Google updates Search Quality Rater guidelines

Google has refined its Search Quality Rater guidelines to help content writers more clearly understand what Google is looking for in content.

The 167-page PDF covering the Google Search Quality Rater guidelines can be found here.
The new update of the guidelines has included more information about ‘Your money, your life’ (YMYL), which is an important factor when your website is giving financial and health information. The update has also included more clarification on low-quality content and E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), which is a big factor for SEO (search engine optimisation).

What’s changed in the guidelines?

Google has added some new bullet points in the last part of the guidelines, which include:

• Updated language so that the guidelines are aligned with the new ‘Search Quality Rater Guidelines: An Overview’
• More focus on YMYL, especially for topics that require a high level of accuracy and prevent significant harm, with new examples added
• Clarification on ‘Low’ and ‘Lowest’ page quality to emphasise that the level of E-A-T depends on the page
• Updated screenshots, removal of the outdated examples and removed user location when relevant

The guidelines have been condensed to make them easier to understand, with the previous update having 171 pages and this update only having 167 pages. This will enable content writers to more easily understand the information to improve content performance.

Google’s quality search evaluator ratings don’t directly impact your website’s rankings; however, they are used to improve the algorithm to give users better results for their searches.

If you are looking to improve your website’s performance in search results, at Engage Web, we can help you by providing search engine optimisation (SEO) and copywriting services. We can help you grow traffic to your website and help you appear for more related queries. To find out more, get in touch with our friendly team.

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Jonathon Roberts

Jonathon lives and breathes marketing, boasting a degree in Business Management and Marketing Management and a diverse list of experiences both professional and voluntary. Having grown up in the thick of the digital and social media age, he has been quick to dive into online marketing and search engine optimisation in his career and spare time, spanning such fields as academics, local business and sport.

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