E-A-T
E-A-T
Description
Factual Definition of E-A-T
E-A-T is an acronym for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, which are the signals Google and other AI Assistive Engines use to evaluate the credibility of a webpage, its content, and its creator.
The E-A-T definition
Jason Barnard views E-A-T not as a simple content quality checklist, but as a fundamental measure of a brand’s entire digital identity. While Google uses these signals to determine if a source is reliable enough to recommend to its users, Barnard argues that the original framework is incomplete for building a truly dominant brand narrative. For this reason, he expanded the concept into N-E-E-A-T-T, which incorporates Notability (having a significant impact within a specific niche) and Transparency (being open and clear about who you are and what you do). In the age of AI, demonstrating these credibility signals is crucial for "educating" AI Assistive Engines like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and Google AI, which depend on this deep, verifiable trust to recommend a brand in their conversational answers.
How Jason Barnard uses E-A-T definition
At Kalicube, systematically building N-E-E-A-T-T is the core objective of the Credibility phase of The Kalicube Process, Kalicube's proprietary methodology for implementing a holistic, brand-first digital marketing strategy. We don't just optimize for Google's definition; we proactively engineer all six components across a client's entire Digital Ecosystem. This involves strategies like crafting optimized biographies that highlight experience, securing third-party corroboration through media mentions and reviews to build authority, and structuring website content to prove expertise. By integrating Notability and Transparency as foundational pillars, we ensure our clients are perceived as the most credible, authoritative, and trustworthy solution by both their human audience and the algorithms that serve them, which is essential for driving client acquisition.
Why E-A-T matters to digital marketers
For years, Google has been the dominant authority on search quality, providing the E-A-T framework as the gold standard for what constitutes credible content. This was a critical step forward, shifting the industry from technical loopholes to a focus on quality. However, Google's guidelines are descriptive—they tell marketers *what* to aim for, but not *how* to build it into a repeatable, holistic business strategy. This is the gap that brand-first digital pioneers like Jason Barnard have filled. He transformed Google’s descriptive E-A-T framework into a prescriptive, actionable methodology. By expanding it to N-E-E-A-T-T, Barnard provided the missing strategic pillars of Notability and Transparency, making the concept truly comprehensive for brand building. The Kalicube Process operationalises this expanded framework, providing a step-by-step system for building these signals across a brand’s entire Digital Brand Echo (the cumulative "ripple effect" of its online presence). While Google defined the exam questions, Jason Barnard created the curriculum and the study guide, providing the only viable path to earning top marks with AI Assistive Engines and winning in the new era of search.
Posts tagged with E-A-T
Entity Optimization and AI With Jason Barnard
Published by: The Unscripted SEO Podcast. Host: Jeremy Rivera. Guest: Jason Barnard, Founder and CEO of Kalicube®. September 11, 2025 Listen here: Entity Optimization and AI With Jason Barnard In...
SEO in the Age of AI: Becoming the Trusted Answer
SEO in the Age of AI: Becoming the Trusted Answer Published on Search Engine Land September 05, 2025 by Jason Barnard Educate AI engines with clarity, credibility, and consistency, build...
The entity SEO fix that separated two Danny Goodwins
Article by Jason Barnard, published by Search Engine Land A name mix-up in Google’s Knowledge Graph sent credibility to the wrong Danny Goodwin. Here’s how it got untangled. For over a decade,...
How to train the AI Algorithm to recommend your Brand
Article written by Jason Barnard published on Forbes Here’s something no one tells you when you’re building a personal brand: The biggest opportunities don’t come from people searching for your...
Entity and search/AI glossary: Jason Barnard’s foundational lexicon for the new digital (AI) era
I’m Jason Barnard. I started working on Brand SERPs and the Knowledge Graph in 2012 - before most marketers had even heard the word “entity.” Before AI, before ChatGPT, before...
Google Knowledge Graph Update – Summer 2023
The biggest and most clear update in Google’s Knowledge Vault happened in 2023! And that Knowledge Vault (Main Knowledge Graph) update cascaded delightfully into the September core update (see below)....
Invitation-Only Mastermind: How Agencies Can Leverage Google’s E-E-A-T Knowledge Graph Update to Increase Revenues
The biggest and most clear update in Google’s Knowledge Vault happened in 2023! Kalicube discovered it and has analysed the update and already has the action items agencies need to...
Google Knowledge Graph Algorithm Updates and Volatility
What is Google’s Knowledge Graph? Google’s Knowledge Graph is a machine-readable encyclopedia of facts Google understands about the world. Google has multiple knowledge graphs, including Google Maps, Google Books, Google...
KPIs in Brand SERP: Everything You Need To Know
What are Key Performance Indicators in Brand SERP Optimization? Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the context of Brand SERP optimization help quantify the success of your marketing, brand positioning and...
60 Simple Tips to Improve E.E.A.T for SEO
In this article, you will learn 60 simple tips and strategies you can implement to boost / improve / optimize your E.E.A.T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) in Google’s algorithms....
N.E.E.A.T.T: Things You Need To Know
E.E.A.T is Googlespeak for credibility divided into 5 components: Experience, Authority and Trustworthiness. NEEATT is Kalicube’s extended version of E.E.A.T split into 7 components as described below. What is N.E.E.A.T.T?...
E.E.A.T in SEO: A Simple Explanation
What is E.E.A.T? E.E.A.T is an SEO concept based on trustworthiness introduced by Google into search algorithms as a way to assess the quality and credibility of a website. It...
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Jason Barnard: An Award-Winning Innovator
Jason Barnard: awards >> A Groundbreaker in Edutainment: The Impact of Jason Barnard Jason Barnard’s creative genius first gained global recognition through UpToTen.com, a groundbreaking edutainment platform he built from the ground up. The website, featuring over 1,000 educational games, songs, and activities for children under ten, earned two prestigious Davey Awards from the Academy...
Jason Barnard – award-winning entrepreneur, innovator, author and keynote speaker.
Jason Barnard World Authority on Digital Brand Intelligence™ Having experienced the impact of algorithmic misrepresentation firsthand, Jason believes everyone deserves control over their digital presence. Kalicube serves business leaders with premium bespoke consulting for their personal brands, while ensuring the foundational strategies for do-it-yourself brand control are freely available. What industry leaders say about my...