EEAT or Die: How to Build Authority in an

Key Concepts

• E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): A set of guidelines Google uses to evaluate the quality of content, now crucial for AI citations.
• Generative Search: AI-powered search experiences like Google's AI Overview, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
• AI Citations: Mentions and references to a brand or website within AI-generated search results.
• LLMs (Large Language Models): The AI models that power generative search engines.
• Schema Markup: Structured data that helps search engines and LLMs understand the content on a webpage.
• Authority Signals: Indicators of a website's or brand's credibility and trustworthiness, used by AI to determine which sources to cite.
• Freshness Tags: Publication dates and updated timestamps that signal recently refreshed content.
• Off-Site Mentions: Brand mentions and engagement on other websites, forums, and platforms.
• Structured Reviews: Reviews with ratings and breakdowns that are machine-readable.

Why E-E-A-T Matters in the Age of Generative Search

• Non-Negotiable: E-E-A-T is no longer optional; it's essential for being included in AI-generated summaries and recommendations.
• Replacing Search Signals: Generative summaries are becoming a primary way users find information, making E-E-A-T more important than traditional SEO signals.
• Trust and Expertise: AI engines heavily rely on trust and expertise to determine which sources to cite.
• Contextual Brand Mentions: AI considers not just the number of mentions but also the context and the authority of the source mentioning the brand.

The Rise of AI Overviews

• Rapid Growth: AI Overviews in Google search results are rapidly increasing, eating up SERP real estate.
• SCMRush Data: AI Overviews triggered in 13.14% of Google queries in March 2025, doubling from 6.49% in January 2025.
• Cross-Sector Impact: This trend affects all sectors and categories.
• Conversion Focus: While traffic from AI citations may be low, conversion rates are high, significantly impacting sales.
• Authority as Differentiator: Authority is becoming the key factor in determining whether a brand is part of the AI conversation.
• WordStream Data: 70% of users trust generative AI answers somewhat.
• Conversion Impact: AI citations can drive over 10% of total sales despite representing less than 1% of traffic.

How AI Reads Authority

• Strong Signals Needed: LLMs require strong authority signals to rank and cite sources.
• Key Signals: Schema, clear content structure, and proper attribution are crucial.
• Pattern Recognition: LLMs recognize quality through consistency in structure, tone, and language.
• Digital Ecosystem: AI considers the entire online presence, not just the website.
• Data Feeds: LLMs have data deals with platforms like Reddit and TikTok to gather information.

Analyzing AI Overviews

• Competitive Analysis: Plug in important key terms to see what AI is citing in your industry.
• Citation Frequency: AI Overviews show about five to eight results per citation.
• News Dominance: News appears in only one of every five citations, with major players like NYT, BBC, and CNN dominating 31% of results.
• Benchmark Against Competitors: Identify sites that are showing up in AI Overviews for your industry and analyze their strategies.
• Key Characteristics: Sites cited in AI often have strong credentials, clearly structured content, and unique contributions to their industry.

Hidden Signals That Boost Authority

• Freshness Tags: Publication dates and updated timestamps signal recently refreshed content.
• Schema: FAQ and how-to schema increase snippet eligibility.
• Layered Structured Content: In-depth, layered content is essential.
• Off-Site E-E-A-T: E-E-A-T is important across all platforms where users search.
• Forum Engagement: Reddit, Quora, and Stack Exchange are key citation sources.
• Valuable Insights: Provide helpful, valuable insights in forums, not just brand plugs.
• Peer-Reviewed Content: Important for academic, educational, and medical industries.
• YouTube Visibility: Create YouTube video assets with transcripts, titles, and overlays.

Content Formats That Earn Citations

• Case Studies and Raw Data: Original surveys and case studies are highly valued by AI.
• Timeliness: Adding new information to the web is powerful.
• Data Organization: Present data in an easy-to-understand, digestible way.

