Google released an updated version of its Search Quality Rater Guidelines document on January 23, 2025, expanding it from 170 to 181 pages. This document serves as a reference guideline for third-party quality raters who assess the quality and relevance of search engine results. The revisions include significant changes such as the following outlined in the change log of the second appendix:
- Updated Page Quality Lowest and Low sections to better align with Google Search Web Spam Policies; added illustrative examples
- Expanded guidance on assessing minor interpretations and intents for Needs Met ratings and added illustrative examples
- Minor changes throughout (updated rating ranges, removed outdated examples; fixed typos; updated browser requirements, etc.)
While quality raters don’t directly impact the ranking of a website, they play an essential role in continuously refining search engine algorithms, ensuring more accurate and relevant results for users. For businesses seeking to optimize their websites and boost search engine ranking, outsourcing to professional SEO services is the ideal option.
Key Changes in the Guideline
The Role of Generative AI
In this update, Google introduced an official definition for generative AI, addressing the growing presence of AI-generated materials. The new description, found in section 2.1 titled “Important Definitions,” reads:
“Generative AI is a type of machine learning (ML) model that can take what it has learned from the examples it has been provided to create new content, such as text, images, music, and code. Different tools leverage these models to create generative AI content. Generative AI can be a helpful tool for content creation, but like any tool, it can also be misused.”
Additionally, in section 4.7, Google provided specific examples and explanations to help quality raters identify and rate poorly constructed AI-generated materials. Under the column in the table titled “Lowest: Scaled Content Abuse Cancers”, it was noted:
“The contents of the page show it is created with generative AI with likely no original content and provides no value to users. For example, the article starts with “As a language model, I don’t have real-time data and my knowledge cutoff date is September 2021. Cancer rankings…” The end of the text of the article appears to be cut off with an incomplete sentence “Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs): Pancreatic NETs are a rare type of pancreatic cancer that can have a poor”
The above site material is considered as spam, and demonstrates a clear lack of expertise. For SEO professionals and advertisers, this clarification reaffirms Google’s policy of providing unique value to its users. Websites that publish with minimal effort, little originality, and almost no added value for visitors risk being flagged as “Lowest Quality”.
While AI-generated material itself is not inherently against Google’s guidelines, the exploitation of AI tools to create low-quality, inauthentic content that lacks human expertise will receive negative evaluations. The optimal approach for webmasters is the ethical and strategic use of AI tools to streamline the content creation process—enhancing it rather than replacing human input.
New Categories of Spam
The new categories of spam policies introduced during the March ’24 core update have been integrated into the section 4.6, titled “Spammy Webpages.” These policies target low-quality tactics used by website owners seeking to gain monetary benefits rather than deliver valuable content for its users. The following spam categories are now included:
- Expired Domain Abuse
“Expired domain abuse is where an expired domain name is purchased and repurposed primarily to benefit the new website owner by hosting content that provides little to no value to users.”
- Site Reputation Abuse
“Site reputation abuse is a tactic where third-party content is published on a host site mainly because of that host’s already-established ranking signals, which it has earned primarily from its first-party content. The goal of this tactic is for the content to rank better than it could otherwise on its own.”
- Scaled Content Abuse
“Scaled content abuse is a spam practice described in the Google Search Web Spam Policies. Scaled content abuse occurs when many pages are generated for the purpose of primarily benefiting the website owner and not helping users. This practice is typically focused on creating large amounts of unoriginal content that provides little to no value for website visitors compared to other similar pages on the web, no matter how it’s created.”
In this section, AI-generated material is specifically mentioned as an example of scaled content abuse, with the guideline stating:
“Using automated tools (generative AI or otherwise) as a low-effort way to produce many pages that add little-to-no value for website visitors as compared to other pages on the web on the same topic.”
Technical Requirement for Raters
Quality raters are now required to turn off ad blockers when conducting Needs Met rating or Page Quality evaluations, promoting a more holistic approach to website evaluation. By disabling ad blockers, raters can view the actual user experience. This allows raters to understand the overall impact of ads on a website, whether they are well-integrated or intrusive to the user journey. The guideline specifies:
“Some browsers such as Chrome automatically block some ads. As a rater, you are required to turn off any ad blocker capabilities of the browser you use to view webpages for rating tasks. Check your browser settings before rating tasks to ensure your ratings accurately reflect how people experience the page without ad blocking settings and extensions.”
SEO Ramifications and Actionable Tips for Webmasters
- AI-driven Content Approach
With the emergence of generative AI in the past few years, harmful practices such as flawed content, incorrect information and copyright infringement have been on the rise. Some website owners generate low-quality, generic content in an attempt to manipulate rankings, causing harm to the overall quality of search results.
Tip – To effectively combat this issue, Google has explained that generative AI should be used as an enhancement tool to aid the content creation process rather than replace it. For website owners, this clarifying statement is an opportunity to refine their AI SEO strategy. To fully realize the benefits of this strategy, website owners can outsource to trusted content creation services and maintain human oversight to ensure the content is unique, authoritative, and of high quality.
- Spam Practices
Mass-produced, unoriginal content that is published only to manipulate rankings instead of providing helpful, reliable, and unique content to users is a major concern. Spam practices such as expired domain abuse, site reputation abuse, and scaled content abuse have been integrated into the guidelines to refine quality criteria and prevent lower-quality results.
Tip – Webmasters should avoid these tactics and focus on delivering valuable, user-centric content. Ensuring your website is original, provides expert insights, and aligns with user intent will help improve the overall quality of search engine results. Focus on building trust and providing real value to your audience rather than resorting to spammy practices.
- Focus on User Experience and Expertise
Google’s updated guidelines emphasize the importance of both quality and user experience. Websites that prioritize user satisfaction and demonstrate genuine expertise are more likely to be rewarded with higher ratings. This means providing accurate, well-researched, and helpful content that meets the needs of users rather than attempting to manipulate rankings.
Tip – Webmasters should focus on improving the overall user experience, including clear navigation, fast loading speeds, and mobile optimization. Additionally, the content should showcase authority and expertise, especially on topics that require specialized knowledge. By establishing your website as a trusted resource and placing user needs at the forefront, you can not only improve your ratings but also build long-term credibility with both search engines and visitors.
