Sick of misinformation? Google just outlined new algorithm improvements
- SEO |
A new article on Social Media Today reports that Google is going further to tackle misinformation.
Google's looking to add more context to its Search results, in order to mitigate the spread of misinformation, by adding improved contextual data matching for Search Snippets, and more supplementary info within Search results, in order will help users decide on which results are most accurate.
First off, Google's improved its algorithms that fuel its Search snippets, which are the direct response results that it displays in Search queries:
In addition, Google also says that its systems are also getting better at understanding when a featured snippet doesn't provide relevant context:
My question for you guys is, does messing with Snippets help that much if you use SERPs to drive website traffic? I mean, they reduce the need for searchers to even visit your site - because they get the answers there first, right?
Don't get me wrong, it's harder than ever to sort fact from fiction, which is why additions like these are important for ensuring trust in Google's products, and keeping Search, which is a key platform for all kinds of research, as accurate and valuable as possible for all users.
But in the age of social media, can we ever combat the damaging effects of misinformation?
Google's looking to add more context to its Search results, in order to mitigate the spread of misinformation, by adding improved contextual data matching for Search Snippets, and more supplementary info within Search results, in order will help users decide on which results are most accurate.
First off, Google's improved its algorithms that fuel its Search snippets, which are the direct response results that it displays in Search queries:
| "By using our latest AI model, Multitask Unified Model (MUM), our systems can now understand the notion of consensus, which is when multiple high-quality sources on the web all agree on the same fact. Our systems can check snippet callouts (the word or words called out above the featured snippet in a larger font) against other high-quality sources on the web, to see if there's a general consensus for that callout, even if sources use different words or concepts to describe the same thing. We've found that this consensus-based technique has meaningfully improved the quality and helpfulness of featured snippet callouts." |
| "This is particularly helpful for questions where there is no answer: for example, a recent search for "when did snoopy assassinate Abraham Lincoln" provided a snippet highlighting an accurate date and information about Lincoln's assassination, but this clearly isn't the most helpful way to display this result." |
Don't get me wrong, it's harder than ever to sort fact from fiction, which is why additions like these are important for ensuring trust in Google's products, and keeping Search, which is a key platform for all kinds of research, as accurate and valuable as possible for all users.
But in the age of social media, can we ever combat the damaging effects of misinformation?
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