Google strengthens its criteria for evaluating the reliability of websites
Google has just released an update to its Quality Raters guidelines, focusing on identifying “untrustworthy” sites. Even though these reviewers don’t directly influence search rankings, it’s crucial to understand what Google considers a trustworthy site.
New guidelines for accurate assessment
For the first time since November 2023, Google is updating its “Search Quality Rater Guidelines” to help Quality Raters evaluate websites effectively. This update follows recent changes Google made to improve the quality of search results. The new guidelines provide real-world examples to help judge the trustworthiness of a site.
How to spot untrustworthy websites?
Google has expanded the list of features that Quality Raters should pay attention to when evaluating the reliability of a page or website. It is now clarified that a page should be considered unreliable if it contains significant factual inaccuracies that could call into question its reliability as a source of information. It is therefore essential to carefully verify the information shared, especially when using artificial intelligence to produce content.
Concrete examples to identify unreliable sites
To clarify these updates, Google has included concrete examples in the guidelines. These examples provide guidance to help Quality Raters spot untrustworthy pages and websites. These updates aim to improve the quality of search results and increase user confidence in the information found online.
