Orkkid
Back to glossary

Content & Authority

E-E-A-T

Also known as: EEAT, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is the framework Google uses to evaluate the quality of websites and content, especially for topics that affect health, finances, or safety. Strong E-E-A-T signals also influence which sources AI engines trust enough to cite.

What it means

E-E-A-T is an acronym Google uses in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines:

  • Experience - first-hand experience with the topic (added in late 2022)
  • Expertise - formal knowledge or skill in the subject
  • Authoritativeness - recognition as a go-to source on the topic
  • Trustworthiness - accuracy, transparency, and safety of the content and site

E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor with a numeric score. It is a qualitative framework that informs hundreds of underlying signals Google does measure.

Why it matters

For AEO, E-E-A-T matters indirectly but powerfully. AI engines that pull from the live web tend to trust the sources Google trusts. The same signals that build E-E-A-T (real author bios, citations to primary sources, transparent business information, real customer reviews) also make a site more likely to be cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

For Australian service businesses in regulated areas - health, finance, legal, trades - strong E-E-A-T is essentially the price of admission to AI citations.

How it's used

To build E-E-A-T:

  • Add real author bios with credentials and links to professional profiles
  • Cite primary sources for any factual claims
  • Show licensing, certifications, and trust badges prominently
  • Maintain a complete About page with real team information
  • Generate genuine customer reviews on multiple platforms
  • Be transparent about pricing, services, and policies

For more, see AI SEO for Australian service businesses.

Related terms

Topical Authority

Topical authority is the depth and breadth of your coverage on a specific subject. A site with strong topical authority covers a topic from every angle and is recognized by search engines and AI engines as a primary source on that topic.

Domain Authority

Domain Authority is a score from 1 to 100, calculated by tools like Moz and Ahrefs (where it is called Domain Rating), that estimates how strong a website is in search. It is not a Google metric, but it correlates with ranking ability.

Brand Mentions

A brand mention is any reference to your business name on the web, with or without a hyperlink. Linked mentions are backlinks. Unlinked mentions still matter because they feed Google's understanding of your entity and train AI engines to associate your brand with relevant topics.

Answer Engine Optimization

Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring your website, content, and brand signals so that AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews cite your business by name when they answer user questions.

Read deeper

Want help applying this to your business?

Book a free AI citation audit. We run thirty prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews and send a personalised report within 72 hours.

Get a free citation audit
Back to full glossary