E-E-A-T

Google's quality framework standing for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Used by Google's human quality raters and reflected in algorithm updates. Reviews and ratings contribute heavily to the 'Trustworthiness' dimension for local businesses.

Definition

E-E-A-T (originally E-A-T, with 'Experience' added in 2022) is the framework laid out in Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines that human raters use to evaluate page and site quality. It's not a direct ranking signal — raters score pages, and Google's engineering team uses the scores to train and validate the actual algorithms. For local businesses, the practical relevance is that 'Trustworthiness' (the T) is widely understood to be influenced by review volume, review quality, BBB rating, third-party trust signals, and the business's behavior in handling negative reviews. Pages on sites with strong E-E-A-T tend to do better across Google's algorithm updates over time — chasing reviews and trust signals isn't just for local-pack ranking, it's for the broader search-result picture too.

Example

A medical clinic with 200+ Google reviews, a verified Google Business Profile, consistent NAP across the web, and bios for every physician with medical-school credentials and licensing scores higher on every E-E-A-T dimension than a competitor clinic with sparse review history and no physician bios. The first clinic ranks better for local searches AND on Google's quality-rater spot checks.

Related terms

  • Local SEO →The discipline of getting a local business to rank in Google's local results — the map pack, Google Maps, and 'near me' searches — rather than the general organic web results.
  • Average Rating →The mean star rating across all of a business's Google reviews, displayed prominently on the listing. Most businesses target 4.5 or higher; below 4.0, customers commonly self-report skipping the business in favor of higher-rated competitors.
  • Review Velocity →The rate at which new reviews are added to a business's Google profile. A business that earns 8 reviews per month is widely understood to rank better than one earning 2 per month — even if both end up with the same total over time.

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