E-E-A-T infographic styled as a magazine cover: four large letter blocks for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust, a Who, How and Why panel, four key facts, a pull quote that trust is most important, and four things to do this week.

Oct 5, 2026

E-E-A-T Infographic: Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust

E-E-A-T explained: what experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust mean, why trust matters most, the Who, How and Why test, and what to do this week.

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<a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/eeat"><img src="https://searchinsider.io/research/eeat/eeat-infographic.png" alt="E-E-A-T infographic styled as a magazine cover: four large letter blocks for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust, a Who, How and Why panel, four key facts, a pull quote that trust is most important, and four things to do this week." style="max-width:680px;width:100%;height:auto;" /></a><p>Source: <a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/eeat">What is E-E-A-T? infographic</a> by Search Insider.</p>

What is E-E-A-T?

The short answer: Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust: the qualities Google's systems try to reward in content. It isn't a single ranking factor, and of the four, Google says trust matters most.

Based on Google Search Central and Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

What it shows

Experience: first-hand or life experience with the topic.
Expertise: the knowledge or skill the topic needs.
Authoritativeness: known as a go-to source for the topic.
Trust: accurate, honest, safe and reliable. Google says trust is most important.
E-E-A-T is not a single ranking factor.
YMYL topics like health, money and safety get even more weight on E-E-A-T.
Raters don't rank pages.
The extra E for Experience was added in December 2022.

What to do

Authors: Add bylines that link to real author pages.
Content: Show first-hand experience, cite sources and keep facts current.
Site: Make it clear who runs the site and how to contact you.

The walkthrough

What does E-E-A-T stand for?

E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness ^[1]. Google's rater guidelines define experience as first-hand or life experience with the topic, expertise as the necessary knowledge or skill, authoritativeness as being known as a go-to source, and trust as the extent to which a page is accurate, honest, safe and reliable ^[2].

Which part of E-E-A-T matters most?

Trust. Google says that of these aspects, trust is most important ^[1]. Its rater guidelines add that untrustworthy pages have low E-E-A-T no matter how experienced, expert or authoritative they may seem ^[2].

Is E-E-A-T a ranking factor?

Not directly. Google says E-E-A-T itself isn't a specific ranking factor, but its systems use a mix of factors that can identify content with good E-E-A-T ^[1]. Search quality raters help Google evaluate its systems, but rater data is not used directly in ranking algorithms ^[1].

What is YMYL and why does it matter for E-E-A-T?

YMYL, short for Your Money or Your Life, covers topics that could significantly impact the health, financial stability or safety of people, or the welfare of society ^[1]. Google says its systems give even more weight to content with strong E-E-A-T on these topics ^[1].

How do you show E-E-A-T?

Google suggests judging content by Who, How and Why: make it clear who created it, explain how it was produced, and make sure the reason it exists is to help people ^[1]. Google also asks whether pages carry a byline where one would be expected, leading to more information about the author ^[1].

When was Experience added to E-A-T?

Google added the extra E for Experience to its quality rater guidelines in December 2022, turning E-A-T into E-E-A-T ^[3].

Sources

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