A E-A-T refers to expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, Google’s quality criteria for evaluating content, content creators, and overall website credibility
What Is E-A-T?
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—three core principles used by Google’s Quality Raters to assess the quality of content, especially for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) pages like finance, health, and legal topics. While E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor, it strongly influences how Google views your site and its content credibility.
Breakdown of E-A-T:
- Expertise – Is the content created by someone with knowledge or credentials in the subject area?
- Authoritativeness – Is the website or author recognized as a go-to source in the niche?
- Trustworthiness – Can users trust the website to provide safe, accurate, and honest information?
Why E-A-T Matters in SEO:
Google uses E-A-T to determine if your content is reliable and should rank well. Pages lacking E-A-T may rank lower, even with good on-page SEO.
How to Improve E-A-T:
- Show Author Credentials – Add bios, certifications, or relevant experience.
- Get Quality Backlinks – Especially from authoritative sources in your industry.
- Display Trust Signals – HTTPS, privacy policy, terms, customer reviews, contact info.
- Update Content Regularly – Keep information accurate and current.
- Build Brand Authority – Publish thought leadership, PR, and gain media mentions.
Example:
A health blog written by certified medical professionals with proper citations and editorial review will have strong E-A-T.
