E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — Google's quality signals for content.

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a framework used in Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines to evaluate the quality of web content. While not a direct ranking algorithm, Google's systems are designed to surface content that demonstrates these qualities.

Experience refers to first-hand, real-world experience with the topic being discussed. Expertise refers to subject-matter knowledge and qualifications. Authoritativeness relates to how the site or author is perceived by others in the field — typically evidenced by citations, backlinks, and mentions. Trustworthiness covers accuracy, transparency, and the absence of deceptive practices.

For B2B companies, E-E-A-T has practical implications: content should be written or reviewed by demonstrable subject matter experts; author bio pages should establish credentials; case studies and original data strengthen the 'experience' signal; and third-party citations (backlinks from industry publications) strengthen authoritativeness.

E-E-A-T is especially important for YMYL ('Your Money or Your Life') topics — financial, health, and legal content — but its principles apply to B2B content too, particularly when the content touches on procurement, compliance, or technical decisions.