Both Google and marketers talk a lot about “EEAT,” and for people trying to understand SEO it might feel like one more acronym being thrown at them. But EEAT isn’t just a technical ranking concept. It’s much simpler than that. EEAT essentially asks, “Can people trust your business online?”

If potential customers don’t feel confident about working with you, they won’t reach out. If Google doesn’t feel confident in you, it’s algorithm is less likely to show your website in search results.

This is why harnessing the power of EEAT can be a powerful tool for enhancing online trust for both Google and your customers.

So What Does EEAT Actually Stand For?

EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness.

Those are a lot of neat sounding but kind of abstract words, right? In real terms they mean one overarching thing: Google wants to send people to businesses that look real, know what they’re talking about, and that can be trusted.

At the end of the day, that’s what Google’s customers want when they’re searching on their platform for a business like yours.

Why Google Cares (and Why Business Owners Should Too)

Google’s job is to give people the best answer to their questions. If someone searches for a roofing contractor, a financial advisor, a therapist, a restaurant, or a marketing company, Google doesn’t just look for a random collection of websites to give them. It looks for websites that appears credible, professional, and safe for them to recommend. That’s their service, so it behooves Google to make sure they give good results.

This concept matters even more when it comes to topics that are related to health, finances, legal matters, or safety, where the wrong information can cause actual harm. But even for everyday small businesses, EEAT really matters.

Even if your goal isn’t necessarily ranking first on Google, your goal should be getting customers to trust you. And the EEAT signals that help Google trust you are the same signals that help potential customers trust you as well.

What EEAT Looks Like on a Website

EEAT isn’t a “trick” we use in marketing to make search engines give you the results you want.  EEAT is all about showing Google who you are and why you’re trustworthy.

The tools we use to do that are:

• A website that clearly explains who you are and what you do
• Real names, real people, and real contact information
• Content that is genuinely helpful (not generic rehashing of keywords)
• Proof that you’ve actually done the work you claim to do

When a person visits your website, they should feel like they’ve walked into a real business, not a stock website page full of random attempts at keyword stuffing.

Google notices when websites are generic and feel hollow. But believe it or not, people notice it even more, even if they don’t realize it consciously. And they will walk away from it.

Experience: Showing You’ve Actually Done the Work

The first part of EEAT is Experience. That simply means demonstrating that you’ve done real-world work in your field: served customers, solved problems, or delivered real results.

For many small businesses, this is the most natural part. You do your work every day. The key for EEAT is making sure your website shows that.

That might mean talking about:

• how long you’ve been in business
• what kinds of projects or clients you’ve worked with
• what you’ve learned by doing the work
• real-world examples

People want to know they’re dealing with someone who has been there, not someone copying information from someone else who has.

Expertise: Knowing What You’re Talking About

Expertise (the second E) is about accuracy and knowledge.

On your website, that can be demonstrated with:

• clear, helpful explanations of your services
• blog posts that answer common questions
• content that sounds like it came from a real professional (not unedited AI slop)

This isn’t about writing dissertations or using technical jargon everywhere. It’s about sounding like a professional who understands their work and cares enough to explain it clearly to those who might not.

When your content is thoughtful, useful and well-written, it builds confidence for both Google and your audience.

Authoritativeness: Being Seen as Credible

Authoritativeness is about your reputation.

Do other people recognize your business as legitimate? Does your website make your business feel established or does it make it look like a Temu version of itself? Authoritativeness can be illustrated by things like:

• reviews and testimonials
• mentions in community groups or organizations
• partnerships and affiliations
• being a thought leader and speaking, teaching, volunteering, or contributing knowledge in your field

Again, this really isn’t just about simple SEO. People trust businesses that other people trust. Google does too.

Trustworthiness: The Foundation of Everything

At the end of the day, EEAT really comes down to the “T,” which is trust.

Trust is built when your website feels honest, legit, and real. That includes:

• being clear about what you do and don’t do
• having easily visible contact info
• showing pricing (or explaining how pricing works)
• presenting information that is factual, current, and not misleading

It also means avoiding content that feels copied, AI-generated, or stuffed with keywords for the sake of trying to rank. If your website reads like a chatbot, people sense it. So does Google. And you don’t want either of them feeling that way.

Trust is what convinces someone to take that crucial step of calling you, booking you, buying your product, or contacting you.

EEAT Isn’t About “Gaming Google”

It’s about having a real, credible online business presence.

If your website is informative, honest, human, and clearly connected to a real business, you are already supporting EEAT!

The goal is not to beat Google’s algorithm, it is to build trust. When you do that, your SEO will naturally improve, and your conversions will too.

How Wild Iris Marketing Can Help

This is where we come in.

At Wild Iris Marketing, we do more than just SEO and digital ads. We help businesses build websites and content that reflect who they truly are in the best possible light. That includes helping you create human content, making sure customers can easily understand what you do, helping organize your information so it’s useful, readable, and trustworthy, and strengthening the credibility and professionalism of your online presence.

Good marketing isn’t about tricks, no matter what some big marketing companies try to tell you. It’s about communication, clarity, and trust.