EEAT Is the New EAT. What the new “E” means for SEO

EEAT (or Double-EAT) is a concept used by human quality raters to evaluate Google’s search ranking systems. Originally it consisted of only three factors (EAT). But in December 2022, Google added the criterion of “experience” to the concept.

So according to Google, some types of content must be produced with first-hand experience to be trustworthy. Here’s what this means for SEO.

No, at least not directly. Nothing has changed here since the original concept of EAT:

As a reminder, these guidelines are what our search reviewers use to help evaluate the performance of our various search ranking systems, and they do not directly affect rankings (source).

Google’s general idea here is to reward (rank higher) quality content that comes from trusted sources. The messenger is therefore at least as important as the message.

Experience in the Double-EAT means first-hand or life experience in the subject.

This means that Google will attempt to “reward” pages where the author has actually experienced the topic they are writing about. For example:

• For an iPhone review, the author must have actually used the product.
• For a guide to the best jazz bars in San Francisco, the author should have actually visited them.
• For an overnight oatmeal recipe, the author should have actually made the dish.
• For an article on how to help people mentally cope with an illness, the author should have actually gone through it...