E-E-A-T for SEO: The Pass/Fail Signals Google Actually Looks For

E-E-A-T is one of those SEO topics that makes people either overconfident or completely paranoid.

Overconfident because they think, “Cool, I’ll add an author box and a couple of quotes. Done.”

Paranoid because they hear “Google wants experience and authority” and imagine some mysterious human reviewer judging their life story.

The truth is more boring. And more useful.

Google is not running around giving your site an “E-E-A-T score.” But Google is looking at lots of signals that line up with Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. Some of those signals are basically pass fail. Like, if you miss them, you will struggle no matter how good your keyword research is.

So this article is about those. The stuff that actually moves the needle.

Not theory. Not vibes. Not “just write helpful content.”

Pass fail signals.

First, what E-E-A-T actually is (and what it is not)

E-E-A-T comes from Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. That’s a document used to train human raters so Google can evaluate whether changes to the algorithm improved results.

That means two important things:

1. E-E-A-T is not a single ranking factor. There is no hidden toggle in Search Console.
2. But it maps to real algorithmic signals. Google tries to approximate what a rater would call trustworthy, experienced, expert content using data it can measure at scale.

So when people say “E-E-A-T matters,” what they really mean is:

If your site looks untrustworthy, thin, anonymous, or fake, you might not pass the quality bar. And if you don’t pass that bar, rankings get hard.

The easiest way to think about E-E-A-T: what would fail a manual review?

If a human reviewer landed on your page, what would make them bounce or distrust it instantly?

That’s the mindset.

You do not need to be a famous brand to win. But you do need to look like a real business or real person with something at stake.

Let’s get into the actual signals.

Trust (T): the “you either have it or you don’t” category

Trust is the most pass fail part of E-E-A-T. Especially for anything that touches money, health, safety, legal stuff, parenting. All the “your life could get worse if this advice is wrong” topics.

1. Clear ownership and accountability

If I cannot tell who runs your site, you’re already in a hole.

Pass:

• Real “About” page with a name or company, not just a mission statement
• Contact page with a working email, address, or support path
• Privacy policy, terms, refund policy (if relevant)
• Editorial policy if you publish advice content at scale

Fail:

• No contact info
• Fake persona author profiles
• A content farm vibe where nothing is tied to a real entity

A simple fix is often just cleaning up your site footprint. If you want a structured way to catch these issues at the page level, run an audit using an on-page checklist like this on-page SEO checker and then manually review the trust pieces it can’t “feel,” like whether your business info is actually credible.

2. Secure site and basic technical trust

Yes, it’s obvious. But people still mess it up.

Pass:

• HTTPS everywhere
• No malware warnings
• No aggressive popups that block content
• No sketchy redirect behavior

Fail:

• Mixed content warnings
• Broken pages, broken images, broken scripts
• Spammy ads that make the page unusable

This one is boring. Still counts.

3. Claims that match the evidence on the page

If you say something that sounds like a fact, and there’s no support, it feels like BS.

Pass:

• Sources for data claims
• Dates for anything time sensitive
• Distinguish opinion vs recommendation vs fact

Fail:

• “Studies show…” with no study
• Wild medical or financial claims with no citations
• Fake statistics

You don’t need to cite everything like a college paper. But you do need to show you’re not just inventing authority.

Experience (E): proof you’ve actually done the thing

This is where a lot of AI content falls flat, even when it’s well written.

Google doesn’t require first-person experience for every topic. But for “how to” content, product reviews, comparisons, and anything where hands-on insight matters, experience is often the difference between “meh” and “this is the result.”

4. First-hand details that are hard to fake

This is the simplest version of experience:

• photos you took
• screenshots from your workflow
• settings you used
• mistakes you made
• what surprised you
• what happened after 30 days, not just day one

Pass: “Here’s the exact template we used, here’s the before and after, here’s what broke when we tried it.”

Fail: Generic steps that read like a rewritten guide from 2019.

If you publish at scale, this is the part that becomes operational. You need a repeatable way to inject real experience into content, even if you use AI to speed up drafting.

For example, if you’re producing content with an automation platform, you can still add a layer where you edit intros, add screenshots, include real examples, and tighten claims. Tools can help with the heavy lifting, but the experience layer has to come from you.

If you’re curious what “AI at scale” looks like when done more responsibly, this is basically what SEO software is built around. It automates the content pipeline, but you still decide what gets published and what gets refined.

5. Reviewer credibility for reviews and comparisons

If you write “best X” lists or compare tools, the reviewer matters.

Pass:

• “Why you should trust this review” section
• Disclosure of affiliate relationships
• Testing methodology (even short)
• Real pros and cons, not all positive

Fail:

• “Top 10” list where every tool is “powerful” and “easy”
• No mention of how anything was evaluated
• Fake awards, fake badges

And just to say it: if your review is obviously written to push one affiliate link, people can tell. Google can probably tell too.

Expertise (E): do you know what you’re talking about, specifically?

Expertise is about accuracy, depth, and correctness relative to the topic.

Not “sounds smart.” Actually correct.

6. Content that answers the query fully, not just “SEO length”

One underrated pass fail signal is whether the page actually satisfies the intent.

If someone searches “how to improve page SEO,” they’re not looking for a 2,000 word history of on-page SEO. They want a checklist, priorities, and a way to execute.

So you need:

• Clear steps
• Clear definitions
• Examples
• Common mistakes
• What to do first vs later

If you want a practical framework for the execution side, here’s a solid companion guide on how to improve page SEO. It’s the same idea: stop being abstract, start being specific.

7. Consistency across related pages (topical competence)

This is subtle, but it shows up fast when you’re building topical authority.

If one page says one thing and another page contradicts it, or you use terms incorrectly across the site, it’s a red flag.

