E-E-A-T: Build Trust Signals Google Values

Reading time: 9 minutes

TLDR

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google’s quality signals that heavily influence rankings. Experience means first-hand knowledge, expertise shows subject mastery, authoritativeness earns citations and backlinks, and trustworthiness requires accuracy and transparency. Critical for health, finance, and legal topics. Build E-E-A-T by adding author bios with credentials, citing sources, earning third-party mentions, displaying certifications, using HTTPS, and publishing clear contact information. Google’s human quality raters evaluate sites on these signals to train ranking algorithms.

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Quick Definition: E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The quality signals Google uses to evaluate whether your content deserves to rank. It’s not a direct ranking factor, but it heavily influences how Google’s algorithms assess your site.

Key insight: Technical SEO gets you in the game. E-E-A-T wins the game.

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What is E-E-A-T?

The Four Components

Experience (Added 2022):

• First-hand, real-world experience with the topic
• “I did this myself” vs “I read about this”

Expertise:

• Formal or informal knowledge in the subject
• Credentials, skills, practical know-how

Authoritativeness:

• Recognition as a go-to source in your field
• Citations, backlinks, mentions from other experts

Trustworthiness:

• Accuracy, transparency, and safety of your site
• Secure site (HTTPS), clear policies, fact-checking

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Why E-E-A-T Matters

Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines

What are Quality Raters?

• Real humans hired by Google to evaluate search results
• They use a 168-page document (Search Quality Rater Guidelines)
• E-E-A-T is mentioned 135 times in these guidelines

What Quality Raters do:

• Rate search results on E-E-A-T
• Don’t directly change rankings
• Their ratings train Google’s algorithms

Result: Sites with high E-E-A-T signals rank better over time.

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)

What is YMYL? Topics that can impact someone’s:

• Health or safety
• Financial stability
• Legal standing
• Major life decisions

YMYL examples:

• Medical advice
• Financial planning
• Legal information
• News and current events
• Shopping/transactions

Why it matters: Google holds YMYL content to extremely high E-E-A-T standards. Low E-E-A-T on YMYL topics = poor rankings.

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Experience: Show You’ve Done It

What Google Looks For

Strong Experience signals:

• First-person perspective (“I tested this for 6 months…”)
• Photos/videos of you doing the thing
• Specific details only someone with experience would know
• Results, outcomes, lessons learned

Weak Experience signals:

• Generic advice from research (“Studies show…”)
• Rewritten content from other sites
• No personal anecdotes or proof

How to Demonstrate Experience

1. Add author bylines with experience credentials:

<div class="author-bio">
  <img src="author.jpg" alt="Jane Smith">
  <p>
    <strong>Jane Smith</strong> has managed SEO campaigns for 50+ small
    businesses over 8 years. She increased organic traffic by 300% for
    a local bakery using the strategies in this guide.
  </p>
</div>

2. Include case studies and real results:

## Real Example: How We Improved LCP by 60%

Before: 4.2 seconds LCP
After: 1.7 seconds LCP

We tested this on our client's e-commerce site (3,000 products).
Here's what worked:
1. Converted all hero images to WebP (saved 1.8 MB)
2. Preloaded LCP image with <link rel="preload">
3. Upgraded hosting from shared to VPS

[Screenshot of PageSpeed Insights before/after]

3. Add original photos/videos:

<!-- Show you actually did the work -->
<img src="my-workspace-screenshot.jpg" alt="My Google Search Console dashboard showing 300% traffic increase">

4. Be specific (not generic):

Generic (low experience):

“Core Web Vitals are important for SEO.”

Specific (high experience):

“When we improved our LCP from 4.1s to 1.8s, our average position for commercial keywords jumped from #8 to #4 within 3 weeks. Traffic increased 127%.”

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Expertise: Prove You Know Your Stuff

What Google Looks For

Formal expertise:

• Degrees, certifications, licenses
• Professional titles (Doctor, CPA, Engineer)
• Industry recognition

Informal expertise:

• Years of hands-on experience
• Portfolio of work
• Published articles, speaking engagements

Note: For some topics (e.g., parenting, cooking), informal expertise matters more than formal credentials.

