There's a big change coming to Google's search results in May as the tech giant announces a new algorithm update aimed at improving the quality of search results by cracking down on SEO spam. Amid concerns about a decline in the quality of search results, Google is taking steps to weed out spammy and automated content that can clutter search engine rankings.
The upcoming update will specifically target automated content, including AI-generated content that is becoming increasingly difficult to detect. Google says the changes are based on lessons learned from a previous algorithm update in 2022, which aimed to reduce unhelpful and unoriginal content in search results.
According to Google, the new update will help prioritize helpful and high-quality websites, while reducing spammy and unoriginal content by an estimated 40 percent. The company is honing its ranking systems to better identify webpages that offer poor user experiences or feel like they were created solely for search engine optimization purposes.
Google's product management director, Elizabeth Tucker, explained, "This update involves refining some of our core ranking systems to help us better understand if webpages are unhelpful, have a poor user experience or feel like they were created for search engines instead of people."
The update will not only target AI-generated spam but also crack down on content farms that produce low-value automated articles. Google is aiming to take action against various types of content that offer little to no value and are created at scale to game the search engine's algorithms.
In addition, Google's update will address the practice of reputable websites hosting low-quality content from third parties in an attempt to boost their rankings. The search engine will now consider third-party content produced primarily for ranking purposes as spam, especially if it lacks oversight from the website owner.
Furthermore, Google's algorithm update will also tackle the issue of expired domains being purchased and transformed into click mills. Websites that engage in this practice will now be treated as spam by the search engine.
Site owners have been given a two-month notice to adapt to the upcoming changes, with the new algorithm set to take effect on May 5. Google's efforts to improve search result quality and combat SEO spam are expected to have a significant impact on the overall search experience for users.
