Understanding Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (EEAT)

Photo of the author, Morgan Feeney

Morgan Feeney

2 min read

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. These criteria are crucial in assessing the quality of web pages and the reliability of Search results.

Experience

This refers to the first-hand experience of the content creator. A high-quality web page often reflects the personal experience and insights of its author. This aspect is particularly significant in topics where personal anecdotes or direct experience provide additional value, such as in lifestyle blogs or personal testimonials.

Expertise

Expertise concerns the knowledge and skills of the creator on the subject matter. For content on specialized topics, the expertise of the creator is a critical factor. This is especially true for “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics—areas that could significantly impact a person’s life, such as health, finance, or legal advice—where authoritative knowledge is vital.

Authoritativeness

This aspect evaluates the credibility of the creator, the main content, and the website overall. Authoritativeness is assessed by considering the reputation and credentials of the creator and the website. For instance, a medical article written by a healthcare professional and published on a renowned medical site would be considered more authoritative than the same article on a general blog.

Trust

Trustworthiness is measured by the accuracy, honesty, safety, and reliability of the content. A trustworthy page is expected to present accurate information in a transparent and honest manner. It should not have deceptive practices, misleading information, or elements that compromise user safety.

Search Quality Raters, following these guidelines, evaluate web pages for these attributes. They assess the main content (MC) quality, which should demonstrate significant effort, originality, talent, or skill. They also review the available information about the website and its creator to ensure transparency and credibility​​​​.

Conclusion

In summary, E-A-T is a comprehensive framework used by Google’s Search Quality Raters to evaluate web pages. It ensures that the pages ranked in search results are not only relevant but also reliable, coming from credible sources and providing trustworthy information. This holistic approach helps maintain the quality and integrity of search results, offering users valuable and reliable information.