Why Google E-A-T Gets an Extra E for Experience

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What is 'Experience' in Google's E-E-A-T framework?

Definizione Chiave: Experience in Google's E-E-A-T framework is a quality signal that assesses whether content was created by someone with a degree of first-hand, real-life involvement in the topic. It demonstrates that the creator has actually used a product, visited a place, or possesses personal experience relevant to the subject matter.

Google has updated its well-known E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework for content quality by adding a new, crucial element: Experience. This shift, now called E-E-A-T, emphasizes the value of content created from a first-hand perspective, acknowledging that for some queries, real-world use is more valuable than formal expertise.

The first 'E' in E-E-A-T stands for Experience, which evaluates if the creator has direct, personal involvement with the subject.
This update was officially included in Google's Search Rater Guidelines on December 5, 2022.
For certain topics, such as product or software reviews, content from people with direct experience can be more valuable than content from a formal expert.
The E-E-A-T guidelines are used by human search raters to evaluate search system performance and help creators self-assess their content.
The goal of this update is to better capture the nuances of how people search for information and to recognize the diversity of quality content available.

Many creators are familiar with the concept of Google E-A-T. Google E-A-T is a framework used to evaluate if Google's search ranking systems provide helpful, relevant information. The goal is to ensure users feel the results they get are credible by demonstrating:

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What is Experience in Google E-E-A-T?

The E-A-T framework is now gaining an extra 'E' for Experience, officially making it Google E-E-A-T. Experience in this context is a quality that assesses whether content was produced with a degree of first-hand involvement. This means the content demonstrates that the creator has actually used a product, visited a place, or communicated a personal experience. In some situations, you value most content produced by someone with first-hand life experience on the topic at hand.

For example, if you're looking for information on how to fill out your tax returns correctly, that's probably a situation where you want to see content produced by an expert in the field of accounting. But if you're looking for tax preparation software reviews, you might be looking for different information—maybe it's a forum discussion from people with experience with different services.

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This new framework, often called E-E-A-T — or "Double-E-A-T" — is now part of the updated search rater E-E-A-T guidelines Google released on December 5, 2022. You'll also see more explicit guidance throughout the guidelines, underscoring the importance of content created to be original and helpful for people and explaining that helpful information can come in a variety of different formats and from a range of sources.

An Update to Google Search Rater Guidelines

These are not fundamentally new ideas. And Google is not abandoning the fundamental principle that Search seeks to surface reliable information, especially on topics where information quality is critically important. Rather, Google hopes these updates better capture the nuances of how people look for information and the diversity of quality information worldwide.

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As a reminder, these guidelines are used by Google's search raters to help evaluate the performance of Google's various search ranking systems, and they don't directly influence ranking. They can also be useful to creators seeking to understand how to self-assess their content to be successful in Google Search. Google's page on creating helpful, people-first content has a section that explains this more.

----------------------Originally posted by Elizabeth Tucker.

Partially edited for clarity; links replaced with information on aspiration.marketing where available. Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Google E-E-A-T & Search Quality FAQ

What is Google E-E-A-T?

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Google E-E-A-T is a framework for evaluating search quality: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It adds 'Experience' to the original E-A-T guidelines. This helps Google assess if content is credible and based on first-hand involvement, ensuring users get helpful results.

What does the extra 'E' for 'Experience' mean in Google E-E-A-T?

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'Experience' in E-E-A-T assesses if content is from first-hand involvement. As noted in the Dec 2022 update, it values content from creators who have used a product or lived an experience. This helps Google gauge the practical helpfulness and authenticity of information for search users.

Do E-E-A-T guidelines directly influence Google search rankings?

No, E-E-A-T guidelines do not directly influence rankings. They are used by human search raters to evaluate the performance of Google's ranking systems. This feedback helps Google refine its algorithms to better surface helpful, reliable, and people-first content for users.

Why did Google add 'Experience' to its E-A-T framework?

Google added 'Experience' to better capture the nuances of how people look for information. The updated guidelines recognize that helpful content can come from diverse sources with direct life experience. This allows Search to better value authentic, first-hand accounts alongside expert opinions.

Who uses the Google E-E-A-T guidelines?

The E-E-A-T guidelines are used by Google's human search raters. These raters evaluate the performance of Google's search ranking systems based on this framework. Creators can also use these guidelines to self-assess their content and align with people-first principles.

Is E-E-A-T a completely new concept for Google Search?

No, the core ideas in E-E-A-T are not fundamentally new. Google has always aimed to surface reliable information, and this is an update to the established E-A-T framework. The addition of 'Experience' simply refines the guidelines to better capture what makes content helpful.

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