Google recently updated its Search Quality Rater Guidelines aiming to simplify guidelines.
“Specifically, we’ve simplified the “Needs Met” scale definitions, added more guidance for different kinds of web pages and modern examples including newer content formats such as short form video, removed outdated and redundant examples, and expanded rating guidance for forum and discussion pages. None of these involve any major or foundational shifts in our guidelines,” a statement released by Google on November 16, 2023.
These guidelines are used by Google’s search raters to help evaluate the performance of its various search ranking systems, and their ratings don’t directly influence ranking.
The guidelines share important considerations for what content is helpful for people when using Google Search, the statement read.
Google’s page on how to create helpful, people-first content summarizes these concepts for creators to help them self-assess their own content to be successful in search.