How to Demonstrate Expertise

1. Author bios with credentials:

<div class="author-bio">
  <strong>Dr. Sarah Johnson, MD</strong>
  Board-certified dermatologist with 15 years of experience treating
  acne. Published 12 peer-reviewed articles on skincare. Member of
  American Academy of Dermatology.
</div>

2. About page with team credentials:

## Our Team

**John Smith - SEO Director**
- Google Analytics Certified
- 10 years SEO experience
- Former SEO lead at Fortune 500 company
- Speaker at SearchLove Conference

**Jane Doe - Content Strategist**
- M.A. in Digital Marketing
- Published in Search Engine Journal, Moz
- 500+ articles written on content marketing

3. Link to author profiles:

<a href="/author/john-smith" rel="author">
  John Smith
</a>

4. Cite sources and research:

According to Google's 2023 Search Quality Rater Guidelines [1], E-E-A-T
is evaluated across three dimensions: page-level, site-level, and
creator-level signals.

[1] https://guidelines.raterhub.com/searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf

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Authoritativeness: Become a Recognized Source

What Google Looks For

Authority signals:

• Backlinks from authoritative sites in your niche
• Brand mentions (even without links)
• Citations in news, research, or industry publications
• Author recognition (name mentioned on other sites)
• Awards, rankings, certifications

How to Build Authoritativeness

1. Earn backlinks from reputable sites:

How:

• Create original research (surveys, studies)
• Publish comprehensive guides worth citing
• Guest post on industry publications
• Get featured in news articles

Example:

• Your article on “Local SEO” gets linked from Search Engine Journal
• Google sees: “Industry publication trusts this source”

2. Get brand mentions:

How:

• Contribute expert quotes to journalists (HARO, SourceBottle)
• Speak at industry conferences
• Appear on podcasts
• Publish thought leadership on LinkedIn

Example:

"According to Jane Smith of Example SEO Agency, small businesses
should prioritize local citations over backlinks."
- TechCrunch article

3. Build author authority:

How:

• Publish consistently in your niche
• Use consistent author bylines across sites
• Link to author profile from all articles
• Build author social media presence (LinkedIn, Twitter)

Schema markup for authors:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Jane Smith",
  "url": "https://example.com/author/jane-smith",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/janesmith",
    "https://linkedin.com/in/janesmith"
  ],
  "jobTitle": "SEO Director",
  "worksFor": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Example SEO Agency"
  }
}
</script>

4. Showcase credentials and awards:

<footer>
  <div class="awards">
    <img src="google-partner-badge.svg" alt="Google Partner">
    <img src="inc-5000-badge.svg" alt="Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing">
    <p>Featured in: Forbes, TechCrunch, Search Engine Journal</p>
  </div>
</footer>

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Trustworthiness: Prove You’re Reliable

What Google Looks For

Trust signals:

• Secure site (HTTPS, no malware)
• Transparent policies (Privacy, Terms, Refund)
• Contact information (address, phone, email)
• Customer reviews (Google, Trustpilot, BBB)
• Fact-checking and sources
• Clear disclosure of affiliates/sponsorships

How to Demonstrate Trustworthiness

1. Security basics:

<!-- HTTPS (not HTTP) -->
https://example.com 
http://example.com 

<!-- Security headers -->
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN

2. Comprehensive policies:

Required pages:

• Privacy Policy (GDPR/CCPA compliant)
• Terms of Service
• Refund/Return Policy (e-commerce)
• Cookie Policy

Link from footer:

<footer>
  <a href="/privacy">Privacy Policy</a> |
  <a href="/terms">Terms of Service</a> |
  <a href="/refund-policy">Refund Policy</a>
</footer>

3. Contact information:

<div class="contact">
  <p><strong>Example Company</strong></p>
  <p>123 Main Street, Suite 100</p>
  <p>San Francisco, CA 94102</p>
  <p>Phone: (415) 555-1234</p>
  <p>Email: support@example.com</p>
  <p>Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PT</p>
</div>

4. Display customer reviews:

<!-- Embed Google Reviews widget -->
<!-- Or Trustpilot widget -->
<!-- Or show testimonials with full names -->

<div class="testimonial">
  <p>"Increased our traffic by 300% in 6 months!"</p>
  <p>- Sarah Johnson, Owner of Johnson's Bakery</p>
</div>

5. Cite sources:

According to a 2023 study by Backlinko [1], sites with strong E-E-A-T
signals rank 2.3x higher on average.

