About Google Core Updates – Webmaster Central Blog Update

Danny Sullivan, Public Liaison for Search (Google Inc.) posted a blog on webmasters.googleblog.com about Google’s “core updates”.

No, it’s not a new core update! It is, however, a new blog post on what webmasters should know about Google’s core updates: https://t.co/e5ZQUA3RC6

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) August 1, 2019

Focus on Content

Danny Sullivan said:”As explained, the pages that fall after a main update have nothing bad to correct. That said, we understand that those who do not do well after a major update change may still feel they need to do something. We suggest focusing on ensuring that you offer the best possible content. That is what our algorithms seek to reward.“

He asks some questions to website owners.

• Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis?
• Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
• Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
• Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature?
• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?

• Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
• If you researched the site producing the content, would you come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognized as an authority on its topic?
• Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
• Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors?
• Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to your money or your life?

• Is the content free from spelling or stylistic issues?
• Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
• Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?

• Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

Get to know the quality rater guidelines & E-A-T

He said also: “It is important to understand that search evaluators have no control over how pages are ranked. The evaluator data is not used directly in our classification algorithms. Rather, we use them as a restaurant that could receive comment cards from diners. Comments help us know if our systems seem to be working. If you understand how evaluators learn to evaluate good content, that could help you improve your own content. In turn, you may do better in the search.”

According to Danial, Google test any broad core update before it goes live, including gathering feedback from the aforementioned search quality raters, to see if how we’re weighing signals seems beneficial.