E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. It is the framework Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines use to describe the kind of content and source that deserves to rank well, and it maps closely onto what AI assistants need before they will name a source with confidence. It is not a single score that can be measured, but each part can be shown on a website in concrete ways.
Where E-E-A-T comes from
Google employs thousands of external quality raters who assess search results using a public document, the Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Their ratings do not change rankings directly. Google uses them to test whether changes to its ranking systems produce better results. The guidelines therefore describe what Google is aiming for.
The framework was E-A-T until December 2022, when Google added “experience”. The guidelines place trust at the centre: a page that is untrustworthy has low E-E-A-T however expert its author may be.
The four parts
| Part | Question it asks | How to show it |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | Has the author actually done or used what they write about? | First-hand details, photos or screenshots of real work, what went wrong, results |
| Expertise | Does the author have the knowledge the topic needs? | Named author, relevant role and background, accurate technical detail |
| Authoritativeness | Is the author or site a recognised source for this topic? | Mentions and links from respected sites, consistent profiles, focus on a clear subject area |
| Trustworthiness | Is the page accurate, honest and safe to rely on? | Sources cited, contact details, clear ownership, no inflated claims |
Pages on topics that can affect money, health, safety or major decisions, which the guidelines call “Your Money or Your Life” topics, are held to the highest standard.
Why it matters for AI search
An AI assistant recommending a company takes on some of the risk if the recommendation is wrong. The signals it can use to judge a source overlap with E-E-A-T: whether the author and company can be identified, whether the facts are consistent across sources, whether the content shows real work, and whether others mention the source in connection with the topic. Machine-readable identity helps here too. Person schema with sameAs links to real profiles lets a system connect an article to a known author.
A checklist for business websites
- Every article names its author and links to a page about them
- An About page names the people behind the business with their real roles and experience
- Author and company facts match LinkedIn and other profiles exactly
- Person and Organization schema connect authors to the company and to their profiles
- Content includes first-hand material: your process, your numbers, your screenshots
- Claims that come from elsewhere name and link their source
- The site shows a physical address and a working contact method
- Pages avoid promises nobody can keep, such as guaranteed rankings
- Dates are shown, and updated only when the content changes
This site applies the same checklist. The About page names both co-founders with photos and LinkedIn profiles, and the site’s schema links each of them to the company.
Frequently asked questions
Is E-E-A-T a ranking factor?
Google has said E-E-A-T is not a specific ranking factor. Its systems use many signals that together aim to reward content showing these qualities.
Do author bios help if nobody knows the author?
A bio alone does little. It helps when it is accurate, specific about experience, consistent with the author’s other profiles, and backed by content that shows the experience it claims.
Can a new company have strong E-E-A-T?
Yes, if the people behind it have real experience and the site shows it. Authority takes time to build through mentions elsewhere, but experience, expertise and trust can be demonstrated from the first page.