E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is the framework Google's search quality raters use to judge whether content deserves to be trusted, and shorthand for the signals Google's systems try to reward.

What each letter means

• Experience: the author has actually used the product, run the process, or lived the situation they write about.

• Expertise: the author knows the subject deeply, whether through credentials or demonstrated skill.

• Authoritativeness: other people and sites point to this source as a reference for the topic.

• Trustworthiness: the page is accurate, honest about what it is, and safe to rely on.

Google is explicit about the hierarchy: "Of these aspects, trust is most important. The others contribute to trust, but content doesn't necessarily have to demonstrate all of them."

Is E-E-A-T a ranking factor?

Not directly. Google states that "E-E-A-T itself isn't a specific ranking factor"; rather, its systems use a mix of signals that tend to identify content with good E-E-A-T. Quality rater judgments do not feed rankings directly either, they are used to evaluate whether the systems are working.

How to demonstrate it

Write from real use, not summary: first-hand detail is hard to fake. Name your authors and let their background show. Cite sources for factual claims so readers can verify them. Keep pages accurate and current, and be plain about who is behind the site. These are the same habits that make content citable by AI answer engines, which lean on the same trust signals.