Google has updated its “Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines,” a comprehensive 170-page document that serves as a framework for quality raters to assess websites effectively.
The update on follows the search engine’s latest Core and Spam updates.
Insights Into Trustworthiness
The updated guidelines provide valuable insights into how Google determines the trustworthiness of webpages and websites.
While the quality raters don’t directly influence search rankings, the document explains what Google considers essential for a high-quality website.
Latest Changes
According to the changelog on page 170 of the document, Google has “updated characteristics of untrustworthy pages and added illustrative examples.”
This marks the first update to the guidelines since November 2023, highlighting the significance of the changes made.
Untrustworthy Webpages & Websites
The new information is on page 35, Section 4.5, titled “Untrustworthy Webpages or Websites.”
Google has expanded the list of characteristics that quality raters should look for when assessing the trustworthiness of a webpage or website.
The document now states that a page should be considered untrustworthy if it contains “multiple or significant factual inaccuracies on an informational page which would cause users to lose trust in the webpage as a reliable source of information.”