Pass:

• Consistent definitions
• Internal links that connect related subtopics
• A content cluster that feels like it was written by the same brain

Fail:

• Random disconnected posts
• Conflicting advice
• Outdated posts that still get indexed

This is where having a system helps. Not just “write more.” A system that scans your site, finds gaps, and plans content that actually fits together.

Authoritativeness (A): do other people treat you like you matter?

Authority is mostly external. You can’t fully manufacture it on your site.

But you can absolutely sabotage it. And that’s where the pass fail signals live.

8. Real mentions, real links, real citations

Backlinks still matter. But the quality of context matters more than people want to admit.

Pass:

• Links from relevant publications, communities, tools, partners
• Mentions with your brand name (even unlinked)
• Being cited as a source, not just linked in a footer

Fail:

• Link spam
• Irrelevant guest posts
• Paid link networks that leave footprints

Also, if your brand name never appears anywhere outside your own site, it’s not always fatal, but it caps your ceiling.

9. Author reputation (for some topics, it’s make-or-break)

If your content affects health, money, legal outcomes, Google tends to be stricter.

You may need:

• real author names
• credentials
• professional bios
• reviewer notes (medical reviewer, legal reviewer, etc)
• updated dates and revision history

If you’re a small site, you can still do this without being a celebrity. It’s mostly about transparency and accountability.

The hidden E-E-A-T killer: scaled content with no editorial control

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

A lot of sites are publishing hundreds or thousands of pages quickly. AI made that easy.

But if you scale content without a quality bar, you create patterns that look like:

• generic intros
• repetitive phrasing
• no original examples
• no real point of view
• no clear owner
• pages that all feel the same

That’s where you get hit. Not because “AI is banned,” but because the output fails the experience and trust sniff test.

If you’re going to scale, you need a workflow that includes:

• topic selection that matches your product or business
• editorial pass for accuracy and intent
• internal linking that makes sense
• removal or rewriting of weak pages

If you want to scale content while keeping some control, you’ll want an editor layer. Whether that’s a person, a process, or a tool that makes rewrites painless.

A practical way to do that is using an AI editor that’s built for SEO content workflows, not just rewriting text to sound different. That’s what an AI SEO editor should be doing. Helping you tighten, expand, align with intent, and keep things consistent.

So what does Google actually “look at”? Here’s the pass/fail checklist

This is the part you can copy into your notes.

Trust: pass/fail

• Can a user easily see who owns the site?
• Is there a real contact path?
• Does the site look safe and functional?
• Are claims supported with sources when needed?
• Is the content honest about limitations and risk?

Experience: pass/fail (especially for reviews and how-to)

• Are there first-hand details?
• Is there evidence of real use or testing?
• Does the content include real examples, not just generic steps?

Expertise: pass/fail

• Is the advice correct and aligned with current best practices?
• Does it answer the query fully?
• Does it avoid obvious mistakes and contradictions?

Authority: pass/fail (more gradual, but still)

• Are there quality mentions or links?
• Are authors credible for the topic?
• Does the brand exist outside its own site?

If you fail Trust, you usually lose. If you fail Experience, you get stuck in “average” territory. If you fail Expertise, you might rank briefly and then decay. If you fail Authority, you can still rank, but your ceiling is lower.

What to do if you’re using AI content (without destroying E-E-A-T)

You can use AI. Plenty of good sites do. The key is to stop treating AI as the author.

Treat it as the draft engine.

Here’s a simple workflow that keeps you on the right side of E-E-A-T:

1. Start with real topics tied to your business Not random traffic bait. Real customer problems.
2. Draft fast Use AI to get a first version done, outline plus full draft.
3. Add experience One screenshot. One real example. One personal note. One “we tried this and here’s what happened.”
4. Fact check and source Especially stats, tool features, pricing, medical or legal claims.
5. Add internal links that actually help Not just for SEO. For navigation and context.

If you're aiming to enhance your SEO strategy, it's crucial to focus on user experience as well as content quality. Incorporating UX signals that boost SEO into your website can significantly improve your ranking.

If you’re trying to automate the drafting, scheduling, and publishing side, that’s where a platform like SEO software fits. Hands-off content production, but you still have the ability to rewrite, adjust, and keep quality consistent.

And if you’re comparing tools like Surfer or Jasper for content workflows, it’s worth looking at how automation stacks up against those “writing assistant” style products. These comparisons are useful:

• SEO software vs Surfer SEO
• SEO software vs Jasper

Not because one tool magically gives you E-E-A-T, but because your workflow is what determines whether quality is repeatable.

Quick examples of E-E-A-T upgrades that actually help

Some of these are almost comically simple.

• Add a “Last updated” date and actually update posts.
• Add an author bio that explains why the person knows the topic.
• Add an editorial policy page. Even a short one.
• Add 2 to 3 real photos or screenshots to your most important pages.
• Replace generic intros with a specific scenario.
• Add “Who this is for” and “Who this is not for” sections.
• Include a short methodology for reviews.
• Remove or rewrite your weakest 10 percent of pages.

If you do only one thing this month, do that last one. Weak pages drag down the perceived quality of the whole site.

Closing thought (because this is what people miss)

E-E-A-T is not something you sprinkle onto content at the end.

It’s what your site communicates when nobody is watching.

Are you real. Are you careful. Are you accountable. Do you actually know the topic. Did you actually do the thing you’re talking about.

If you want an easy next step, pick one important page and run it through a proper on-page review, then fix the trust issues first, experience second, expertise third. You can use a tool to surface the basics, like this on-page SEO checker, but the real wins come from the human parts.

Once that’s done, scaling content becomes way less risky. And honestly, way more effective.