If you’re new to marketing, understanding all the jargon that comes with it can feel overwhelming! Like many key industries, ours is littered with industry terminology and abbreviations. Feeling a little lost when it comes to E-E-A-T and SEO? We’re here to help!
In this blog, we’ll answer the question ‘what is E-E-A-T?’ and why it’s so important for your SEO strategy in 2025…
What is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a framework that SEO specialists use to assess the quality of website copy and blogs. It’s the idea that every piece of content you create should have purpose, as well as establishing you as a leader in your field.
Here’s how you can show you meet the E-E-A-T criteria:
- Experience: Share relevant case studies and project results.
- Expertise: Speak on industry topics and get involved in conversations.
- Authoritativeness: Position yourself as the ‘go-to’ in your sector.
- Trustworthiness: Ask for and share testimonials from your clients.
When you tick off each element of E-E-A-T, you’re proving to search engines that you’re a trustworthy source for information. Not only is this important for your Google ranking but in the age of AI, it’s also important for appearing in Google AI Overview and ChatGPT results too.
What’s E-A-T?
E-A-T is the older framework now known as E-E-A-T. If you’ve been researching, you may have seen the two terms being used interchangeably. In December 2022, Google updated the framework to include ‘experience’ so that their crawlers could recognise the value of real-life experience. Anyone can publish information about a topic, but do they actually specialise in it? By showcasing your first-hand experience, you’re able to stand out.
Why Does E-E-A-T Matter for SEO?
Now we’ve answered the question ‘what is E-E-A-T?’, let’s discuss its relevancy when it comes to SEO.
Google’s ultimate goal is to make the user journey as seamless as possible, helping people find exactly what they need in just a few clicks (or sometimes, without clicking at all). With tools like AI Overview, searchers can now get concise, AI-generated summaries pulled from multiple trusted sources right at the top of the results page. But that doesn’t mean traditional rankings are irrelevant. In fact, they’re far from it!
Quality, relevant content remains a core driver of visibility. But with so much information online, Google needs a way to help its crawlers (often called ‘spiders’) decide what qualifies as a trustworthy source. That’s where the E-E-A-T framework comes in, setting the standard for what Google considers a good website and good content (alongside other ranking factors, of course).
What Else Affects My Ranking?
Hundreds of factors affect how your website ranks on search engine results pages. Here are some of the most important:
- Responsiveness: How easy is it to use and navigate your website? Are buttons and links easy to click?
- Mobile Optimisation: Well over half of all searches are carried out using mobile devices. For your website to be favoured, it needs to be optimised for phones and tablets.
- Broken Links: Broken links waste time and in a world where attention spans are as short as 8 seconds (that’s shorter than a goldfish!), they can quickly signal to search engines that your site lacks in reliability.
- Duplicate or Missing Meta Descriptions: Meta descriptions act as a hook to reel the reader in. Missing or duplicate descriptions can confuse users and search engines, reducing click through rates and signalling lower content quality.
- Page Speed: A slow loading speed is only going to lead to frustrated visitors and a high bounce rate (BR). Your BR is the percentage of users who exit your website shortly after first landing there.
- Internal Linking: Every good website should have a strong internal link structure. This helps your users move through the sales funnel seamlessly.
How is AI Effecting SEO Strategies?
AI is transforming SEO by making search engines smarter and more intuitive. From understanding natural language queries to personalising results based on user intent, AI tools are changing the way content is ranked and discovered.
For a more in-depth discussion on how AI is changing SEO in 2025, click here to read our recent blog.
Should I Be Working with an SEO Agency?
With search algorithms evolving faster than ever and AI transforming the way people find information, keeping on top of SEO updates can feel like a full-time job. From technical audits and keyword research to content optimisation and link building, our specialists can create a tailored plan to improve your rankings and drive quality traffic. Most importantly, our SEO team stay on top of algorithm changes, so you don’t have to.
Partnering with the right agency can save you time, maximise your marketing budget, and give your business a competitive edge. Not to mention, we can also provide support across your entire marketing strategy, from SEO and social media, right the way through to PR, influencer campaigns, and graphic design.
Let’s Chat!
Now we’ve covered the common business query ‘what is E-E-A-T?’, it’s time to invest in your SEO strategy. Whether that’s with an external agency or not, it’s never too early to start optimising your website. Site health and rankings take time to build, so the more hours you can invest in this area, the better!
Interested in discussing our SEO packages? Get in touch with a member of our team by clicking here.