The update will also tackle expired domain abuse, where domains are resold and repurposed to boost low-quality content and spam. Google's changes could significantly impact how consumers perceive the usefulness of Google Search, which has been a growing concern due to the rise of AI. The company is publishing its policy two months in advance of enforcement on May 5 to give site owners time to make changes.
Key takeaways:
- Google announced a search quality update that aims to improve the search quality ranking of websites and update Google Search’s spam policies, with the goal of reducing low-quality and unoriginal content by 40%.
- The update will focus on downranking pages that were created for search engines instead of for people, including those that use automation or AI to create content at scale to boost search rankings.
- Google's changes will also address 'site reputation abuse', where a website hosts low-quality content from third parties on their domain to confuse users and lean on the site’s existing reputation.
- The company is publishing its policy two months in advance of enforcement on May 5 to give site owners time to make changes.