Google inadvertently reveals the reasons behind its apparent indifference to publishers affected by algorithm updates.

Publisher Brandon Saltalamacchia interviewed Google’s Search Liaison, who suggested that quality sites impacted by Google’s algorithms might soon recover their traffic. However, this interview and a recent Google podcast uncover more profound issues that may explain Google’s apparent indifference to publishers with each update.

Google Search Relations

Google has a dedicated team that guides site owners on how to succeed on its platform. This suggests that Googlers themselves are open to site publishers and creatives. Google offers substantial feedback to publishers, mainly through tools like Google Search Console. However, the indifference lies in the core mechanics of the search itself. Google’s algorithms are designed to deliver a positive user experience, and they are evaluated based on this standard.

Consequently, from Google’s perspective, the algorithms are functioning as intended. Yet, from the viewpoint of website publishers, these ranking algorithms are falling short. This article explores the reasons behind this disconnect.

Publishers Are Not Even An Afterthought to Google

Brandon Saltalamacchia’s recent interview comes amid widespread website traffic losses due to Google’s latest algorithm updates. From Google’s perspective, the algorithms are performing well for users. However, consistent feedback from website publishers suggests otherwise. For the past month, Google has responded by stating that it is investigating potential improvements. This situation highlights a significant disconnect between Google’s assessment of its algorithms and the real-world experience of website publishers. Surprisingly, this disconnect stems from Google’s mission statement to make information “universally accessible and useful.” Yet, their algorithms are tested solely based on user metrics without considering the publisher’s experience.

Some common complaints about Google’s algorithms include:

• Ranking algorithms favoring large brands over smaller publishers in areas like reviews and travel.
• Google’s practice of directing excessive traffic to Reddit undermines the website publishing ecosystem.
• AI-generated overviews summarizing web pages and depriving websites of search traffic.

While Google’s algorithm decisions aim to enhance user satisfaction, they neglect the impact on website publishers. For instance, Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines do not address the issue of big brands dominating search results at all.

Website publishers are not even an afterthought for Google. Publishers are excluded from consideration at every stage of ranking algorithm creation, testing, and rollout.

Google Historically Doesn’t Focus on Publishers

In a recent Search Off The Record podcast, Gary Illyes shared his perspective that Google prioritizes user experience above all. He suggested that if the search is optimized for users, it will naturally benefit publishers as well. When discussing whether Google would publicly acknowledge issues in search, Gary highlighted that Search Relations focuses on users rather than publishers whom these issues might impact.

John Mueller inquired:

“So, is the focus more on what users or site owners would see? Because, as a Search Relations team, we would focus more on on-site owners. But it sounds like you’re saying, for these issues, we would look at what users would experience.”

Gary Illyes responded:

“So it’s Search Relations, not Site Owners Relations, from a Search perspective.”

Google’s Indifference to Publishers

Google’s emphasis on user satisfaction often translates into indifference toward publishers. A review of Google’s patents and research papers on information retrieval reveals a consistent focus on user metrics, with little consideration for the impact on site publishers. This disregard contributes to the perception that Google Search is indifferent to publishers, as they have never been integral to the search satisfaction equation. This reality might still be dawning on both publishers and Google.

In a recent Search Off The Record podcast, Google representatives discussed how they assess the success of updates. Even if a few publishers report issues with Google Search, the update is deemed successful if it aligns with Google’s internal metrics.

John Mueller remarked:

“…Sometimes we get feedback after big ranking updates, like core updates, where people are like, ‘Oh, everything is broken.’”

At the 12:06 mark of the podcast, Gary Illyes downplayed such feedback:

“Do we? We get feedback like that?”

Mueller responded:

“Well, yeah.”

Mueller continued:

“I feel bad for them. I understand that. I think those are the kind of situations where we would look at the examples and be like, ‘Oh, I see some sites are unhappy with this, but overall, we’re doing the right thing from our perspective.’”

Gary agreed:

“Right.”

John asked:

“And then we wouldn’t see it as an issue, right?”

Gary affirmed that Google would not view it as a problem if a legitimate publisher loses traffic as long as the algorithm meets Google’s standards:

“Yeah.”

This apparent indifference, which has raised concerns for website publisher Brandon Saltalamacchia, was a crucial topic in his recent discussion with Search Liaison.

Lots of Questions

SearchLiaison recently posed numerous questions about how Google could better support content creators. This is noteworthy because Google has historically concentrated on user experience while often overlooking the impact on businesses with an online presence. The engagement from SearchLiaison is promising, though not entirely surprising, as Danny Sullivan, who leads SearchLiaison, has decades of experience as a publisher and understands the challenges those on the other side of the search box face.

It will be interesting to see if SearchLiaison’s concern for publishers leads to a more profound recognition within Google that the Search Ecosystem extends beyond just its users to include website publishers. Algorithm updates should address not only user experience but also consider the effects on publishers.

Hope for Sites That Lost Traffic

One of the most notable takeaways from the interview is SearchLiaison’s indication that upcoming changes might benefit publishers who have experienced traffic loss from recent updates. Brandon reported:

“One main takeaway from my conversation with Danny is that he encouraged us to hang on and keep doing what we’re doing, expressing hope that those of us building great websites will see signs of recovery in the coming months.”

Despite these assurances from Danny, Brandon’s overall outlook remained cautious:

“I got the sense that changes won’t happen quickly or anytime soon.”

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