How Google really evaluates your site’s E-E-A-T signals

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E-E-A-T has moved far beyond being a theoretical Quality Rater concept. It has become one of the core pillars of Google’s algorithmic understanding of content quality — especially after systems such as Content Warehouse, Navboost, SpamBrain, and Site Proximity Graph were referenced in internal documents leaked in 2024.

Yet E-E-A-T remains one of the most misunderstood areas of SEO. Many still believe it is possible to “activate” or “add” E-E-A-T to a piece of content.
It doesn’t work that way. Google does not read intent — it reads measurable signals.

This guide explains how Google interprets each dimension of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and how to turn that understanding into high-impact SEO improvements, especially for YMYL sites (Your Money, Your Life).

Understanding What E-E-A-T Really Means

Before anything else, it is essential to clarify what E-E-A-T is — and what it is not:

E-E-A-T represents

• Experience — real-world, first-hand involvement with the topic
• Expertise — technical knowledge, education, or formal specialization
• Authoritativeness — recognition from the market and other entities
• Trust — the reliability, accuracy, and safety conveyed by the content

What E-E-A-T is NOT

• It is not a direct ranking factor.
• It is not a tag, a meta-property, or something you can “switch on.”
• It is not applied instantly to a page.
• It is not built only through text — it involves the entire domain.

E-E-A-T is a quality model used across multiple systems that filter and classify URLs long before ranking is finalized.

John Mueller summarized it perfectly:

“You cannot simply ‘add E-E-A-T’ to a page. You build it over time.”
— John Mueller, Google

How Google Interprets Quality and Trustworthiness

Google does not “read” human credentials. It cannot interpret a diploma, certification, or job title at face value.
What it does understand are:

• patterns
• relationships
• consistency
• citations
• measurable signals

How the process works

1. Google collects signals about content, links, entities, user behavior, and technical factors.
2. Pages are assigned an initial quality tier (high → low).
3. Low-quality, thin, misleading, or untrustworthy pages are filtered out.
4. E-E-A-T signals are evaluated at:
   • the site level,
   • the page level,
   • and the author level.
5. Systems like Navboost reinforce or demote pages based on user interactions (good vs. bad clicks).
6. Continuous re-evaluation updates a site’s reputation and historical quality.

The E-E-A-T Signals Google Actually Evaluates

Documents leaked in 2024 — combined with analysis from experts such as Shaun Anderson — demonstrate that Google quantifies dozens of signals that collectively shape its interpretation of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

These signals operate across three dimensions:

• Site-level signals (reputation, history, scope of topics)
• Page-level signals (depth, originality, effort, structure)
• Author-level signals (identity, consistency, entity strength)

All of this is cross-validated by behavioral systems such as Navboost, which examines how users interact with SERPs.

Summary Table of Key Dimensions

Below is the restructured version of Shaun Anderson’s framework, translated and lightly expanded for clarity:

Experience Signals (E-E-A-T: Experience)

“Experience” expresses first-hand practical knowledge demonstrated directly in the content.

Examples

• A product review with real photos
• A medical article describing your personal recovery process
• A step-by-step guide showing screenshots from your own environment

How Google measures Experience

contentEffort

Quantifies how difficult a piece of content is to replicate.
Low-effort = generic content → lower rankings.

originalContentScore

Measures novelty.
Google prioritizes information that cannot be found elsewhere.

isAuthor / author signals

Identifies whether a real author exists and contributes consistently.

lastSignificantUpdate

Flags genuine updates — not superficial date changes.

docImages

Original photos, screenshots, diagrams, and unique visual evidence improve the experience score.

productReviewPUhqPage

A specific signal used for reviews: depth, authenticity, proof of use.

Expertise Signals (E-E-A-T: Expertise)

Expertise measures technical mastery of a subject — even without personal experience.

Key attributes Google evaluates:

siteFocusScore / siteRadius

Detect how focused or diluted your domain is.
Highly focused sites → stronger expertise signals.

site2vecEmbeddingEncoded

A vector representation of thematic alignment — helps Google classify your site’s niche.

EntityAnnotations & QBST

Measure semantic clarity:
Are entities properly mentioned, contextualized, and connected?

onsiteProminence

The internal linking structure reveals which pages are pillars of your expertise.

ugcDiscussionEffortScore

Depth of user discussions, when relevant.

YMYL health/news scores

Identify content that requires stricter scrutiny.

geotopicality

Evaluates regional relevance for location-specific topics.

Authoritativeness Signals (E-E-A-T: Authority)

Authority is built externally — through recognition, citations, reputation, and historical performance.