Engineering E-E-A-T Signals

• Original Research: Use original content or unique perspectives.
• Survey Data: 82% of marketers saw higher AI-driven clicks on proprietary data in a 2024 survey.
• Content Formatting: Format content for easy scraping with clear layouts, H2s, numbered lists, and short-form answers.
• Summary-Ready Structure: Use short intros or key takeaways in each section, including TL;DR sections.
• Schema Markup: Clarify content intent and author identity with schema.
• FAQ Schema: Pages with FAQ schema are featured 12% more in AI snippets.
• Reddit Engagement: Cultivate relationships through genuine engagement on Reddit.
• Guest Collaborations: Collaborate with experts in your field.
• Brand Awareness: 60% of marketers claim guest blogging helps grow brand awareness and credibility.
• Co-Authoring Impact: Co-authoring with recognized experts boosts citation likelihood in AI by 45%.
• Structured Reviews: Use structured reviews on platforms like G2.
• Software Reviews: Software reviews in G2 are 30% more likely to be cited in AI results.
• Expertise Visibility: Put a face on your expertise with video intros, professional bios, and credentials on the page.
• Author Attribution: Use named authors with relevant credentials and links to their bios and published work.

Accelerating Authority Through Paid PR and Owned Assets

• Strategic Timing: Time paid PR campaigns with product launches or original research drops.
• Niche Reddit Threads: Use niche paid Reddit threads with authentic and transparent engagement.
• Relevance Over Volume: Focus on relevancy rather than reach in sponsored posts.
• Credibility Goal: Prioritize credibility over reach in sponsored posts.
• AI-Cited Outlets: Find outlets already cited by AI in your industry.
• Tech Industry Example: Sponsored posts on industry sites provide about 27% of AI citations in tech-related queries.
• Interactive Tools: Interactive tools are cited 22% of the time versus 8% for guides in AI.
• Tool Examples: Calculators, quizzes, interactive designs, goal trackers, and comparison tools.
• Value-Added Tools: Provide industry averages or downloadable results.
• Case Studies: Structure case studies for easy scraping with bullet points, charts, and bold metrics.
• Video Assets: 40% of AI citations include video assets.
• LinkedIn Engagement: Company tag posts on LinkedIn spike more engagement and are three times more likely to be scraped by AI.
• Consistency: Maintain a consistent posting cadence on LinkedIn.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Generic Author Bios: Don't use "by admin" or anonymous bylines.
• Detailed Bios: Use detailed bios with roles, credentials, and affiliations.
• Bio Refresh: Regularly update bios with new achievements.
• Off-Site Conversations: Don't ignore off-site conversations on forums like Reddit.
• Marketing Language: Avoid marketing-driven language in forums.
• Authentic Relationships: Cultivate authentic relationships in online communities.
• Copycat Content: Copycat content rarely earns citations.
• Schema Usage: Use schema and structured elements to improve visibility.

Real-World E-E-A-T Tactics

• Content Hubs: Create content hubs with AI-ready structure and embedded internal tools.
• Behind-the-Scenes Videos: Publish behind-the-scenes videos with process breakdowns and timestamps.
• Structured Author Bios: Add structured author bios that link to verified credentials.
• LinkedIn Thought Leadership: Use cross-posted LinkedIn thought leadership tagged with expert mentions.

E-E-A-T Examples

• Zapier: Automation guides include expert quotes with citation and attribution, properly marked up schema, embedded demos, and change logs.
• Mayo Clinic: Physician-reviewed content with reviewer bios, medical credentials, clear last reviewed dates, structured content with tabs and anchor links, FAQ schema, and an embedded "ask a specialist" tool.
• WebMD: Symptom input with expert-reviewed condition results, interactive features like first aid visuals, reputable treatment information, richly structured content with FAQ schema, and intensely audited internal linking.

Conclusion

• Layered Validated Authority: Generative search favors layered, validated authority.
• Full-Spectrum Credibility: E-E-A-T is about full-spectrum credibility across all platforms.
• Future-Proof SEO: Building authority future-proofs SEO.
• Revenue Focus: Focus on revenue, not just traffic.
• Authority Drives Revenue: Building authority drives more mentions, leading to more revenue.