You Can't Fake EEAT, But You Should Still Show It

What is EEAT?

EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It's a framework used in Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. These guidelines help human raters judge whether a webpage is helpful and reliable. EEAT matters most for sensitive YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics like health or finance.

Even though Google says that EEAT is not a direct ranking factor, it still affects how your site performs. Over time, websites that show real trust and credibility tend to do better, especially in competitive spaces.

What did John Mueller say?

Recently, Google’s John Mueller made a comment that got a lot of attention from SEOs. He said something along the lines of:

“Sometimes SEOs come to us or like mention that they’ve added EEAT to their web pages. That’s not how it works. Sorry, you can’t sprinkle some experiences on your web pages. It’s like, that’s that doesn’t make any sense.”

And I saw some posts misinterpreting it.

How are SEOs misinterpreting it?

After that comment, I saw a few posts (possibly AI generated) simplifying it to statements like “EEAT isn’t something you can add to a page” or “Google confirmed bios don’t actually matter.”

From my perspective, that’s definitely not what we should be taking from it. Yes, EEAT isn’t a direct ranking factor. You can’t measure it in a tool or “add” it like metadata. You obviously can’t literally “sprinkle on EEAT.”

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still try to highlight the real experience and credibility behind your content.

What this actually means

Mueller wasn’t saying not to show experience or trust. He was saying you can’t fake it and expect it to work.

If your site has no real experience or authority, then sure, adding a fake author bio probably won’t do anything. And if you don’t actually have trustworthy content, a few stock photos and a badge likely won’t convince anyone otherwise. You could even be penalized for it (see Google's April 2025 update to section 4.5.3 to the Quality Rater Guidelines).

But if you do have real experience and trustworthiness, then you still need to show it.

Let’s say your content is written by a financial advisor with years of experience. If you never mention their background or credentials, how can you be sure users, or Google’s quality raters, know they can trust the information?

You need to make your credibility visible. Write expert, authoritative, trustworthy content, and then reinforce it.

People can't trust what they can't see

Think of it like applying for a job. You might be the best person for it, but if you don’t submit a resume or explain your background, no one will hire you. Your qualifications are real, but they still need to be visible.

The same is true for websites. If your site is built on experience, show it. Add bios, list credentials, link to reputable sources, and include reviews from real people.

You can’t fake EEAT. But you can absolutely demonstrate it if you actually have it. Even if it isn't a direct ranking factor, it’s common sense that an article about heart conditions is a lot more trustworthy when you know it was written by a cardiologist with 20 years of experience.

What this means for your SEO strategy

• Focus on actually being EEAT: Start with the content itself. Is it helpful? Accurate? Written by someone who really knows the topic? You can’t show expertise if it isn’t there in the first place. The best strategy is always to create something worth trusting.
• Make that expertise easy to see: Once you have the experience or authority, don’t keep it hidden. Add author bios, mention credentials, link to sources, or show where your work has been featured. People can’t trust what they can’t see.
• Don’t try to fake it: Adding random trust signals won’t help if the content or source isn’t actually credible. Fake bios, made-up reviews, and vague claims usually hurt more than they help. Just be honest and let the real stuff do the work.
• Apply this thinking to everything: Even if your site isn’t about health or finance, these principles still matter. A recipe is more valuable when it’s written by someone who actually cooks. A gear review hits harder when the person has used the product. Trust matters everywhere.

Final thoughts

John Mueller’s comment shouldn’t be interpreted as “stop caring about EEAT.” What you should be thinking is that you can’t just tack it on and expect results. If your content isn’t grounded in real experience or expertise, no amount of surface-level polish will fix that.

But if you do have those things, make them obvious. Don’t assume people will just know. Show your credibility clearly and consistently. That’s how you earn trust.