EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

The standard is strictest for topics where a wrong answer can cost someone money or harm their health, which Google calls "Your Money or Your Life" topics. The ideas also help any page compete against a bigger site. A page written by nobody in particular, with no sign that anyone has done the thing, loses to one that shows it.

• Put a real author with a real background on pages that make claims.
• Show first-hand evidence: your own screenshots, results and details only someone who did the work would know.
• Cite sources for facts and keep them current.
• Make ownership and contact details easy to find, and keep prices and facts up to date.
• Earn mentions and backlinks from reputable sites in your field.

Google employs people, called quality raters, to judge search results against written guidelines. EEAT summarises what those guidelines look for. Experience means the author has actually done or used the thing described. Expertise means they have the knowledge or qualifications. Authoritativeness means the author or site is recognised by others in the field. Trustworthiness is the centre of it: the page is accurate, honest and safe to rely on. The first E was added in December 2022, when the older EAT became EEAT.

It is not a score and not a single ranking factor. Google uses many signals that line up with these ideas.

• Inventing an author or credentials.
• Publishing generic summaries that any competitor could write.
• Treating EEAT as a checklist to tick rather than a standard to meet.