As has been known for some time, the order of search results is not only determined by algorithm. So-called "quality raters", also known for some time now as search evaluators, evaluate some search results manually. This is intended to further optimize the quality of the search results. Around 10,000 such raters are said to be employed by Google worldwide .
It is not known exactly which search queries they are dealing with. They are probably primarily popular and therefore frequently asked search queries. However, their work may also be used to train AI, which is intended to improve search results in general.
The work of the raters should not have a direct impact on rcs data usa the rankings, however, and will probably be subject to further revision. To ensure that the quality raters proceed as uniformly as possible, there are guidelines that should serve as the basis for the evaluation. They are revised from time to time. This was again the case at the beginning of this month.
What has changed?
Most of the content has remained unchanged since the last revision in July 2017. Instead, individual sections have been added in which things are made more specific. In the new version, raters are informed that the type of search results depends on the user's search intent.
For example, when searching for medical topics, it is important to ensure that the sources listed in the search results are of particularly high quality. If someone is looking for baby photos, on the other hand, they should be adorable. In another added section, raters are asked not to be guided by personal views, including religious or political views, when evaluating websites. So not much has changed. However, these clarifications should ensure that the search results are even better in the long term. The new version of the Quality Rater Guidelines can be found here: