SEO tips DIRECTLY from Google.

I will disagree with you guys about Google's view on quality content, to an extent.

First, let me be clear that I am talking about what Google judges to be "quality", not what you guys are necessarily referring to as quality. You guys seems to be referencing a subjective version of quality while Google uses a very precise process of evaluating standards that are completely measurable and determined by an objective process.

When Google refers to "quality" they are speaking about some very specific standards that your content either meets, or does not. It's easy to measure and not at all subjectively measured. It is a just a pass or fail rating on a series of standards that can be easily measured by an algorithm. For the most part it is simply detecting errors. Errors in spelling, errors in grammar, bad writing styles like over use of passive voice, etc.

Google doesn't boost your SERP ranking for passing those quality standard tests, but they sure do lower your ranking score if you fail more than a few. When Google refers to content "quality" they are simply referring to your contents score on a series of standards, no opinions are involved, nothing subjective, just pass/fail evaluations.

Beside the obvious Relevancy score, and the standards based quality score, Google also rates and scores your content for utility value. Again Utility Scores are not based on a subjective opinion, they are simply pass/fail tests.They look for certain well known constructs and if they are found your Utility score is increased, and if they are not found nothing is added to your Utility Score.

While that might seem like magic to people that aren't aware of how the ranking algorithm works, it's not all that difficult to achieve when you do it the way Google does. What is difficult is to optimize the process so that it all occurs in milliseconds the way Google has learned to master. That was the biggest challenge, to scale it to the size that Google has done requires super-efficient algorithms.

It's hard to believe that this day and age an SEO guy wouldn't know that Google is already on the 3rd generation of Quality Score algorithms that do in fact rate your content's quality. I understand that you guys are not actually referring to the same thing that Google calls "quality". You guys are referring to a loosely termed definition of quality, one that is based on subjective opinion, and not a more precise version of the term which refers to a measurement of content against established standards, as is used by Google.

I felt compelled to speak out because all to often I see posts where people assert that Google cannot, or does not, rate your contents quality when clearly they do. They are not measuring subjective opinions that are simply applying a quality assurance program like any good business does. It's a simple pass/fail test, nothing more, nothing less.

Naturally this reply does not discuss all the aspects of Google's algorithm, but is intended to debunk the assertions that I think are somewhat misleading to other readers of this forum. I understand what you meant, you were talking strictly about subjective opinions, and I agree with you Google doesn't look at subjective opinions as a method of determining quality. However, Google does in fact measure and score your content for quality so lets be clear about that.

Good day to you all.

Don Burk

That is a great analogy. Seriously. That wraps it up in a nutshell.