Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is a quality evaluation framework from Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines. In GEO, it translates into identified authors, named sources and dated data. It is neither a score nor a direct ranking factor.
Standalone definition · 37 words
What does E-E-A-T cover?
Experience (real use of the subject), expertise (skill), authoritativeness (recognition) and trustworthiness. Google states that trust is the most important of the four. Quality raters use this framework to judge the quality of results, and their ratings are not a direct ranking factor.
How do you apply it on a site?
Author pages with verifiable background and links, mention of the organization and its contact details, cited sources, publication and update dates, concrete experience (tests, cases, screenshots) and editorial policy pages for sensitive subjects.
Why does E-E-A-T matter for GEO?
An AI engine that must cite a source picks content that is attributable and verifiable. Identified authors, sourced data and a clear brand entity make that attribution easier. On YMYL topics (health, finance), the bar is higher.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an E-E-A-T score?
No. It is an evaluation framework, not a metric.
Are author pages enough?
They help, provided they are backed by evidence: publications, experience, references.
Does E-E-A-T apply to every topic?
Yes, with a higher bar for topics touching health, finances or safety.
Related terms
Further reading
- Search Central Live Deep Dive Barcelona 2026: what Google said over the 3 days
- Checklist GEO and LLM / AI 2026
- ← Back to the GEO glossary (114 terms)