Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG) Google has recently announced its plan to take strict measures against the use of AI-generated content that is designed to manipulate its search algorithms and elevate rankings falsely.
The company is working on refining its core ranking systems to better recognize unhelpful web pages, provide a poor user experience, or appear to be created only for search engines rather than people. This decision marks a significant shift in Google’s approach that can have a far-reaching impact on the overall quality of online content.
According to a recent blog post, Google’s upcoming ranking updates in May will aim to exclude low-quality content from search results. This move comes as a response to the remarkable increase in AI-generated content tailored for SEO purposes to comply with Google’s ranking criteria. This surge is attributed to the increased accessibility and user-friendliness of AI tools that can produce content aligned with Google’s preferences.
In addition to addressing AI-generated SEO content, Google’s updates will also combat individuals who publish low-quality content on high-reputation websites.
Elizabeth Tucker, Google’s Product Management Director, has explained that these updates are intended to refine ranking systems to distinguish genuinely helpful webpages from those merely designed to cater to search engines. The objective is to minimize low-quality content in search results and direct more traffic to reputable and valuable websites.
Google plans to leverage the insights from a 2022 algorithmic adjustment to reduce unhelpful and unoriginal content and apply them to the upcoming update, channeling more traffic towards helpful and high-quality sites.
According to Google estimates, these combined updates will reduce spam and unoriginal search results by 40%. Furthermore, Google’s updates will enhance the detection of expired domains repurposed as clickbait sites, treating them as spam.
Site owners have been given a two-month notice to adapt before the search engine changes take effect on May 5, and they will be required to make the necessary updates to their websites to ensure that their content meets the new quality standards set by Google.
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