The Google Search Quality Raters Guidelines are critical in determining whether an improvement is successful. Search quality raters from all over the world use a standard set of search quality rater guidelines to rate search results of quality ( those guidelines are publicly available). Today, we would like to describe how these guidelines operate and how they evolve like Search itself.
It’s a declaration that Google: Search is not a completed job (over 4,800 modifications last year alone). Whether Google is releasing significant updates or making minor repairs, they aim to improve the search function, ensuring you can locate the information you need when you need it.
Search quality raters are essential in determining whether an improvement to Search is successful. This global team of over 10,000 people evaluates search results using the same Search quality rater guidelines—which are publicly available. This article is a brief overview of how those guidelines function and how they evolve in the same manner as Search itself.
What are the factors that determine search quality rating?
The quality raters’ guidelines are more than 170 pages long. If it is reduced to one phrase, they aim to ensure that Search returns relevant results from the most dependable sources available.
Search is focused on providing high-quality information, and Google systems work to surface it. The rater guidelines help raters determine whether a planned improvement is meeting that goal by providing a uniform, clear definition that all raters use to assess the results they see.
High-quality information is content that presents expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in a given topic, which is called E-A-T. For example, a health website with health information from doctors and made by a medical institution would likely be perceived as having a high level of expertise, authoritativeness, and trust. The rater guidelines also describe low-quality content on the web, such as material that encourages hatred or deceives users.
Who are the guidelines for?
Quality raters provide insights and ensure that the Google systems—and proposed improvements—are working as intended by evaluating pages against Google guidelines. The changes Google makes to Search are rigorously tested and evaluated by real people.
Raters compare two sets of search results to examine an improvement Google is testing. They examine the results and determine whether they match the query based on our rater guidelines.
The ratings they provide don’t directly impact how a page or site appears in Search; instead, they help Google measure how well the Google systems are working to deliver good content.
Are the rater guidelines updated frequently?
Google makes improvements to Search just like they update the rater quality guidelines to ensure they are functioning as intended.
Google hopes to improve Search by tackling issues they’ve identified, including expanding sections and providing new examples to assist raters. For instance, in 2017, Google revised its guidelines to include more detailed examples of low-quality web pages that include misleading information, offensive outcomes, hoaxes, or other content.
When Google identifies concepts that are particularly hard for raters to comprehend, they alter the instructions so that they can receive better ratings. For example, in 2020, Google provided new advice on whether a dictionary or encyclopedia result would be helpful for a particular query.
The Google October 2021 update focused on refreshing language for clarity and updating organization. They clarified what constitutes poor-quality content to refresh and modernize their guidance. “That’s what we focused on, aside from refreshing and modernizing guidance on researching website reputation.”
All changes to Google Search are rigorously reviewed, tested, and evaluated to ensure they are beneficial and produce the desired result. We maintain a public log of our guidelines to inform you of any changes we make. These updates are intended to help Search work better for you.
