E-E-A-T
The framework in Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines for assessing page quality: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and…
Content
Trust signals
The observable characteristics that make a site and its content credible: accurate information, transparent ownership, clear contact details, sourcing and disclosure.
In full
In Google's quality framework Trust is the central component of E-E-A-T, and untrustworthy pages are rated low regardless of how expert they appear. Practical trust signals include a real About page with named people, editorial and correction policies, cited primary sources, secure checkout and clear returns policies for retailers, and honest affiliate or sponsorship disclosure. Trust is also what AI answer systems lean on when deciding which sources to cite.
Example
A health publisher adds medical reviewer names with credentials, a last-reviewed date, and links to the studies each claim rests on.
Related terms
YMYL
Topics that could significantly affect a person's health, financial stability, safety or wellbeing, held to a higher quality standard by…
Editorial guidelines
A published statement of how a publisher sources, reviews, corrects and discloses its content, supporting trust for readers, raters and AI…
Author authority
The credibility a named author brings to content, evidenced by verifiable expertise, publication history and presence across trusted…
Search Quality Rater Guidelines
Google's published manual for the external human raters who evaluate search results, defining Page Quality, Needs Met and concepts like…