• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
    • SEO Expert Witness Services
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletter

Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

SEMrush

Home » Google » Google Quality Rater Guidelines 2014

Google Quality Rater Guidelines 2014

Posted on July 12, 2014 Written by Bill Hartzer

I just got ahold of the latest copy of Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines, with a date of March 2014. It’s an interesting read, all 160 pages of this document. There are a lot of new phrases and concepts that are included in this latest version, but honestly there’s are really not many new surprises. But, if you’re in the online marketing business, are an SEO, or own a website, then you really should take a look at the latest guidelines, if just to make sure that your website or your client’s website(s) are compliant with Google’s latest Quality Rater guidelines. There may be some things that you can improve, I’ve found a few things that I’m going to pay attention to from now on when I perform complex SEO Audits for clients.

Jennifer Slegg first reported that the latest document was leaked. Now, I have gotten a copy of the guidelines, and have set up the “pay with a tweet” service in order for you to download a copy of this document. If I just post the direct link to the document, then it will get indexed and too many people will use up too much bandwidth… so I’m putting it behind the “pay with a tweet”. Just Tweet it, Make a Facebook Post, a LinkedIn Post, or a Google Plus post, copy the URL of your post, and you’ll get the download link.

Here’s a copy of the Table of Contents of the Quality Rater Guidelines:
Part 1: Page Quality Rating Guideline
Part 2: Utility Rating Guideline
Part 3: Block Utility Rating Guideline
Part 4: Using the Evaluation Platform

Here are a few important points that I feel are worth noting:

— Google wants it to be easy to find the site owners through “Finding About Us, Contact Information, and Customer Service Information” on the website.

— Webmasters should maintain their websites. “Webmasters are responsible for updating and maintaining sites they create. Most websites add or change content over time. Web browsers, such as Chrome, update with new versions. Webmasters need to make sure their websites function well for users as web browsers change.” They go on to say: “How can you tell that a website is being maintained and cared for? Poke around: Links should work, images should load, content should be added and updated over time, etc.”

— Google thinks that Website Reputation is important. “A website’s reputation is based on the experience of real users, as well as the opinion of people who are experts in the topic of the website.” They say, “Many websites are eager to tell users how great they are. But for Page Quality rating, you must also look for outside, independent reputation information about the website. When the website says one thing about itself, but reputable external sources disagree with what the website says, trust the external sources.”

“Use reputation research to find out what real users, as well as experts, think about a website. Look for reviews, references, recommendations by experts, news articles, and other credible information created/written by individuals about the website.”

— Google’s definition of a high quality page:
“What makes a High quality page? A High quality rating requires at least one of the following high quality characteristics:
• A satisfying amount of high quality MC.
• The page and website are expert, authoritative, and trustworthy for the topic of the page.
• The website has a good reputation for the topic of the page.
In addition, the page and website should have most of the following:
• A satisfying amount of website information, for example, About Us information, Contact or Customer Service information, etc.
• SC which contributes to a satisfying user experience on the page and website.
• Functional page design which allows users to easily focus on MC and use SC as desired.
• A website which is well cared for and maintained.”

— Google’s definition of low quality pages:
“Low quality pages are unsatisfying or lacking in some element that prevents them from achieving their purpose well.
If a page has one of the following characteristics, the Low rating is usually appropriate:
• The quality of the MC is low.
• There is an unsatisfying amount of MC for the purpose of the page.
• The author of the page or website does not have enough expertise for the topic of the page and/or the website is not trustworthy or authoritative for the topic. In other words, the page/website is lacking E-A-T.
• The website has a negative reputation.
• The SC is distracting or unhelpful for the purpose of the page.”

To download the latest version of the quality rater guidelines, click on the ‘pay with a tweet’ link below:

Filed Under: Google, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engines

SEMrush

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is CEO of Hartzer Consulting, an SEO Consulting firm that includes services such as search engine optimization, technical SEO audits, domain name consulting, and online reputation management. As an SEO Expert, Mr. Hartzer frequently serves as an SEO Expert Witness and Domain Name Expert Witness in legal cases worldwide.

Recent Posts

  • ChatGPT Versus Google Bard: Which is Better? March 22, 2023
  • All Domain Names Need SSL: Parked Domains Are Losing Traffic, Revenue March 17, 2023
  • Google is Finally Sunsetting Google Glass March 16, 2023
  • Microsoft Teams Free Classic Shutting Down April 12, 2023 February 21, 2023
  • GoDaddy Customer Loses Domain Name Due to Auto Renew Fail February 9, 2023
  • dotDB is Not Shutting Down February 1, 2023
  • Someone Stole My Domain Name: Here’s What You Do January 4, 2023
  • Web Hosting Services Market to Grow to $254.86 Billion by 2029 December 13, 2022
  • This SEO Blog Post Was Written by ChatGPT December 8, 2022
  • Facebook Rolling Out Facebook Articles December 7, 2022
  • Doing SEO is Better Than… December 6, 2022
  • Tucows and GoDaddy Report Q3 2022 Results November 6, 2022
  • How to Measure App Events Sourced by Organic Search and SEO September 20, 2022
  • Google Allegedly Eavesdrops and Monitors the Brain 24 hours a Day to Control Humanity September 14, 2022
  • Why You Shouldn’t Hire SEOs Based on An Email September 13, 2022
  • Global SEO Market to Reach $122.11 Billion by 2028 September 9, 2022
  • Bluehost Launches New Commerce Solutions for WordPress September 8, 2022
  • Which CMS? How to Choose the Best CMS for Your Purposes August 29, 2022
  • Accidental SEO Manager: Interview with Ash Nallawalla August 15, 2022
  • Sometimes Google Isn’t Family Friendly August 1, 2022

US Agency Awards Judge

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:



Industry Friends

I Love SEO
WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Phil Drinkwater
Dixon Jones
Brian Hartzer
Navah Hopkins
DNAccess

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (19)
  • Bing Search Engine (6)
  • Blogging (42)
  • Branding (12)
  • Domain Names (212)
  • Google (237)
  • Internet Marketing (25)
  • Internet Usage (85)
  • Link Building (53)
  • Local Search (39)
  • Marketing (182)
  • Marketing Foo (30)
  • Pay Per Click (3)
  • Podcast (18)
  • Public Relations (8)
  • Reputation Management (9)
  • Search Engine Marketing (44)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (48)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (19)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (164)
  • Search Engines (204)
  • Social Media (192)
  • Tech (7)
  • Web Analytics (17)
  • Webinars (1)

Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.




Hartzer Consulting



Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Copyright © 2023 ·