Last updated: November 1, 2026.
Picture two different pages on the same topic. Both have similar information. Both are well written. Both are technically fine.
So why might Google trust one more than the other? I think this is where we start to see more clearly that SEO isn’t just about keywords, titles and backlinks.
One of the things Google is trying to understand is this:
Can I really trust this content?
There’s no single score or label for this. But for years, Google has used the concepts of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) when talking about it. Google also says clearly that E-E-A-T is not a specific ranking factor on its own; rather, a mix of different signals helps it identify content with strong E-E-A-T (Google Search Central).
What exactly does E-E-A-T mean?
We can break the concept into four parts.
Experience
Have you actually lived through the topic or actually used the product?
Take a hotel review, for example. One person rewrote the information from the hotel’s website. The other actually stayed at the hotel, saw the rooms, tried the breakfast and used their own photos. The second piece has first-hand experience.
The second “E”, added later to Google’s quality guidelines, describes exactly this. On some topics, real use or real-life experience can be more valuable than theoretical knowledge.
If we think about Filmler.com, a Turkish movie site, the situation is similar. Rewriting a summary of a movie found on the internet is one thing. Actually watching the movie and explaining how it differs from similar films, who might like it and which movies its fans would also enjoy is another. The second adds more value for the user.
Expertise
On some topics, experience may be enough. On others, you really need expertise.
For example, “I’ve been using this coffee machine for three months.” is valuable as experience. But on a topic like “Take this medication for your heart condition.”, personal experience alone isn’t enough. Medical expertise matters here.
Google’s own example makes a similar distinction: an accounting expert may be a better source for how to fill out a tax return, while for a review of tax software, the experiences of people who have actually used the product can be valuable. So we’re not looking for the same kind of trust signal on every topic.
Authoritativeness
Here we look at a somewhat broader picture. Do others recognize you or your site on this topic? For example:
- Do other trustworthy sites reference you?
- Is your name mentioned in the industry?
- Have you been producing content on the topic for a long time?
- Do other experts cite you?
Authority doesn’t form overnight. It grows stronger over time as content, backlinks, brand mentions, expertise and real experience come together.
I also don’t think it’s right to try to measure this with a single “authority score”. Scores from tools like Semrush or Ahrefs can be useful, but Google has no official metric saying “this site has an authority of 82”.
Trustworthiness
I think this is the most important of the four. Google also specifically states that trust is at the center of the E-E-A-T elements.
When a user lands on a page, can they find answers to these questions?
- Who wrote this content?
- Why is this person talking about this topic?
- What’s the source of the information?
- Does the site belong to a business that actually exists?
- Is contact information clearly available?
- If the content makes claims, is there backing for them?
- Is the content up to date?
- If there’s a mistake, can it be corrected?
None of these alone will put you at number one on Google. But together they create a trustworthy structure.
Why do external links matter?
I think there’s a common mistake here. Some people think that if we link to other sites, we’ll “lose authority”. I don’t see it that way.
If a claim is based on another source, showing that source is useful for the user.
For example, if we’re writing a health claim about natural mineral water, we should state where we got it. Or if we’re talking about a technical SEO point, we can link to Google’s official documentation.
The purpose of an external link isn’t “Google, rank me higher.” It’s being able to say “Here’s what this information is based on.”
Google’s SEO Starter Guide also lists creating content that is helpful, reliable and people-first as one of the basic practices. That’s why I don’t hesitate to link to a trustworthy source. Of course, there’s no need to add 10 sources at the end of every sentence either. Using them where a source is really needed is enough.
So does author information matter?
I think yes, especially on some topics. For example, in a health article, who prepared it, their expertise and, if needed, who reviewed it matter a lot to the user. Google also says accurate author information is useful on content where readers would reasonably ask “Who wrote this?”
But we shouldn’t turn this into an “SEO trick” either. Adding a made-up expert profile under every article is not E-E-A-T.
Real person, real expertise, real experience. That’s what really matters.
Your Money or Your Life (YMYL)
With some content, getting things wrong has much more serious consequences. Topics like health, finance, law and safety can directly affect people’s lives or financial situation.
Google defines these kinds of topics as Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) and says it gives more weight to strong trust signals in these areas.
For example, a mistake in an article on “Best action movies” won’t change anyone’s life much. But wrong information in an article on “What medication should I take for chest pain?” can lead to serious consequences. It’s not right to approach both with the same content standard.
Is E-E-A-T an SEO checklist?
I don’t think so. Sometimes I see lists like this:
- Add an author box
- Create an About Us page
- Cite sources
- Add a contact page
- E-E-A-T done
It’s not that mechanical. Google also clearly states that E-E-A-T is not a single direct ranking factor.
I think E-E-A-T is more the answer to this question:
Why should the user trust this information?
If you can answer this question well, you’re already doing a lot of things right.
Experience can sometimes be more valuable than expertise
I especially want to stress this. Think of a product review. One person copied the technical specs from the manufacturer’s website. The other used the product for six months and wrote about:
- What they liked
- What they didn’t like
- In which situations it caused problems
- Who it’s suitable for
The second piece may not look as “academic”. But it can be much more valuable for the user.
Google’s current AI Search guide also specifically emphasizes that original perspectives based on real experience are valuable, rather than simply repeating existing information.
I think that’s a bit of what we’re trying to do in this book too. Anyone can already find definitions on the internet. As much as possible, I try to add the problems we’ve run into with clients, the changes I’ve seen over the years, and examples of both success and failure. Because that’s where we can really make a difference.
What do I check when I look at how trustworthy content is?
Roughly, I look at these:
- Is it clear who wrote the content?
- Is there real experience or expertise?
- Are sources for claims shown where needed?
- Is the information up to date?
- Is the content just a summary of other sites?
- Does the site really produce content on this topic?
- Does the user see enough reason to trust this information?
- If the topic is YMYL, is the level of expertise sufficient?
I think when we do these things, we’re not doing special “SEO work” for E-E-A-T.
We’re building a more trustworthy website.
That’s largely what Google is trying to understand anyway. In SEO, we sometimes see that the best work we think we’re doing for Google is actually work we’re doing for the user. I think E-E-A-T is one of the best examples of that.
Previous: Chapter 19: What Should We Do With Old Content? · Contents · Next: Chapter 21: How Do We Enrich Google Results?
This chapter was first published in Turkish on X (September 22, 2026).