[1] Backlinko. "Search Engine Ranking Factors Study" (2023).
    https://backlinko.com/ranking-factors

6. Disclose affiliates:

<p class="disclosure">
  <em>Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. We may earn
  a commission if you make a purchase through these links at no
  additional cost to you.</em>
</p>

7. Update content regularly:

<p class="last-updated">
  Last updated: December 15, 2024
</p>

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E-E-A-T for Different Business Types

Local Businesses

Focus on:

• Google Business Profile (reviews, photos, Q&A)
• NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone)
• Local citations (Yelp, Yellow Pages, industry directories)
• Local customer testimonials
• Show you’re part of the community (local events, sponsorships)

Example:

About Us:
"Johnson's Bakery has served San Francisco since 1985. Family-owned
and operated by third-generation baker Maria Johnson, we use locally
sourced ingredients and traditional recipes passed down from our
Italian grandmother."

[Photo of storefront]
[Customer reviews from Google]
[Links to local press coverage]

E-commerce

Focus on:

• Product reviews (verified purchases)
• Clear return/refund policies
• Secure checkout (SSL, payment badges)
• Expert product descriptions (not manufacturer copy)
• Size guides, comparison charts, buying guides

Example:

Product Page:
- 150 verified customer reviews (4.7/5 stars)
- "30-day money-back guarantee"
- Secure checkout badges (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal)
- Expert buying guide: "How to Choose Running Shoes"
- Size chart with fit recommendations

Content Sites (Blogs, Publishers)

Focus on:

• Author bios with credentials
• Editorial standards page
• Fact-checking process
• Sources and citations
• Transparency about funding/ownership

Example:

Editorial Standards:
"Our team of certified financial planners reviews all financial advice
articles for accuracy. We cite peer-reviewed research and government
sources. We do not accept payment for editorial content."

[Meet Our Editorial Team]
[Our Fact-Checking Process]

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Common E-E-A-T Mistakes

No Author Information

Problem:

[Article with no byline, no author bio, no "About" page]

Fix:

<div class="author">
  <img src="author.jpg" alt="Jane Smith">
  <p>
    Written by <strong>Jane Smith</strong>, SEO specialist with 8 years
    of experience. Jane has helped 100+ small businesses improve their
    Google rankings.
  </p>
</div>

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Thin “About Us” Page

Bad:

“We’re a company that does SEO. Contact us for a quote.”

Good:

“Founded in 2015 by Jane Smith and John Doe, Example SEO has helped 500+ small businesses increase organic traffic by an average of 200%. Our team includes 3 Google Analytics certified specialists and 2 former Google employees. We’ve been featured in Search Engine Journal, Moz, and TechCrunch.”

---

No Contact Information

Problem: Footer only shows a contact form, no address/phone

Fix:

<footer>
  <strong>Contact Us</strong>
  <p>Example Company</p>
  <p>123 Main St, Suite 100</p>
  <p>San Francisco, CA 94102</p>
  <p>Phone: (415) 555-1234</p>
  <p>Email: hello@example.com</p>
</footer>

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What Surmado Checks

Surmado Scan looks for:

• HTTPS enabled (trust signal)
• Privacy policy and terms pages exist
• Contact information displayed
• Author bios on blog posts
• About page with company/team info
• External links to authoritative sources
• Customer reviews/testimonials

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Quick Reference

E-E-A-T checklist:

Experience:

• Author bylines with real credentials
• First-person case studies
• Original photos/screenshots
• Specific details (not generic advice)

Expertise:

• Credentials displayed (degrees, certifications)
• Author profile pages
• Cited sources and research
• Comprehensive, accurate content

Authoritativeness:

• Backlinks from reputable sites
• Brand mentions in industry publications
• Awards, certifications, badges
• Social proof (followers, speaking engagements)

Trustworthiness:

• HTTPS enabled
• Privacy/Terms pages
• Contact information
• Customer reviews
• Transparent disclosure
• Regular content updates

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Resources

Official Google documentation:

• Search Quality Rater Guidelines
• Creating Helpful Content

E-E-A-T improvement tools:

• Google Business Profile (local trust)
• Trustpilot / Better Business Bureau (reviews)
• Schema.org markup (structured credentials)

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→ Related: Content Strategy for AI-Readable Websites | Review Management for AI Platforms | FAQ Pages for AI Visibility

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