GEO / AI search

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

Q: What does E-E-A-T mean?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. It is a Google concept for assessing content quality, since 2022 with the additional first ”E” for Experience. It is not a direct ranking factor but a guideline for quality raters and for indirect algorithmic signals.

Q: What is new about the second E for Experience?

Experience has been an addition since December 2022: has the author actually experienced the matter themselves? Concrete practical examples, own screenshots and first-hand tests count for more than mere compilation. This is particularly relevant for product reviews, travel and restaurants.

Q: How do you signal E-E-A-T?

Through six elements: (1) author bylines with photo and short biography, (2) author pages with specialist publications and LinkedIn, (3) legal notice and privacy policy, (4) editorial guidelines, (5) backlinks from authoritative sources, (6) consistent NAP data and a Wikidata link.

Q: For which topics is E-E-A-T especially important?

YMYL topics (Your Money Your Life): finance, health, law, safety. Google assesses E-E-A-T signals strictly in those areas. For general topics (recipes, travel, hobbies) the requirements are lower, but still relevant.

Also known as: E-E-A-T, EEAT, EAT, E-A-T

E-E-A-T is Google's acronym for four quality criteria used to assess web pages: Experience (has the author actually practised the subject themselves?), Expertise (do they have the necessary background knowledge?), Authoritativeness (are they recognised as competent by the community?) and Trustworthiness (is the content accurate and honest?). The criteria were introduced in 2014 as E-A-T; Experience was added in 2022. They are particularly critical for YMYL topics (Your Money or Your Life — health, finance, legal) and have meanwhile become a central signal for GEO citation as well.

The four pillars in concrete terms

Experience — first-hand experience. Anyone writing about products has tested them personally (photos, own measurements, personal anecdotes).
Expertise — subject knowledge, ideally with demonstrable qualifications (degree, certification, many years of professional experience).
Authoritativeness — external recognition. Mentions in trade media, backlinks from authoritative sources, speaker slots at conferences.
Trustworthiness — everything that builds credibility: legal notice, contact details, transparent corrections, accurate facts, a secure HTTPS connection, transparent affiliate disclosure.

E-E-A-T signals that count

Visible author byline with photo, short bio and Schema.org Person markup including sameAs to LinkedIn/ORCID.
Date markup with datePublished and dateModified — visible in the HTML and in the schema.
About page with a clear brand story, team introduction and headquarters.
Contact information with a genuine telephone number, email address and postal address.
Legal notice and privacy policy that are legally compliant and transparent.
External evidence in articles (studies, statistics, primary sources).
Corrections marked visibly (update note).
Industry connections — mentioning memberships, awards and certifications.

E-E-A-T and GEO

AI engines such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini explicitly use E-E-A-T signals as markers of source quality. A domain with a clear author byline, sameAs links, a visible update date and external evidence is cited as a source significantly more often than a technically similar but seemingly anonymous website. In 2026, E-E-A-T is no longer merely an SEO lever but a direct GEO multiplier — the same technical effort, twice the citation effect.

Example from practice

Example: A financial advice website (YMYL!) had solid content but no author profiles, no update date and no about page with a team introduction. Implementation: author bylines with photo, bio and LinkedIn sameAs for all 5 editors, dateModified per article, a detailed about page with team and history, all affiliate links transparently marked, external evidence in every article. After 4 months: visibility rose by 90 %, and appearances in ChatGPT answers to finance questions doubled — with zero new backlinks. A classic E-E-A-T lever.

Frequently asked questions

What does E-E-A-T mean?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. It is a Google concept for assessing content quality, since 2022 with the additional first ”E” for Experience. It is not a direct ranking factor but a guideline for quality raters and for indirect algorithmic signals.

What is new about the second E for Experience?

Experience has been an addition since December 2022: has the author actually experienced the matter themselves? Concrete practical examples, own screenshots and first-hand tests count for more than mere compilation. This is particularly relevant for product reviews, travel and restaurants.

How do you signal E-E-A-T?

Through six elements: (1) author bylines with photo and short biography, (2) author pages with specialist publications and LinkedIn, (3) legal notice and privacy policy, (4) editorial guidelines, (5) backlinks from authoritative sources, (6) consistent NAP data and a Wikidata link.

For which topics is E-E-A-T especially important?

YMYL topics (Your Money Your Life): finance, health, law, safety. Google assesses E-E-A-T signals strictly in those areas. For general topics (recipes, travel, hobbies) the requirements are lower, but still relevant.

Used in Rankmio for

E-E-A-T audit per page

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Last updated: 2026-10-28 · Browse all glossary entries

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