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EEAT

Definition

Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness are fundamental SEO criteria according to Google’s search quality guidelines.

Expertise refers to the content creator’s in-depth knowledge of the subject, Authority concerns the status of a reference in a domain, and Reliability encompasses the trust and credibility of the site and the editor. These elements, added to Experience (E), i.e., the unique, real, and personal experience of the creator about a subject, determine the quality and relevance of a page for users. Influencing, if carried out according to Google’s fundamental principles, a page’s ranking in search results.

A low score in E-E-A-T can cause devaluation of the content, especially if it concerns Health, important social facts, or finances of the users.

To sum it up, E-E-A-T is necessary for building user trust and having a better position in the SERPs.

qu'est ce que l'eeat

Introduction : EEAT & EAT

The latest Google directives just changed the landscape of SEO optimization. The search engine integrates a revolutionary evolution of the EAT concept (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) by integrating a new essential component : Experience 

Therefore, EAT becomes EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) 

Even with all the advances, the essential core of research remains the same, namely, bringing to the fore certified and trustworthy information. Users will find their search queries answered better as Google is now improving its ranking system further.

What is E-E-A-T ?

Before EEAT what was EAT ? 

Content creators are likely to be aware of the E-A-T– expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. This framework outlines the standards used by Google’s search ranking systems to guarantee that information is relevant and helpful.

How do these aspects actually take shape?

Expertise: Expertise pertains to the content creator, according to Google. Google considers how relevant, how much work and what sort of skill is needed to produce a piece of content. People ask who the creator is, how well does he know the subject, and what is their reputation in the field. Different contents require different levels of expertise for a website to pass the quality review but with YMYL (Your Money Your Life) contents like finance or medicine, expertise is essential.  It consists of the author’s qualifications, academic qualifications and standing in the field. Of course, beyond the creator, it is the whole notion of the semantic cocoon of the site that can prove the relevance of contents dedicated to a specific category or even of the whole site.

Authority:  Authority refers to the trustworthiness of a content creator or website. It indicates to what degree you can be trusted on any given topic.  Authority is closely related to expertise and experience. Gaining backlinks from authoritative resources, building a strong content pillar that covers every relevant topic and establishing topical authority from across the site helps to improve one’s overall authority.

Trustworthiness: According to Google’s EEAT, trustworthiness is the most essential factor. A site shows experience, expertise, and authority to be considered trustworthy. Google evaluates trustworthiness based on content and user’s intent. Pages that affect Your Money or Your Life must be more trustworthy, and the trustworthiness of a site depends on its content. The site should be secure, there must be transparency, and the information must be accurate and updated regularly. Furthermore, there must be no concealment of intents.

In summary, SEO success depends on consistently proving these three elements (knowledge, power, safety) to create a reliable and credible online presence.

Take tax return research for example. If you’re looking for advice:

 “How to complete your accounting balance sheet?”

You will probably prefer content from an accounting expert. On the other hand, for reviews of tax software, you might seek information from user discussions on specialized forums.

Evolution: EEAT, introduction and definition of the concept of Experience

Introduction of the new “Experience” element

To refine its results, Google is adding a new key element to the EAT concept: experience. It is necessary to find out if the content is grounded on practical and original experience, i.e. real and personal on the part of the writer. So, whether the product was used in real life, was the place visited or personal sharing of experience has happened? The content developed by practitioners in the field to be given preference. 

In its new guidelines, Google includes EEAT, or “Double EAT”. Writers with greater experience, however, would’ve inherently been first introduced to this within quality content, of course. These guidelines also stress the importance of original and useful content, which is available in many formats and from many sources. 

This is where the importance of experience lies: unique content concretely represents a real, direct and personal experience in the context of the EEAT.

Imagine an article like ‘Top 10 Downhill MTB’s of 2024’. When putting this together, the author should share their own experience but more importantly, user tests and a personal assessment of each bike’s performance, backed up by factual, cited data (for example, specifications from the manufacturer or studies evaluating which components most commonly fail)

Partial match anchors refer to anchors that are composed of the main keyword of the content it links to, to which other additional words are added. Let’s take the same example as for the exact match anchor. An anchor with a partial match that links to a page that has content on the subject of why and how to insulate your roof, would be of the type “tips for insulating your roof”.

This type of anchor is quite advantageous. In fact, it lets you fit the anchor of your link naturally into your text, while making it clear what page it points to. This is why this kind of anchor has a lot of SEO power and only moderately exposes you to the danger of a Google penalty. 

