Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Google added the second E (Experience) in December 2022. It's not a direct ranking signal but it's how Google's quality raters score sites — which trains the algorithm.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Google added the second E (Experience) in December 2022. It's not a direct ranking signal but it's how Google's quality raters score sites — which trains the algorithm. FAQ on "what is eeat and how do i show it" — the short version is below the technical primer.
**E-E-A-T stands for:** - **Experience** — first-hand experience with the topic. The newest E. Did you actually use the product, visit the place, do the thing? - **Expertise** — formal or demonstrated knowledge of the topic - **Authoritativeness** — recognition by others as an authority (mentions, citations, backlinks) - **Trustworthiness** — site is honest, transparent, and verifiable; the most important of the four per Google's own guidelines
E-E-A-T isn't a single ranking factor — Google has confirmed this multiple times. It's the framework Google's 16,000+ Quality Raters use to score search results, and those scores train the actual ranking algorithms (especially for YMYL — Your Money or Your Life — topics like health, finance, legal).
**How to demonstrate E-E-A-T on your site:**
**Experience signals:** - Original photography from actual jobs/projects/events (not stock) - First-person language: "When we replaced 200+ furnaces in Toronto winters, we learned..." - Process content: behind-the-scenes, case studies with actual results
**Expertise signals:** - Author bios on every article with credentials, years of experience, links to professional profiles - Author schema markup (Person schema) connecting authors to their content - Industry certifications visible on relevant pages (CSLB number, EPA cert, etc.)
**Authoritativeness signals:** - Earned mentions in respected publications (real PR, not paid placements) - Backlinks from trusted domains in your industry - Speaking engagements, podcast appearances, published research - Wikipedia and Wikidata entries where appropriate
**Trustworthiness signals:** - Real business address, phone, hours visible (not a P.O. box) - HTTPS, clear privacy policy, clear refund/guarantee terms - Reviews from third-party platforms (Google, BBB, industry-specific) prominently displayed - Transparent pricing where possible - Named owner/founder, not anonymous
**The single highest-impact E-E-A-T move for most small business sites:** add a real, photograph-included "About" page with the founder's name, story, and credentials. Most sites are anonymous; the few that aren't earn measurable trust + ranking benefits. Quick answer to "what is eeat and how do i show it": see the breakdown above for full context. Quick answer to "what is eeat and how do i show it": see the breakdown above for full context.
- **How long does SEO take to work?** — First leads from organic search: 4–10 weeks. Stable top-3 rankings for competitive terms: 6–18 months depending on domain age and competition. - **What's the difference between SEO and SEM?** — SEO = unpaid (organic) search rankings. SEM = paid search ads (Google Ads). Most marketers use SEM as a synonym for paid search; some use it as an umbrella covering both. - **Do I need to update old blog posts for SEO?** — Yes — refreshing old posts is one of the highest-ROI SEO activities, often more impactful than publishing new ones. Focus on posts that ranked positions 4–15 in the last 90 days. - **How many backlinks do I need to rank?** — The wrong question — quality and topical relevance matter far more than count. Most small business pages rank top-3 with 5–30 referring domains if those domains are genuinely topically relevant. Searching "what is eeat and how do i show it"? This page is structured for both quick scans and deep reads. Searching "what is eeat and how do i show it"? This page is structured for both quick scans and deep reads.
Our process starts with a senior-strategist audit of where the page or program sits today — current rankings, competitive set, and the specific gaps preventing forward motion. From there we build a 90-day execution plan with clearly-defined deliverables, weekly check-ins, and monthly reporting that ties every effort back to the business outcomes that actually matter (booked calls, qualified leads, signed contracts). We don't sell retainers that promise activity without outcomes; every engagement we ship is structured to produce measurable results within the first quarter, and the work compounds from there. This is the difference between SEO as a line-item expense and SEO as a strategic asset that generates revenue for years.
If you have an in-house marketer who can dedicate 10+ hours/week, you can run most of this internally. If your team is already at capacity, an agency engagement frees your internal team to focus on the parts only they can do (relationships, sales, product).
Prioritize the technical SEO basics + Google Business Profile + a slow-but-consistent content cadence (1 quality post per month beats 10 thin posts). Fundamentals first, scale later. Our discovery call is free if you want a personalized prioritization.
Most teams can implement the foundational recommendations in 4–8 weeks of part-time work. The strategic recommendations (content calendar, link-building, brand positioning) are 6–12 month efforts. We've split them so you can sequence appropriately.
We aim for working marketers and founders — assumes you understand basic SEO vocabulary but doesn't assume agency-level depth. Each section starts with the 'why' before the 'how' so you can skip what's already familiar.