The rules of search engine optimization no longer end with keyword density or number of links. Search engines, especially Google, now evaluate "who is talking about this information, in what context, and why?" The criterion at the heart of this judgment is EEAT. EEAT is not a simple SEO checklist; it's a framework for evaluating the trustworthiness of content and brands.

What is EEAT?

EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Rather than being an official Google algorithm element, it's a content evaluation criterion outlined in the Quality Rater Guidelines. However, this criterion significantly impacts actual search exposure, AI summaries, and recommendation results. In short, EEAT focuses on the "quality of the source and context of information," rather than the "quality of the information itself."

1. Experience: Is this a story from someone who actually did it?

Experience is the most important element recently added to EEAT. It asks whether the information is based on direct experience. For example, it's crucial to include "details only those who have experienced it can understand," such as product reviews, service usage reviews, and project case studies. Simply compiled information or reprocessed content falls short in this criterion. Google increasingly favors narratives that convey real-world experiences.

Key points

• Does it reveal actual usage, operation, and execution experience?
• Are there any traces of the experience, such as photos, data, or contextual explanations?
• Are there more sentences that say “did” than “can”?

2. Expertise: Are you qualified to handle this topic?

Expertise refers to a level of specialized understanding of a given subject. It's important to note that not all content requires PhD-level expertise. For everyday topics, a level of expertise is sufficient. However, in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) areas like medicine, finance, law, and business decision-making, a high level of expertise is required.

Key points

• Does the author's job, career, and background connect to the content?
• Is the terminology used accurately and the logical structure consistent?
• Does it explain the cause and context, rather than a superficial summary?

3. Authoritativeness: Are you recognized as an authority in this field?

Authoritativeness is a factor that determines how an individual or organization is perceived externally. This is difficult to build through internal assertions, but rather is accumulated through external signals. Examples include citations from other sites, media mentions, industry references, and credible links. Simply put, it's a social consensus that "what that person says is trustworthy."

Key points

• Is it mentioned or cited on other reliable sites?
• Is the brand or author strongly connected to a particular topic?
• Is content on the same topic continuously accumulated?

4. Trustworthiness: Is the information trustworthy?

Trustworthiness is the ultimate hurdle in EEAT. No matter how much experience or expertise you have, if trust is broken, everything becomes meaningless. Information accuracy, transparent citation of sources, clear accountability, and up-to-dateness are key. For corporate websites in particular, this encompasses not only content but also the site's structure and operational practices.

Key points

• Are the author information, company information, and contact information clear?
• Are advertising/promotional and informational content separated?
• Is it maintained with up-to-date information and does not leave errors unattended?

EEAT is not a content strategy issue.

Many companies misunderstand EEAT as simply "how to write well." However, it's actually directly linked to an organization's knowledge management methods, website structure, and content management philosophy. Who is responsible for producing content, and how that information is stored and managed, are crucial. These issues can't be addressed with a one-time campaign.

Iropke's Perspective: Designing EEAT as a 'Structure'

Iropke approaches EEAT not as an SEO checklist, but as a digital trust infrastructure. From the content planning stage, he designs a structure that accumulates authorship, experience-based information, and specialized areas, and builds an information structure that clearly displays these elements at the website level. This strategy creates a website that can be cited not only in search engines but also in AI-based summarization and recommendation environments. Ultimately, EEAT is about asking, "Who is speaking?" Only websites that can structurally answer this question will achieve long-term search competitiveness.