Why is EEAT important?

The addition of the new “E” for “experience” signifies that Google values ​​direct or real-life experience about a page’s topic. It’s essential because people usually prefer to have first-hand information before purchasing or using a particular service. Why? It is because personal experience such as testimonials and reviews from “authoritative” people in a field provide reassurance and therefore a key component of the user’s purchasing process.

Pages where the author has actually experienced what they are writing about are generally “rewarded” by Google. For instance, if a writer is reviewing the new iPhone, he should have used it. Similarly, if he is writing about the best restaurants in Barcelona, he should have visited them. Google says that pages are trustworthy with content produced by people with “rich personal experience”. 

You can trust a qualified writer because they will have the necessary experience, expertise and authority. Trust is the most important aspect of EEAT because, according to Google, pages that are considered untrustworthy are low quality in EEAT regardless of how experienced, expert or authoritative they seem.

If you follow Google’s EEAT, you are on the right track to creating the level of trust that Google’s quality will pay attention to. It’s critical to show you have first-hand experience.

History of the EAT & EEAT Guidelines

Google updates its Quality Criteria guidelines approximately once a year. Here’s a brief
history of Google’s major EAT updates:

  • March 2013: Google officially releases its search quality rating guidelines
  • March 2014: Google adds EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) to the guidelines.
  • December 2022Google introduces EEAT , adding an extra “E” for “Experience

How Google Quality Standards Evaluate EEAT

EEAT Level Criteria

The Low Level of EEAT

If a page’s EEAT is insufficient, it is discouraged or even prohibited to use the main content of the page. For pages dealing with YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics, limited expertise can lead to them being considered unreliable, with a lower rating.

The negative reputation of the site and the content creator can also influence this rating, resulting in a classification at the lowest level if the site is widely perceived as unreliable (few trust signals: for example, few links from high-authority sites).

This emphasizes the importance of EEAT in order to gain credibility and trust from users, which are crucial in SEO.  

A high level of EEAT

Having good experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness means possessing a high level of E-E-A-T.  Websites tend to perform well, including news sites, government websites and small businesses which are well-known and blog ran by experts.

A high level of E-E-A-T is a characteristic of exceptional websites. These sites offer quality content that satisfies the search intent. Articles are well-written and show first-hand expertise and knowledge. 

Google has specific quality standards for different kinds of sites.  For example : 

  • For news: an original, accurate, in-depth and investigative article, meeting professional journalistic standards.
  • For artistic content: unique and original content created by talented (and therefore recognized) artists or creators, meeting YMYL standards if related to critical topics.
  • For informative content: original, precise, complete content, reflecting a consensus of experts according to the subject with precise and very authoritative sources.

While deciding on text, images, or videos to add to your website, ask yourself if something is appropriate, and take a conscious decision.  We want to be helpful on an ongoing basis. Simply put, that would be exhibiting genuine knowledge and expertise in response to a particular search.

Should you be worried about EEAT?

As is often the case in SEO, a new publication from Google’s search engine engineers generates a lot of questions and concerns.

It makes total sense in our mind to enrich EAT through Experience, as most copywriters already did and websites engaging in competitive strategy consider it best SEO practice. But, if your content is thin, unsourced, unoriginal, and was written a couple of years back, it’s prime time to refresh it.

EEAT and AI-Generated Content

As generative AI rises, it is important to note that any content needs to be for the composed user and not for search engines. This does not imply that AI cannot help you, quite the opposite, but should be seen as a means to help the structuring of concrete experiences.

IS EEAT a Ranking Factor ?

This guide does not change how pages rank in search results. Instead, it helps SEO professionals determine how a site is performing. Writers aiming to optimize content for greater visibility on Google also find them essential.

Following Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines (those documents the company publishes) is your best bet if you want to achieve an under-the-radar organic positioning.

Conclusion

In short, EEAT stands for quality content. When you give authority, experience, expertise and reliability into your writing, it makes your writing sure to provide confidence: both for making your position in Google’s SERPs and for making your reader feel sure of what they are reading. 

At the end of the day, good content will go up while poor content will be lost to the depth of the SERPs.

The Changing SEO Landscape and the Importance of EEAT for 2025

SERPs have always been evolving and it is normal and healthy for Google to evolve its guideline from time to time. Undoubtedly, the arrival of new AI and similar tools gives us the opportunity to completely rethink content designs and provide users with answers that are more customized and precise.

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