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Thursday, November 19, 2015
Developing algorithmic changes to search involves a
process of experimentation.
Part of that experimentation is having evaluators—people who assess the quality of Google's search
results—give us feedback on our experiments. Ratings from evaluators do not determine individual
site rankings, but are used help us understand our experiments. The evaluators base their ratings
on guidelines we give them; the guidelines reflect what Google thinks search users want.
In 2013, we published our human rating guidelines to provide transparency on how Google works and
to help webmasters understand what Google looks for in web pages. Since that time, a lot has
changed: notably, more people have smartphones than ever before and more searches are done on
mobile devices today than on computers.
We often make changes to the guidelines as our understanding of what users wants evolves, but we
haven't shared an update publicly since then. However, we recently completed a major revision of
our
rater guidelines
to adapt to this mobile world, recognizing that people use Search differently when they carry
internet-connected devices with them all the time.
This is not the final version of our rater guidelines. The guidelines will continue to evolve as
Search, and how people use it, changes. We won't be updating the public document with every
change, but we will try to publish big changes to the guidelines periodically.
We expect our phones and other devices to do a lot, and we want Google to continue giving users
the answers they're looking for—fast!
Posted by Mimi Underwood, Sr. Program Manager, Search Growth and Analysis
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle uses human evaluators to provide feedback on search algorithm experiments, but these ratings do not directly impact individual website rankings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle updated its rater guidelines to reflect the shift towards mobile search and evolving user expectations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe rater guidelines are based on what Google believes search users want and are periodically revised to adapt to changes in search behavior.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe published rater guidelines offer transparency into how Google Search works and what factors are considered in evaluating web pages.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle aims to provide users with quick and relevant search results, particularly in the context of increased mobile device usage.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google's search algorithm development involves human evaluators providing feedback on experiments, but their ratings do not directly impact site rankings. The evaluation guidelines, which reflect user search expectations, were revised in response to the shift towards mobile search. While these guidelines are not static, major updates will be shared periodically. The focus remains on adapting to user needs, particularly with the increasing reliance on mobile devices for searching.\n"],null,["# Updating Our Search Quality Rating Guidelines\n\nThursday, November 19, 2015\n\n\nDeveloping algorithmic changes to search involves a\n[process of experimentation](https://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/algorithms).\nPart of that experimentation is having evaluators---people who assess the quality of Google's search\nresults---give us feedback on our experiments. Ratings from evaluators do not determine individual\nsite rankings, but are used help us understand our experiments. The evaluators base their ratings\non guidelines we give them; the guidelines reflect what Google thinks search users want.\n\n\nIn 2013, we published our human rating guidelines to provide transparency on how Google works and\nto help webmasters understand what Google looks for in web pages. Since that time, a lot has\nchanged: notably, more people have smartphones than ever before and more searches are done on\nmobile devices today than on computers.\n\n\nWe often make changes to the guidelines as our understanding of what users wants evolves, but we\nhaven't shared an update publicly since then. However, we recently completed a major revision of\nour\n[rater guidelines](https://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/assets/searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf)\nto adapt to this mobile world, recognizing that people use Search differently when they carry\ninternet-connected devices with them all the time.\n\n\nThis is not the final version of our rater guidelines. The guidelines will continue to evolve as\nSearch, and how people use it, changes. We won't be updating the public document with every\nchange, but we will try to publish big changes to the guidelines periodically.\n\n\nWe expect our phones and other devices to do a lot, and we want Google to continue giving users\nthe answers they're looking for---fast!\n\n\nPosted by [Mimi Underwood](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mimi-underwood-7706238/), Sr. Program Manager, Search Growth and Analysis"]]
