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Search Quality Raters and AI – Google’s Appen Firing

Google’s recent firing of Appen, a company providing Search Quality Raters, has led to speculation about the future of AI search quality raters. Some suggest Google may no longer need human quality raters or is planning to roll out AI raters at scale. However, it’s clarified that Google employs multiple companies for search quality ratings and the idea that Google is entirely abandoning human raters is unfounded.

While some SEOs speculate about AI replacing human raters, it’s emphasized that Google already uses AI and algorithms, such as the Helpful Content System, Reviews System, and Spam Brain, for rating webpages for search quality. Concerns are raised about the potential negative impact on publishers if AI scales quality ratings for the entire web. For now, Google isn’t replacing human search quality raters, and AI is used in conjunction with human efforts.

  • Google fired Appen, raising speculation about the future of search quality raters.
  • Google employs multiple companies for search quality ratings, and the idea of abandoning human raters is debunked.

Will Google eventually get rid of search quality raters?

It’s uncertain whether Google will eventually eliminate human search quality raters. Training AI requires datasets, and the work done by human raters can provide valuable data for machines to learn from. Currently, Google is not replacing human raters and AI is used in conjunction with human efforts.

Source:  searchenginejournal.com

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Taxonomy Of Topics For Precision And Authority In SEO

A topic taxonomy is a hierarchical system for organizing and classifying content by topics and subtopics. It provides a structured framework for creating content that demonstrates expertise and authority on a topic.

Google uses natural language processing and content analysis to identify the main topic (called the “Centerpiece Annotation”) of a webpage, as well as related subtopics. Creating content around a clear topic taxonomy aligns with how Google determines relevance.

Outlining the taxonomy of topics for a webpage involves determining the main topic, then identifying relevant subtopics that provide supporting information. This helps ensure content stays focused and semantically relevant. The subtopics cover the types of information users would expect to find on pages about those subjects.

Trying to target a vague, high-volume keyword phrase like “financial information” failed for one website because while that phrase appeared repeatedly, the actual content topic was financial advice. Google matches pages to meaning, not just keywords.

Crafting content around a well-defined topic taxonomy creates a structured framework optimized for how search engines evaluate relevance.

Staying focused on covering subtopics related to the central page topic allows for precision and completeness without straying into unrelated territories.

Matching page topics and subtopics to user intent and expectations is key. A clear taxonomy aligns content with how Google determines semantic relevance.

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Does domain age affect Google search rankings?

Does domain age affect Google search rankings? SEOs have long believed that older domain names tend to rank higher, but Google’s John Mueller has clarified that domain age does not help rankings.

The belief that domain age matters likely stems from a misreading of a Google patent about using historical domain data to identify spam sites, not to give higher rankings to older sites. The patent discusses using factors like domain expiration dates to catch “throwaway” domains used by spammers, not to promote sites with older domains.

Microsoft has a similar patent about using backlinks’ domain ages to identify web farms used for spamming not rewarding site longevity.

Despite the long-held SEO belief, John Mueller definitively states “No, domain age helps nothing” when it comes to rankings. There are no Google patents suggesting domain age is used as a ranking factor. It is not helpful for rankings despite the correlation seen by some SEOs.