What is E-E-A-T, and does my site have it?

When Google explains what makes content worth ranking, it uses one shorthand: E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust. It isn't a score you can buy or a box you can tick; it's the question behind every search result and every AI recommendation: is a real, capable, reachable person behind this — and can we tell? Most small-business sites lose out here not by lacking the substance, but by never showing it. Here's each pillar in plain English, and the ask that fixes it.

Experience — you've actually done the work

First-hand experience is what separates your pages from generic filler: the commission that went sideways and how you saved it, what twenty years at the bench taught you about materials. Nobody can fake it, and it's exactly what both people and AI find worth quoting. Write like yourself — How do I use AI to write without sounding like a robot? — and put your story on the site: Make my about page tell a story.

Expertise — it's clear who you are and what you know

This is the pillar most sites simply forget: no bio, no name on the articles, an about page that talks about "we" without ever saying who. Fix the human side (Update my bio) and the machine side — the behind-the-scenes labels that tell Google and AI this article was written by this person, who is this maker (How do I make Google and AI search understand my pages?). The prompt below runs both checks in one ask. Then go deeper: How do I write the guides that make me the go-to expert? turns what you know into pages only you could write.

Authoritativeness — the world vouches for you

Authority is other people saying you're the real thing — mentions, reviews, your name in the right conversations. It's earned, not bought, and the fakes actively backfire; How do I build the authority that makes AI trust me? covers the genuine way. Then bring the proof home where machines can read it: Add reviews and testimonials.

Trust — people can reach you and believe the page

The quiet pillar that underwrites the other three: a working contact route on every page, honest prices, a privacy page, a site that loads fast and works. Start with Make it obvious how to reach me, and let bernard's health checks catch the rest.

Where to start

Run the ask below — it audits the Expertise pillar (the one most often missing) and drafts what's lacking, grounded only in what your site already says about you. Nothing invented, nothing live until you approve. Then work through the other pillars at your own pace; Your first six weeks: a starter plan sequences all of this, and How does AI decide who to recommend — and how do I become that person? explains why it works. And once your site shows who you are, make sure Google actually reads it: Get my site into Google.