Google has pushed a minor update to its search quality raters guidelines PDF (accessible here). Google updated the YMYL definitions and added additional examples for new features like AI Overviews. Google also fixed some typos and other textual issues in the document.
What changed. Google posted the following details in its change log in the document:
- Updated YMYL definitions
- Added additional examples for clarity
- Minor changes throughout (fixed typos, etc.)
Raters guidance unchanged. Google told us that with this update, there were no changes to the overall guidance provided to search quality raters. A Google spokesperson told us:
“This is a minor update to our rater guidelines with small clarifications and a handful of new examples. This update makes no change to our rating guidance.”
Previous updates. The last update was over 7 months ago on January 23, 2025. Before that was on March 5, 2024 and then Nov. 16, 2023 and then before that Dec. 15, 2022. Google normally refreshes these guidelines every year or so.
What the quality raters do. Google’s quality raters are used by outside consultants hired by Google to assess the quality of the Google search results. They do not directly influence the search results and quality raters cannot downgrade or upgrade a specific site in Google Search. Google previously said:
- “As a reminder, these guidelines are what are used by our search raters to help evaluate the performance of our various search ranking systems, and their ratings don’t directly influence ranking. The guidelines share important considerations for what content is helpful for people when using Google Search. Our page on how to create helpful, people-first content summarizes these concepts for creators to help them self-assess their own content to be successful in Google Search.”
Why we care. Although search quality evaluators’ ratings do not directly impact rankings, they do provide feedback that helps Google improve its algorithms. It is essential to spend some time looking at what Google changed in this updated version of the document and comparing that to the previous version of the document to see if we can learn more about Google’s intent on what websites and webpages Google prefers to rank. Google made those additions, edits, and deletions for a reason.
The added examples and clearer definitions may help you along this path.
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