SMX Advanced kicked off with a bang today as Search Engine Land's Barry Schwartz interviewed Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product Management for Google Search.
Here are some highlights from the keynote interview, which covered a wide range of topics including creating useful content, the biggest Google core update ever, and why search results are unstable.
1. Things to consider when creating content: Usefulness + Satisfaction + Experience
What should SEOs and content creators consider when creating content that will help users and rank well in searches?
Google's North Star is bringing people satisfying, useful results, Tucker said, paraphrasing a famous line from NHL legend Wayne Gretzky: SEOs and content creators need to skate to where the puck is, not where the puck was.
- “Think about what you're trying to do and where you're going and go for that. … Think about content that's helpful, that's satisfying, that's a good experience.”
2. Why focus on the big picture
Tucker said some SEOs have a misunderstanding of how rankings work and get too hung up on technical details.
Tucker said there's no one-size-fits-all solution for creating great content because good content comes in “all different flavors, shapes and sizes.”
Her advice? “Focus on the big picture.”
- “We're trying to satisfy people with different information needs with a wide variety of great content and a great website. I worry that if people get hung up on specific technical details or signals that we might have, it will dilute the bigger picture question of, 'Is this useful and satisfying content?'” [and] Will people have a great experience?
3. Why it took 45 days to roll out the March 2024 Core Update
In short, it was a lot of work: Google carefully changed “a variety of core systems.”
To help Google better surface useful content, “some restructuring work” was done, which included introducing new signals and improving core systems, Tucker said.
- “We actually had little war rooms, and we were monitoring our data center capacity and latency in real time because it's unusual to deploy so many different changes at once. We did a good job of that.
- “But there were a few times when I noticed hiccups. [e.g., an unexpected capacity issue]We paused, slowed down, and tried to let things run smoothly. Yes, it took 45 days.
- “Any time you introduce changes to a system this large that has to handle billions of queries every day in every language around the world, you have to be really careful. You have to do a lot of hard engineering to make sure search works.”
Read more: Google releases major search quality enhancements with March 2024 core update and multiple spam updates
4. Google's March 2024 core update was its biggest core update ever
According to Tucker, the March 2024 core update was “unprecedented.” She agreed that it was the biggest core update in Google's history.
As Tucker was discussing the update with executives, he was told to “not break Google.”
- “So we did several different updates at the same time to different core systems. I don't think we've ever done anything like this before. … We took our time and did it right.”
- “We didn't want to break search. That was one of our big goals.”
5. Why it took Google a week to announce the end of its March core update
Google's March 2024 core update rollout was completed on April 19. So why didn't Google announce it until April 26?
This was a “fairly complicated operation” and Google wanted to make sure everything was rolled out properly, Tucker said.
- “We wanted to make sure that all the changes were fully deployed. … There were hundreds of people involved. So, Is it over yet? There were so many different pins and discussions going on. I think at one point there was a little uncertainty about whether it was finished.”
6. Why useless content decreased by 45%
In March, Google announced that its search quality improvements would reduce useless content by 40%. Why did that number change to 45% when Google said the rollout was complete? Tucker explains:
- “We test in a test environment before we actually deploy something to 100% of Google traffic. You might see some slight differences in performance between the test environment and the full deployment.”
- “The numbers I trust are from after we rolled it out to 100% of our Google traffic, and then did multiple point-in-time measurements. [on real live traffic] And we got consistent numbers. … And that's what the 45% is based on. It's an actual measurement after implementation.”
7. How Google defines low quality
Many SEOs and content creators are frustrated by Google's unclear definition of “low quality content.”
Tucker said that when he started at Google, the company didn't have a formal definition of “quality.”
After vigorous and sometimes contentious debate, Google has come up with a “unified concept of what quality means.”
This is stated in the Page Quality Rating Guidelines within the Search Quality Rating Guidelines document, Tucker says.
- “…we have rigorous definitions and examples of high and low quality, and this document will be the very basis for how third-party assessors will evaluate the quality of our results.”
- “I think what makes quality so difficult is that there's no one-size-fits-all easy way to think about it. It's actually quite a nuanced issue.”
- “You want high-quality results for searches like: [symptoms of a heart attack]you are really looking for accurate and comprehensive information. It may not be exactly what you think in your search. [cute kittens]I really want a cute kitten.
- “So we spelled it all out in our Search Quality Evaluation Guidelines. We consider the quality of the main content; the accuracy of the informational content; the talent and skill; the page experience; how easily people can find the main content.”
- “We have EEAT (experience, expertise, authority and credibility). We have a lot of things in mind, and they play different roles depending on the type of content.
- “So look, it's all there.”
8. What causes sudden fluctuations in Google search rankings?
Google hasn't released a “baby” core update. “If they had released one, I would know,” Tucker said.
So what causes Google search results to become unstable when Google hasn't announced an update? Tucker says there are a number of different things that could be going on.
- What people search for changes dramatically from day to day. (“When Taylor Swift goes to concert, our traffic changes dramatically in an instant.”)
- The content on the web is constantly updated.
- Google's core systems are continually updated at different rates.
- Some small search improvements may have been initiated.
Tucker added:
- “If you monitor the types of results that pop up in searches, what people are interested in, etc., you'll see dramatic fluctuations without changing anything.”
9. How many systems are involved in Google's core updates?
Tucker said he couldn't give an “exact number” about how many systems are included in Google's core update: “I don't know. Sorry, I don't have a good way to count.”
Why? Tucker explained:
- “If you put five search quality engineers in a room and ask them how many systems they have, I think you'll get at least 10 different answers. … I might give three different answers.”
- “I think sometimes we get bogged down in pointless arguments about what is a signal, what is a system, what is the difference between a subsystem and a main system, which are core systems and which are support systems.”
10. Google won't say anything about the leaked signals
As for the massive leak of Google Content API documentation, Tucker didn't mention any specific signals, but added:
- “There are bad actors out there. When you give out a lot of information about how a particular signal works, it becomes a vector for abuse. And that frustrates me, too.
- “I'm very particular about search quality. I wish I could share more information, but I have to be very careful.”
11. The Google spokesperson's statement was “accurate.”
Since the leak, some in the SEO community have expressed their anger towards Google spokespeople like Danny Sullivan and John Mueller, essentially accusing them of lying to all of us for years.
Tucker said he doesn't know everything every Google spokesperson has said, but the ones he does know are “accurate,” and that Google's search system is constantly changing.
- “Things change over time, search is very dynamic so we’re constantly changing our signals and our systems and how they work.
- “We're always making changes, so something said 10 years ago may not be true today. But we can categorically state that a Google spokesperson has never made an inaccurate statement.”
12. Google Wants Feedback from SEOs, Content Creators, and Publishers
Tucker's message was simple: “We're listening. We care. Please keep the feedback coming,” she added.
- “We're working hard to make sure Search works for not only the people who use it, but also the creators and publishers who bring us great content. And we'll keep working at it. Keep talking to us. We're listening.”
13. SEO Plays a Key Role in Google Search
According to Tucker, SEO has two great roles.
- Build a great website: SEO helps you create great content and page experiences for your users that Google Search can understand so they can “see the best of the web.”
- Providing feedbackTucker said SEOs are a group that holds Google to “high standards.” “I'm so grateful to everyone in the SEO community,” he said.
How to watch the keynote
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