidelines:

• make it easy to contact you,
• allow easy verification of the accuracy of the information on the site,
• design the site so that it looks professional (or suitable for a specific purpose),
• make the site easy to use and useful,
• update the content on the site frequently (at least show that it was reviewed recently),
• limit promotional content (e.g. ads, offers),
• avoid any errors whatsoever (even the smallest ones).

Useful content that provides support for buyers will naturally help achieve the above goals. 

External links from sites with authority

Although they have less power than they used to, external links still help point to authoritative sites. If someone publishes a link to your site with a reference to the information published, it is a sign that you can be trusted.

Earning external links from other sites with authority shows that your site is trustworthy. When it comes to authority, it relates more to topical authority associated with experience and expert knowledge, rather than domain authority.

Creating a digital profile or personal brand

If you can show Google who you are and what you do, you can gain authority and expert knowledge on a specific topic. An example may be Sara Taher (SEO consultant). Her knowledge panels feature links to social media and publications authored by her. Google therefore recognises her as an authority in the SEO industry.

(Trustworthiness) Reliability

It can be seen that trust is built by demonstrating experience, expert knowledge and authority together. Building E-E-A-T is a long-term process. You need to pay attention to the above key issues when creating a content delivery strategy. This will ensure that SEO activities bring the right results.