E-E-A-T is a framework from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines, the handbook human raters use to evaluate search results. It asks whether content shows first-hand experience, whether its creator has expertise, whether the creator or site is a recognized authority on the subject, and above all whether the page and site can be trusted. Raters' assessments do not directly change rankings; Google uses them to test and improve its ranking systems, which aim to reward the same qualities.
The four parts
Google added the first E, Experience, in December 2022. Before that the framework was known as E-A-T.
- Experience: first-hand involvement with the subject, such as having used the product, run the process or lived the situation.
- Expertise: the knowledge or skill needed to cover the subject well.
- Authoritativeness: being a recognized, go-to source on the subject.
- Trustworthiness: being accurate, honest, safe and reliable. The guidelines describe trust as the most important of the four.
Is E-E-A-T a ranking factor?
Not as a single score. Google has said there is no E-E-A-T metric in its systems. Instead, its systems use a mix of signals intended to identify content that demonstrates these qualities, and the rater guidelines describe what good looks like so Google can check whether its systems are getting it right.
The weight placed on E-E-A-T rises for “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics, which can affect health, finances, safety or well-being. Content about payroll compliance, security or financial reporting sits closer to that end than a post about meeting etiquette.
Showing E-E-A-T on a SaaS site
- Put real authors on content, with a short bio stating why they know the subject, and link to an author page.
- Include first-hand material: original screenshots, real workflows, data from your own product (shared with permission and without inventing figures), and lessons from customer work.
- Have subject experts write or review technical and regulated topics, and say so on the page.
- Cite primary sources for claims and keep facts current.
- Make the company easy to verify: a clear about page, contact details, security and privacy information, and honest pricing.
Example
Adding experience to a compliance guide
A made-up security platform, Auditwise, publishes a guide to preparing for a SOC 2 audit. The first version is a generic summary that could have been written by anyone.
The revised guide is written with Auditwise's head of compliance, who has run several audits. It adds a timeline from a real (anonymized) audit, the evidence auditors asked for most often, and mistakes the team made the first time. The byline and bio state her role and experience.
Common mistakes
Treating E-E-A-T as a checklist of page elements
Adding an author box to weak content does not make it trustworthy. The bio has to describe real expertise, and the content has to reflect it.
Inventing credentials or experience
Fake authors, made-up reviews and claimed testing that never happened damage trust and can conflict with Google's spam policies.
Questions
Google does not require them, but they help readers judge who wrote something, and they are one way to show expertise. They matter most for advice that could affect someone's money, health or safety.
Google evaluates content by its quality whatever the production method. Content produced with AI still needs accurate information, real expertise and, ideally, first-hand experience behind it to be trustworthy.
Google publishes the Search Quality Rater Guidelines as a public PDF and updates it periodically.