Critical authority indicators

siteAuthority & nsrDataProto

Combined reputation metrics (links, mentions, content quality, engagement).

PageRankPerDocData & Homepage PageRank

PageRank still matters — especially at the domain level.

authorityPromotion / unauthoritativeScore

Modifiers that amplify or reduce authority.

queriesForWhichOfficial

One of the most important leaked signals.

Google attempts to identify:

“For which queries is this site the official, definitive, or primary source?”

This is why building a brand is essential.

predictedDefaultNsr

A long-term quality history score.

isLargeChain & siteSiblings

Categorize type and scale of the organization.

Trust Signals (E-E-A-T: Trustworthiness)

Trust is the foundation of all other signals.
Without it, expertise and authority collapse.

Google evaluates both editorial quality and technical integrity.

Key trust signals

scaledSelectionTierRank

Initial quality filter — low-quality pages are discarded early.

pandaDemotion

Old but still active: penalizes thin, duplicated, or shallow content.

GoodClicks / BadClicks (Navboost)

One of the strongest signals:

• Click → Read → Stay → Good
• Click → Immediate Return → Bad

clutterScore

Measures visual noise and UX interference.

spamrank, scamness

Detect manipulative or suspicious patterns.

anchorMismatchDemotion

Punishes deceptive linking practices.

ContentChecksum96

Detects near-duplicates, even if rewritten.

Technical trust signals

• SSL errors
• Broken redirects
• Canonical inconsistencies

brickAndMortarStrength / cluster / hours

Checks if the site represents a real, verifiable business.

Understanding Google’s E-E-A-T Model: A Practical Summary

E-E-A-T is not abstract. It is continuously measured, calculated, and integrated into indexing and ranking systems.

You need:

• Experience → real-world proof
• Expertise → depth and precision
• Authority → external validation
• Trust → safety, accuracy, UX, stability

Mastering these signals is essential for visibility — not only in Google Search but also in AI-driven answer engines built on top of SERPs.

How to Improve E-E-A-T: A Complete, Actionable Framework

Publish content that cannot be replicated

Examples:

• proprietary data
• internal tables
• screenshots
• original photos
• case studies
• behind-the-scenes insights
• expert interviews
• personal accounts and field experience

If an AI can easily generate something similar, originality signals drop.

Remove or update low-quality content (REAL Content Pruning)

Low-quality pages degrade the entire domain’s perceived value.

Modern SEO winners in 2025 are lean, intentional, high-signal sites.

Build topic clusters

Example for “diabetes”:

• Pillar page: definition, symptoms, risks, treatments
• Clusters:
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Prediabetes
  • Glycemic index
  • Diet guidelines
  • Exercise recommendations
  • Complications

The richer the internal network, the stronger your expertise signal.

Strengthen Authors and Entities

Google wants to know who is speaking.

Actions:

• build robust author pages
• link to external authoritative profiles
• maintain consistent bios
• use structured data (JSON-LD Person/Author)
• show real qualifications
• maintain publishing consistency

Improve UX and technical trust signals

Enhance:

• Core Web Vitals
• page stability
• mobile friendliness
• HTTPS integrity
• navigation clarity
• reduced intrusive ads
• visual cleanliness

Trust begins with how a page feels.

Build brand reputation (the new foundational SEO)

To become authoritative, your brand must exist beyond your own domain.

Invest in:

• citations on trusted sites
• interviews
• PR
• reports
• podcasts
• whitepapers
• natural backlinks
• consistent social presence

Brand is the new backlink.

Why High-Quality Content Powers the Entire E-E-A-T Framework

Google increasingly prioritizes useful content — content that solves problems, clarifies concepts, teaches action steps, and adds verifiable value.

Quality content:

• increases dwell time
• reduces pogo-sticking
• reinforces trust
• supports authority
• strengthens expertise
• stabilizes rankings
• feeds AI answer engines

But quality must be systemic, not isolated.

E-E-A-T is strengthened only when:

• architecture
• technical performance
• UX
• editorial consistency
• author visibility
• brand reputation
• topical coherence

…all work together in long-term alignment.

Even outside YMYL niches, E-E-A-T principles elevate any site’s organic presence.

Brands that prioritize clarity, originality, and depth become natural references — generating backlinks, mentions, citations, and long-term authority.

And when supported by skilled SEO professionals, the process becomes far more strategic and efficient. The search ecosystem is complex; knowing what to prioritize and when can shift months of stagnation into rapid growth.