What Is E-E-A-T? Definition for SEO
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness: Google's quality criteria for web content.
What is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. These are the criteria Google's quality raters use to assess web content.
Example: a physiotherapy practice publishes a guide on back pain. The article names the therapist who wrote it, lists her qualifications, describes cases from her own work and links to its sources. The site runs on HTTPS and has a complete legal notice. Each of these details supports one of the four E-E-A-T criteria.
The four pillars in detail
- Experience – does the author have personal experience with the topic? First-hand accounts and case studies strengthen this signal
- Expertise – does the author have specialist knowledge? Qualifications, training and demonstrable competence
- Authoritativeness – is the source recognized as an authority? Mentions, citations and backlinks from respected sites
- Trustworthiness – is the website trustworthy? HTTPS, legal notice, transparent author information
E-E-A-T and AI visibility
E-E-A-T matters beyond Google rankings. AI models such as ChatGPT also prefer authoritative sources. Websites with strong E-E-A-T signals are cited more often as a source in AI answers. For GEO, optimizing the E-E-A-T factors is therefore essential.
This entry gives the short definition. For how AI systems evaluate these signals, read E-E-A-T for generative AI. For how Google assesses them, read the E-E-A-T score at Google.
Frequently asked questions
What is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. These are the criteria Google's quality raters use to assess web content.
Why does E-E-A-T matter for SEO?
Strong E-E-A-T signals support Google rankings, and AI models such as ChatGPT also prefer authoritative sources. Websites with strong signals are cited more often in AI answers.
What is an example of E-E-A-T?
A physiotherapy practice publishes a guide on back pain written by a named therapist, with her qualifications, her own case experience and linked sources, on a site with HTTPS and a legal notice.