E-E-A-T, explained
E-E-A-T comes from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines, the document Google gives to the people who evaluate search results to help it test and improve its systems. It stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust. The first "E", experience, was added in December 2022, recognizing that first-hand experience is valuable alongside formal expertise. Google describes trust as the most important of the four.
E-E-A-T is not a single score or a direct ranking factor. Raters do not change rankings themselves. Rather, the framework describes what Google's systems aim to reward: content created by people who know the subject, published by sources with a credible reputation, on sites that are honest about who they are. The bar is higher for topics that can affect health, finances, safety or legal outcomes, which Google calls "Your Money or Your Life" topics.
For professional firms and premium brands, E-E-A-T is a description of good practice rather than a checklist. Name the people behind the work and their credentials. Show real experience, such as specific approaches and considered opinions, not generic copy. Earn coverage and reviews from credible sources. Be transparent about the business. The same qualities make a brand easier for AI assistants to trust and cite.