Free E-E-A-T Checker

The Complete Guide to E-E-A-T: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Improve It

What Is E-E-A-T?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a framework used by Google's Search Quality Raters to evaluate the quality of web content and the credibility of content creators. Originally introduced as E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), Google added the extra "E" for Experience in December 2022, recognizing that first-hand experience is a valuable quality signal.

While E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor in Google's algorithm, it strongly influences how Google evaluates content quality. The Search Quality Rater Guidelines, a 170+ page document used by human raters to assess search result quality, dedicates significant attention to E-E-A-T. These assessments help Google refine its algorithms to better surface high-quality content.

The Four Pillars of E-E-A-T

1. Experience

Experience refers to the content creator's first-hand or life experience with the topic. Google recognizes that someone who has actually used a product, visited a place, or lived through an experience can provide unique, valuable insights that cannot be replicated by someone without that experience. For example, a review of hiking boots written by someone who has hiked hundreds of miles carries more weight than one written by someone who has never worn them.

To demonstrate experience on your website, include personal anecdotes, case studies, before-and-after evidence, photographs from real experiences, and detailed first-hand observations. Product reviews should show actual usage, travel guides should include personal photos and tips, and tutorials should reflect hands-on knowledge.

2. Expertise

Expertise means the content creator has the necessary knowledge or skill in the topic area. For formal topics like medicine, law, or finance (known as YMYL or "Your Money or Your Life" topics), expertise often requires formal credentials such as medical degrees, law licenses, or financial certifications. For everyday topics like cooking, gardening, or DIY projects, expertise can come from extensive personal experience and demonstrated skill.

Display expertise on your website by including author bios with relevant credentials, linking to professional profiles (LinkedIn, institutional pages), citing authoritative sources, demonstrating depth of knowledge through comprehensive coverage, and regularly updating content to reflect current best practices.

3. Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness measures whether the content creator or website is recognized as a go-to source for the topic. A website is authoritative when it is widely cited, referenced, and recognized within its industry. Authority is built over time through consistent production of high-quality content, earning mentions and backlinks from other authoritative sources, being featured in industry publications, and maintaining a strong reputation.

To build authoritativeness, create comprehensive resources that others naturally want to reference, earn coverage from industry publications, build a strong social media presence, participate in industry events and discussions, and ensure your website has proper Organization schema markup so Google can associate it with a known entity.

4. Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is the most important factor of E-E-A-T, according to Google's Quality Rater Guidelines. A page that is experienced, expert, and authoritative but not trustworthy should receive a low E-E-A-T rating. Trust encompasses transparency about who owns the website, clear contact information, accurate and honest content, secure connections (HTTPS), and proper legal pages (privacy policy, terms of service).

Build trust by ensuring your website has a clear About page, visible contact information (email, phone, address), a comprehensive privacy policy, terms of service, secure HTTPS connections, transparent editorial policies, and accurate, well-sourced content. For e-commerce sites, trust also includes clear return policies, secure payment processing, and genuine customer reviews.

Why E-E-A-T Matters for SEO

Google's algorithm updates increasingly prioritize content quality over keyword optimization. The Helpful Content Update, core algorithm updates, and spam updates all consider signals that align with E-E-A-T principles. Websites that demonstrate strong E-E-A-T signals tend to be more resilient to algorithm changes and recover faster from any negative impacts.

For YMYL topics (health, finance, legal, safety), E-E-A-T is critical. Google holds these topics to a higher standard because low-quality content could directly harm users. A health website without clear medical expertise, for example, is unlikely to rank well for medical queries regardless of its technical SEO.

E-E-A-T Signals Our Tool Checks

Our E-E-A-T checker analyzes 13 parameters across four categories:

Site-Level Trust Signals

• About Page: Does the site have an about page that establishes who runs it?
• Privacy Policy: Is there a privacy policy demonstrating GDPR/CCPA compliance?
• Contact Page: Can visitors find a way to reach the organization?
• Terms of Service: Are the terms of use clearly stated?
• Contact Information: Are emails, phones, or addresses visible?
• Social Media Profiles: Does the site link to verified social accounts?

Schema Markup Signals

• Organization Schema: Is there JSON-LD markup identifying the organization?
• Article Schema Quality: Do content pages have Article/BlogPosting schema?

Author Signals

• Author Attribution: Do pages credit a named author?
• Author Bio: Are there author bio sections with background information?
• Author Credentials: Do author bios mention professional qualifications?

Date Signals

• Published Dates: Do pages show when content was originally published?
• Modified Dates: Is there evidence of content being updated?

How to Improve Your E-E-A-T Score

Quick Wins (Implement This Week)

1. Create essential trust pages if missing: About, Contact, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service.
2. Add author names to all content pages with links to author profile pages.
3. Add Organization JSON-LD to your homepage with name, logo, URL, and sameAs links.
4. Include published dates on all content pages (both visible and in structured data).
5. Link to social profiles in your footer (at least LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or Facebook).

Medium-Term Improvements (This Month)

1. Write detailed author bios that include credentials, experience, and areas of expertise.
2. Add Article schema to all blog posts and articles with author, datePublished, and dateModified.
3. Update your About page with team information, company history, mission, and values.
4. Add dateModified to content and update it when you revise articles.
5. Create an editorial policy page explaining your content standards and review process.

Long-Term Strategy (Ongoing)

1. Build genuine authority by creating comprehensive, original content in your niche.
2. Earn mentions and links from authoritative sources through quality content and outreach.
3. Maintain content freshness by regularly reviewing and updating existing articles.
4. Invest in author reputation by having authors publish on external platforms and build personal brands.
5. Document real experience through case studies, original research, and first-hand accounts.

E-E-A-T and YMYL Content

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics are subjects that could significantly impact a person's health, financial stability, safety, or well-being. Google applies particularly strict E-E-A-T standards to YMYL content. Examples include medical advice, financial planning, legal information, news about important events, and product safety information.

If your website covers YMYL topics, ensure that content is written or reviewed by qualified professionals, author credentials are prominently displayed, sources are cited with links to authoritative references, content is regularly reviewed and updated for accuracy, and your organization's credentials are clearly established.

Common E-E-A-T Mistakes to Avoid

• No author attribution: Publishing content without named authors makes it impossible to evaluate expertise.
• Missing trust pages: Websites without About, Contact, or Privacy Policy pages appear unprofessional and untrustworthy.
• No Organization schema: Without structured data, Google has fewer signals to connect your website to a known entity.
• Outdated content: Content without dates or with visibly outdated information signals poor maintenance.
• Thin author bios: A name without credentials or background provides no expertise signal.
• No social presence: Legitimate organizations have social media profiles. Their absence raises questions.
• AI-generated content without oversight: While AI-assisted content is acceptable, it should be reviewed by human experts and properly attributed.

Measuring E-E-A-T Progress

Use our E-E-A-T checker regularly to track your progress. Run the check after making improvements to see how your score changes. Focus on improving the parameters with the highest impact first (Author Attribution at 18 points, Published Dates at 15 points, and key trust pages at 10-12 points each). A score above 80 indicates strong E-E-A-T signals, while a score below 50 suggests significant room for improvement.

Remember that E-E-A-T is not just about technical signals on your website. It encompasses your entire online reputation, the quality of your content, and the genuine expertise of your content creators. Technical signals (the ones our tool checks) are the foundation, but real E-E-A-T comes from consistently creating valuable, accurate content backed by genuine expertise and experience.