How does Google rank sites, how does its algorithm work? These questions can be tormented for a long time and not find an answer to them, while the Google manual for assessors has long been available. Of course, there are no algorithms in it, but there are principles for marking up sites on the network. Given the requirements of this instruction, we can begin to make better sites, from the point of view of the search engine, and of people, of course.
But the problem is that the instruction is available only in English. The only incomplete translation is dated 2015, but I want to receive the entire instruction and train my employees. We thought and decided that it was time to take everything into our own hands and translate the instructions completely from the first letter to the last. And did it.
And then we realized that you should not keep this information within the agency and you need to share it with the community. Link to the full translation of the Guide for Google Assessors in the latest edition of September 5, 2019: https://ant-team.ru/google (the link goes through a redirect on our website, now we are preparing a number of corrections and want the link to be up to date version, direct link to the translation here ).
In our opinion, it turned out pretty well. Of course, there were those who noticed typos and shortcomings, but we will continue to work on the translation and bring it to the ideal.
In this article, we will consider the main points from the instruction of assessors, but we strongly recommend that you form your own opinion by reading the full material.
Access to your site is unlikely
After this heading, the question arises, why even study the instructions? The answer is simple: assessors train the neural network Google Machine learning. It is she who processes your site, not assessors.
In this regard, I have an idea: since the site is checked by robots, not by living people, in order to get a good mark, it must have the same elements with a very similar architecture. In other words, if you create an absolutely unique site with a unique architecture, but implement Google’s requirements using non-standard methods, then it is likely that your site will not receive proper ranking.
This leads us to a certain standardization and lack of creativity. But maybe I'm wrong, and technology has gone a lot further.
Strict Requirements for Trick or Treat Websites (YMYL)
It is very important to understand that YMYL sites are any sites that can affect the life, health or financial component of the user. It is the owners of such sites that we recommend a thorough study of the instructions.
Here is a complete list of categories:
- News and current events.
- Civil matters, authorities and legislation.
- Financial questions.
- Shopping.
- Health and safety.
- Groups of people - religion, race, nationality.
- Misc.
Reviews about the site on third-party resources affect its rating
One of the most interesting requirements is the assessment by assessors of reviews about the site and organization at other sites. The instructions give an example of how to look for such sites (Figure 1.)
Figure 1. How to search for information about your company.
It turns out that information about you on other sites on the network is one of the factors of credibility of your site in the eyes of search engines. I dare to hypothesize that the reviews left in Google My Business affect the assessment of the credibility of your site, as this is the easiest way to link user ratings and the website, especially since it is a Google tool.
Content Reliability and Expertise (EAT) Requirements
It is important who provides the content (web resource) and who publishes it (author).
For a better understanding, we give an example.
Wikipedia site. This, of course, is an authoritative site with quality and substantial content, which is commendable. However, any user has the right to edit materials on the site, including those who do not have sufficient competence. And if in the field of film review you can trust his author's opinion, then in medical matters you should not trust such content. Accordingly, if the information does not concern the life and health of users, then such an author can receive a high assessment of expertness, and in the opposite situation, the expert assessment will be low (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Excerpt from the instructions on WIKI sites
In other words, when publishing important and expert content, you must specify its author. I will separately note that it is the author, not the editor or other involved person.
How to design a high quality page
Everything is simple. It should answer only a few parameters:
- Structuredness.
- Photo information.
- Reference Information.
- Excellent external reputation of the site.
But having delved into these words, we will understand that in reality this is never easy.
And to develop a page of very high quality, in addition to this, you must also take into account the following characteristics:
- A very high level of authority.
- The content is very high quality.
- The extremely positive reputation of the site (this is where certificates and awards come in handy).
Let's try to superficially parse each of the items.
Structured
A high-quality page involves full disclosure of the topic. Usually this results in a rather voluminous material, so it should be divided into blocks and it is desirable to have internal navigation for the convenience of moving around the page and, accordingly, for the convenience of the user.
Figure 3. An example of Wikipedia’s internal navigation
Photo information
At first glance, this is a very simple point. But all the photo information in the article should be on the case and increase the positive information load on the page. Of course, this content may not be copyrighted, but if we use other people's photos, it is necessary to indicate their authorship.
reference Information
Good expert material is usually based not only on the opinion and authority of the author, but also on some open sources. Therefore, referring to materials that served as a pretext for constructing a hypothesis or statement is considered confirmation of the examination of the content. Remember how we wrote essays, diplomas and other works: there was a mandatory section with links to the materials used.
Figure 4. Example Wikipedia reference information
Excellent external reputation of the site
It is very difficult to say exactly how to earn such a reputation. In my opinion, it can be obtained only on the basis of moderated user reviews. Accordingly, the number of sites where reviews affect your external reputation becomes limited. I will give examples of several of them:
- Yandex.Directory
- Google my business
- Flamp
- 2Gis
From local services:
- Booking
- Tripadvisor
and others.
Very High Authority (EOT)
This status can only be earned by sites that enjoy high authority among users.
Very high quality content
Content is considered to be of very high quality, the creation of which requires a lot of strength, time, talent and skills. I would venture to suggest that the translation of the instruction of assessors is high-quality content, since it meets all the above parameters, despite the fact that it is only a translation.
Extremely positive site reputation
An extremely high level of authority is based on prestigious awards, recommendations of renowned experts or professional communities. At the same time, the reputation of the sites “Trick or Treat” (YMYL) is subjected to particularly careful checks.
general information
Of course, in this short and free presentation of the material, we missed a lot and left it undisclosed. We did not touch on a large number of subsequent chapters devoted to assessing the relevance of search results and other equally interesting things.
For a better understanding, the Assessor’s instructions give as an example many materials on the basis of which more explicit conclusions can be drawn, which is meant by certain formulations. Therefore, I highly recommend not relying on the free presentation of information in this article, but be sure to read the instructions and draw independent conclusions.
Thank you for attention! And let your sites be in the TOP and receive a lot of traffic.
The original UPD instructions are located here .