E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor in the strict sense. Google cannot directly measure "trustworthiness" as a single score. What it can measure are proxies: who wrote this, who published it, who links to it, and what independent sources say about it.
For charities, this matters a lot. Google's quality raters pay particular attention to E-E-A-T signals on websites covering health, finance, and topics that could affect someone's safety or wellbeing. Charities working in mental health, domestic abuse, housing, and social care sit squarely in that category.
Here is what each element means for a charity website and what you can do about it.
What E-E-A-T stands for
The framework has four elements: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. Google added Experience in late 2022, making it the newest addition to the original E-A-T framework that had been in place since 2014.
The Google Search Central documentation on creating helpful content describes the framework clearly, but the practical implications for charity websites are not always obvious from the technical language. This article works through each one specifically.
Experience: the newest signal
Experience asks whether the person or organisation publishing the content has direct, first-hand experience of the topic. For charities, this is often your strongest card.
You work with the people you describe. You have case studies, not just theoretical knowledge. You have staff with lived experience or professional backgrounds in your area of work. The question is whether that experience is visible on your website.
A domestic abuse charity whose website shows the professional background of its clinical team, includes case studies (appropriately anonymised), and explains what its service process looks like in practice is demonstrating first-hand experience. One with a homepage that says "we help survivors rebuild their lives" is not.
Show the work, not just the mission. Named staff with brief bios, published impact reports, testimonials where appropriate, and descriptions of your actual process all contribute to this signal.
Expertise: subject matter depth
Expertise signals that you know your subject. For charities, this comes from the depth and accuracy of your content, not from professional certifications alone.
A charity working in food poverty that publishes a clear, accurate page on the difference between a food bank and a food pantry, who each serves, and how referrals work is demonstrating expertise. A charity with only a donation page and a general "about us" paragraph is not providing Google with much to assess.
Moz's guide to E-E-A-T is worth reading if you want the technical detail. The practical takeaway for charities is this: write about your area of work with genuine knowledge, not marketing copy. Explain things clearly. Use the actual terminology of your field. Correct common misconceptions where they exist.
Authoritativeness: what others say about you
Authority comes largely from external signals. Who links to you. Whether you are cited in sector publications. Whether your charity number appears in the Charity Commission register and whether that registration is easily findable on your own site.
For small charities, building authority takes time. The practical steps are:
- Make your Charity Commission registration number visible on your website, ideally in the footer and on the about page
- Contribute commentary or data to sector publications and research. NCVO, Third Sector, and Civil Society regularly feature smaller organisations when they have something specific to say
- Make it easy for journalists and commissioners to find and contact you. A named press contact helps
- Ensure your organisation appears consistently across directories relevant to your sector
Links from local newspapers, council websites, NHS trust pages, and housing authority referral lists are all strong authority signals for local charities. If you work with partner organisations, ask whether they link to you from their websites.
Trust: what Google actually checks
Trust is the most important of the four. Google has said explicitly that Trust underpins the whole framework. The other three signals contribute to it, but trust has its own indicators.
For a charity website, trust signals include:
- An accurate, clearly dated privacy policy and terms of service
- A named contact, not just a generic form
- Consistent information: the same name, address, and charity number across your website, your Charity Commission record, and any directories you appear in
- HTTPS and no mixed-content warnings
- No broken links or pages returning errors
- Content that matches what your charity actually does, not aspirational copy about what you would like to do
The last point matters more than it sounds. A charity website that claims to offer a service that has been paused, or lists staff who have left, or shows an address that is no longer correct, is a trust liability in Google's assessment.
Five practical changes you can make this month
1. Add your Charity Commission registration number to your footer. This is the single easiest trust and authority signal you can add. If you are a CIC rather than a registered charity, add your Companies House number.
2. Put a bio on your about page for the person leading the organisation. One paragraph. Their professional background, how long they have been in the role, and their area of expertise. This addresses both Experience and Expertise in one place.
3. Audit your site for accuracy. Read every service page. Does it match what you currently offer? Are the contact details correct? Are the staff names current? Inaccurate content is an active trust liability.
4. Get listed in sector-relevant directories. For most charities this means the Charity Commission register, local council voluntary sector pages, and any relevant commissioning frameworks. These are backlinks with genuine authority in your field.
5. Write at least one piece of genuine expert content this quarter. Not a news update. A page that explains something about your area of work clearly and accurately, in a way that demonstrates you know the subject. This is the fastest way to build Expertise signals.
If you want help applying this to your site, our SEO and AI visibility service covers E-E-A-T as part of the audit. Or see where to focus your SEO effort if you have a limited budget for a more prioritised starting point.