SEO is not just a bunch of keywords that you try to rank for by using them the most on your website. While Google certainly pays attention to keywords and how they’re used, there is a ranking system it uses to determine whether your site gets to rank for those words. It’s EEAT.

It’s not a score and it’s not a setting. It’s the way Google tries to figure out whether a website is worth recommending to someone who just typed a query into the search bar. Once you understand what it is, a lot of things about how Google works will start to make more sense.

What EEAT Stands For

EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google introduced the original version in 2014 as a way to evaluate the quality of a site’s content (it was just EAT back then). In late 2022 they added the first E for Experience, recognizing that having actually done something is very different from just knowing about it, because both factors matter.

It’s not a direct ranking factor with a score you can try to optimize. It’s more the lens Google looks through to decide whether your website is a credible, reliable source of information. Websites that demonstrate strong EEAT will rank better over time. Websites that don’t will start losing their higher placement, especially as Google refines its judgement of their EEAT.

Let’s talk about what each of those letters means.

Experience: Have You Done the Work?

Experience is the first letter, the newest addition, and the one business owners will understand most easily, but that they don’t always show very well on their websites.

Google wants to know that the person or business behind the content on the site has real, firsthand knowledge of what they’re talking about. Not understanding from a textbook or a class, but actual hands-on experience in whatever the content is talking about.

We have a client who is a bathroom remodeling company. Anyone can write a blog post about tile trends or walk-in shower designs by pulling from other websites. But a contractor who has done hundreds of bathroom remodels can share something more than just words. They can post photos of their actual work, talk about what they’ve learned and specific challenges from their remodels, and approach topics that others might not think about because they were there when the project was being worked on. That’s the kind of experience Google is looking for that first “E.”

For most small businesses, demonstrating experience means showing your actual work with real project photos and specific examples. These are details that can only come from someone who’s done that particular kind of work.

Expertise: Do You Know What You’re Talking About?

Expertise is about depth of your displayed knowledge, and it matters a lot in fields where messing up has real consequences.

Google pays very close attention in what it calls YMYL categories. This acronym stands for “Your Money or Your Life.” Healthcare, legal advice, financial guidance, and anything else where bad information could genuinely hurt people. For businesses who operate in those fields, the bar is set higher than it is for a toy store or a pizza restaurant.

A medical practice’s website content should reflect real clinical knowledge. A blog post about ear health written by someone with no background in medicine is not the same thing as content authored, or at least reviewed, by a licensed physician who specializes in ear, nose, and throat care. Google knows the difference, and it wants potential patients who are trying to decide whether to trust a provider to know too.

Even outside of YMYL, though, expertise is still important. It shows up in the depth of your site content, the accuracy of the information you’re giving, your credentials, and how you’ve performed in your business field.

Authoritativeness: Are Recognized in Your Field?

Authority is about your reputation. It’s the piece of EEAT that is most outside your direct control, which is why it carries so much weight with Google. You can’t fake it.

Google looks outside of the content on your website to determine whether your business is recognized as a credible source by others. Your business gains a better reputation by getting mentions in news or industry publications and journals, links from other sites with good reputations, professional memberships and certifications, and awards. Showing you are established in the places that matter to your industry is the best way to cement this.

A business that’s been quoted in a local article, is listed with its industry associations, and earns links from credible websites looks better to Google than a polished website with no external presence. Both might do excellent work, but only one is showing authority signals Google can actually verify.

Building authority takes time, and it comes from real involvement in your community and your industry. Write things that others find worth referencing, build relationships that get real mentions, and earn a reputation that isn’t just based on what you say about yourself on your own website.

Trustworthiness: Can People Count on You?

Trust is foundational to EEAT and Google says this plainly. Trustworthiness is the most critical element, and the other three exist largely to support it.

Trust signals are both technical and human. On the technical side, they require a secure website, accurate and current business information, a clear privacy policy, and contact details that are easy to find. These may seem small, but all together they tell Google whether a business is legitimate and operating transparently.

On the human side, trust comes from your reviews. A strong review profile on Google or other relevant platforms like Yelp tells Google that real people have worked with you and found it worth saying something about their experience. Reviews are the most direct and accessible way that a small business can build trust signals that Google is able to evaluate, which is why we always tell businesses to seek them out.

Responding to reviews is a great way to make them even more effective. This signals that your business is active and engaged, and that you take customer relationships seriously.