Google EAT criteria: why is it important for SEO?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2025 3:20 am
⏲ Reading time: 12 minutes
The era of keyword stuffing and over-optimization is over! Make way for quality and security ! Since 2018, the implementation of Google EAT has aimed to protect the Internet user and provide verified information . In this blog post, I will explain everything you need to know about this algorithm . Find out what is behind these three letters and how to improve your organic ranking accordingly. As a bonus, I also tell you what to avoid doing to stay visible on Google .
Google EAT Definition
Illustrative image of Google EAT
To tell you more about this, I must first answer the following question: What is Google EAT ? Behind this acronym are three keywords that represent the current requirements of the search engine:
Expertise : expertise
Authoritativeness : authority
Trustworthiness : trust (or credibility )
These criteria allow you to evaluate the quality of each web page, but also of a website as a whole. As you know, Google is becoming primarily a response engine. This is why these criteria are essential for displaying results that perfectly match the user's search intent .
Google EAT was officially unveiled in Mountain View in October 2020 in their search quality raters . This 175-page PDF reveals crucial information that was previously kept secret. It details the search quality evaluation criteria in more detail than what was done in 2018. If you would like to read this document, here is the link: https://static.googleusercontent.com/me ... elines.pdf .
In the rest of this post, I will summarize everything you need to know about Google EAT .
Google EAT Evaluation Criteria
We'll now break down these three elements of Google EAT . Only by understanding these criteria exactly can you tailor your SEO strategy.
Expertise
Illustrative image of Google EAT expertise
Google EAT aims to display results that perfectly match the queries made. Your goal is therefore to prove to search engines that you are an expert in your field . If this is not the case, I advise you to use a specialized web editor, because the author of the content must be able to demonstrate their legitimacy .
Additionally, the topic must be addressed comprehensively and provide real added value to the reader. SEOQuantum also allows you to measure the relevance of your content based on artificial intelligence specifically designed for this purpose.
Here are some indicators to demonstrate the reliability of your information :
provide reliable sources to prove the veracity of the content of the page;
use a comprehensive semantic field to demonstrate the quality of the text;
inform about the author of the article to prove his area of expertise;
add additional information by doing internal linking ;
update the content to ensure the freshness of the information offered.
Authority
Illustrative image of Google EAT authority
Beyond the web page itself, authority is essential across the entire website. To determine this, Google is particularly interested in links pointing to your site ( backlinks ). Additionally, mentions of your brand and quotes from your texts are positive indicators.
To create effective netlinking , I remind you of the essential points of this pillar of natural referencing:
Quality : The sites that mention you must themselves offer quality content.
Notoriety : links must come from sites with a good trust flow index .
Parenting : the connection between two sites must respect the same theme.
Trust
Illustrative azerbaijan phone number data image of Google EAT trust
This Google EAT factor could also be translated as credibility . Indeed, what the search engine wants are indicators of plausibility and security . Just as with expertise and authority, the information provided by the author, the content of the web page, and the entire website are taken into account.
By respecting the following points, you will provide valuable information to Google to have a chance of positioning your site well in the SERP :
Secured site : A secure site with an SSL certificate (URL starting with HTTPS) gives confidence, whether for indexing robots or users.
Secure payments : a tool like 3D Secure, for example, allows you to encrypt the data of bank cards used.
Legal notices : not only important to reassure Googlebot, they are also mandatory in France.
Privacy Policy : The confidentiality of the information transmitted is also an important element in ensuring the credibility of a site.
Certified reviews : A tool like Trustpilot guarantees the veracity of user reviews, which obviously pleases Google.
Sites affected by Google EAT
The era of keyword stuffing and over-optimization is over! Make way for quality and security ! Since 2018, the implementation of Google EAT has aimed to protect the Internet user and provide verified information . In this blog post, I will explain everything you need to know about this algorithm . Find out what is behind these three letters and how to improve your organic ranking accordingly. As a bonus, I also tell you what to avoid doing to stay visible on Google .
Google EAT DefinitionIllustrative image of Google EAT
To tell you more about this, I must first answer the following question: What is Google EAT ? Behind this acronym are three keywords that represent the current requirements of the search engine:
Expertise : expertise
Authoritativeness : authority
Trustworthiness : trust (or credibility )
These criteria allow you to evaluate the quality of each web page, but also of a website as a whole. As you know, Google is becoming primarily a response engine. This is why these criteria are essential for displaying results that perfectly match the user's search intent .
Google EAT was officially unveiled in Mountain View in October 2020 in their search quality raters . This 175-page PDF reveals crucial information that was previously kept secret. It details the search quality evaluation criteria in more detail than what was done in 2018. If you would like to read this document, here is the link: https://static.googleusercontent.com/me ... elines.pdf .
In the rest of this post, I will summarize everything you need to know about Google EAT .
Google EAT Evaluation CriteriaWe'll now break down these three elements of Google EAT . Only by understanding these criteria exactly can you tailor your SEO strategy.
Expertise
Illustrative image of Google EAT expertise
Google EAT aims to display results that perfectly match the queries made. Your goal is therefore to prove to search engines that you are an expert in your field . If this is not the case, I advise you to use a specialized web editor, because the author of the content must be able to demonstrate their legitimacy .
Additionally, the topic must be addressed comprehensively and provide real added value to the reader. SEOQuantum also allows you to measure the relevance of your content based on artificial intelligence specifically designed for this purpose.
Here are some indicators to demonstrate the reliability of your information :
provide reliable sources to prove the veracity of the content of the page;
use a comprehensive semantic field to demonstrate the quality of the text;
inform about the author of the article to prove his area of expertise;
add additional information by doing internal linking ;
update the content to ensure the freshness of the information offered.
Authority
Illustrative image of Google EAT authority
Beyond the web page itself, authority is essential across the entire website. To determine this, Google is particularly interested in links pointing to your site ( backlinks ). Additionally, mentions of your brand and quotes from your texts are positive indicators.
To create effective netlinking , I remind you of the essential points of this pillar of natural referencing:
Quality : The sites that mention you must themselves offer quality content.
Notoriety : links must come from sites with a good trust flow index .
Parenting : the connection between two sites must respect the same theme.
Trust
Illustrative azerbaijan phone number data image of Google EAT trust
This Google EAT factor could also be translated as credibility . Indeed, what the search engine wants are indicators of plausibility and security . Just as with expertise and authority, the information provided by the author, the content of the web page, and the entire website are taken into account.
By respecting the following points, you will provide valuable information to Google to have a chance of positioning your site well in the SERP :
Secured site : A secure site with an SSL certificate (URL starting with HTTPS) gives confidence, whether for indexing robots or users.
Secure payments : a tool like 3D Secure, for example, allows you to encrypt the data of bank cards used.
Legal notices : not only important to reassure Googlebot, they are also mandatory in France.
Privacy Policy : The confidentiality of the information transmitted is also an important element in ensuring the credibility of a site.
Certified reviews : A tool like Trustpilot guarantees the veracity of user reviews, which obviously pleases Google.
Sites affected by Google EAT