Google will roll out new updates to reduce low-quality and unoriginal content in search results

techcrunch.com:

Google announced today that it’s rolling out new Search updates over the next few weeks that will aim to make it easier for people to find high-quality content. The new ranking improvements will work to reduce the amount of low-quality or unoriginal content that ranks high in search results. Google says that the update will especially target content that has been created primarily for ranking on search engines, known as “SEO-first” content, rather than human-first content.

The company’s tests have shown that the update will improve the results users find when searching for content like online educational materials, as well as arts and entertainment, shopping and tech-related content.

“If you search for information about a new movie, you might have previously encountered articles that aggregated reviews from other sites without adding perspectives beyond what’s available elsewhere on the web,” the company explained in a blog post. “This isn’t very helpful if you’re expecting to read something new. With this update, you’ll see more results with unique information, so you’re more likely to read something you haven’t seen before.”

The new updates should help reduce the number of low-quality results from websites that have learned to game the system with content that is optimized to rank high in search results. Google says users should start to see content that is actually useful rank more prominently in search results. The company plans to refine its systems and build on these improvements over time.

The launch of the new improvements come as Google recently acknowledged that TikTok is cutting into its Search product. Senior vice president Prabhakar Raghavan, who runs Google’s Knowledge & Information organization, recently noted