Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG) has announced its intent to adjust its algorithm to reduce clickbait. According to Danny Sullivan, a representative from Google, the company is aware that people won’t find the content helpful if they find clickbait instead of applicable content.
Sullivan adds that many people have been on web pages that seemed to have the content they searched for, only to be disappointed. Sometimes, the creator doesn’t have what a reader is looking for. In extreme cases, the article doesn’t even seem written by humans.
Such content is known as spam content. Creators write the article in a way that would place them at the top of search engines even when they don’t provide the reader with the needed information. To tackle this problem, Google has announced a helpful content update.
This update includes tweaks to the search engine’s algorithm. The adjustments will identify when articles were written to make it to the top of search engines instead of providing viable information.
Google has tested its update
Google states that it had already run tests in its updated algorithm. So far, the results have been successful when searching for technology, shopping, entertainment, art and online education.
Sullivan states how users who search for movies get articles that seem to combine information from different sites. With this new algorithm, it is possible to get the more authentic information.
Although this is good news for Google users, many online publishers will be affected by the changes as their content strategies will be affected. However, Google has stated that it will use other factors to downgrade search results. For instance, it will check whether the website’s existing audience benefits from visiting it or is a primary focus.
Google states that online publishers would benefit from removing unhelpful content from their articles instead of just unhelpful articles. The reason is that the search engine will rank any content with too much unhelpful content lower.
Google has faced criticism for its search engine
This move comes after the company was criticised the quality of its Google search. Many felt the search engine was getting worse due to the company’s efforts to have more structured results. Many consumers thought it was better to use websites like Reddit to answer their questions.
