E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Google uses the concept to assess the quality of content, and AI search engines also rely on similar trust signals when choosing which sources to cite.
Who actually wrote this, and why should anyone believe it? That is exactly the question Google asks of every page that wants to rank near the top, and exactly the question E-E-A-T answers. It is not a ranking factor in the technical sense, but an assessment framework that describes how the quality and trustworthiness of a source can be recognised.
What the four letters mean
- Experience: first-hand, practical involvement with the topic, product or place being written about. A trades business that shows a project it carried out itself, rather than just promising a service.
- Expertise: demonstrable knowledge in the relevant field, for example through training, certificates or clearly well-founded content.
- Authoritativeness: a reputation as a recognised source in your own field, visible in mentions, links and reviews from others.
- Trustworthiness: transparency, accurate information and a secure, reputable overall presence. Google itself calls trust the most important of the four factors, because the other three ultimately contribute to it.
Why E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor
E-E-A-T comes from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines, the internal handbook human testers use to assess the quality of search results. There is no single E-E-A-T score calculated by an algorithm. The guidelines do, however, describe which signals Google rates positively, and many of these signals (real authors, sourced facts, correct contact details) very much do feed into the actual ranking systems.
Why it also matters for AI search
When an AI search engine decides which source to cite in an AI answer, it weighs similar signals: identifiable authors instead of anonymous texts, sourced facts instead of vague claims, a credible overall presence instead of a pure sales page. Building these signals properly for Google at the same time improves your chances of being named as a source in AI Overviews and similar AI answers.
What businesses can actually do
- Credit authors by their real names and recognisable qualifications instead of publishing anonymous blog posts.
- Show references, project examples or case studies, not just service promises.
- Actively request customer reviews and reply to them publicly.
- State your name, address and phone number identically and in full everywhere.
- Make press mentions, awards or memberships visible, where you have them.
- A proper legal notice (Impressum), working HTTPS and transparent privacy information as the foundation.
Related terms
Trust signals such as name, address and phone number are grouped together under NAP. For local businesses, a well-maintained Google Business Profile is one of the most visible building blocks of authority and trust, embedded in the wider practice of Local SEO.
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