A study by German researchers has confirmed what many of us have long suspected: Google search It's really getting worse.
A team of researchers led by the University of Leipzig, the Bauhaus University Weimar and the Center for Scalable Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence has carried out a study year-long research experiment to answer the question “Is Google getting worse?”, and the answer was essentially a resounding “yes.” The study was not limited specifically to Google, but also analyzed results from the search engines Bing and DuckDuckGo.
The researchers specifically looked at product review search terms, which means we shouldn't panic right away: Searches for short questions with objective answers still return accurate results, for example. However, the study found that across all search engines, “top-ranked pages” frequently showed “signs of lower text quality”—specifically, SEO spam.
Search, commit, destroy
For the uninitiated, SEO stands for 'search engine optimization' – the process of optimizing the content of a web page to ensure better rankings in search engine results. This process has evolved significantly over the years; Gone are the days when you could simply put the product name on an article 100 times and lock it to the top of search results. Google works tirelessly to optimize its own search algorithms to combat spam and deliver the best results to users, so SEO demands are constantly changing.
SEO has become a dirty word among many online media outlets: trying to keep up with Google's ever-changing algorithms often causes sites to throw everything in to see what sticks, and sometimes results in sites Search engines “reward” low-quality content. because it manages to tick the right boxes. SEO has become something of a cottage industry, with companies promising (sometimes falsely) to ensure that his The site will be the highest ranked result for the relevant search terms. The need for good SEO can come at the expense of the quality of the content itself, a frustrating paradox since high-quality content should naturally rise to the top of search results.
Of course, Google is not entirely to blame in this case. The study noted that Google performed better than Bing and DuckDuckGo in several key areas, and when reached for comment, a Google spokesperson agreed that “the study itself notes that Google has improved over the past year and is performing better.” What others”. search engines.” They also stated that Google has “released targeted improvements to address these issues” and noted that other third-party studies have found that “Google consistently shows higher quality results,” including this New York Times study starting in 2022.
However, there may be deeper issues at play than simple SEO spam attempts. The arrival of generative AI tools like the immensely popular ChatGPT has seen a marked increase in low-quality content specifically targeting Google's algorithm, and we're just at the beginning.
The machines are coming… for your search results
The German team behind the study noted “a trend toward simplified, repetitive, and potentially AI-generated content,” and Bing and Google themselves are already introducing AI-produced search results, via Bing AI powered by ChatGPT and Google itself . google bard. After all, why bother writing content and trying to optimize it for a search engine if a machine can do it for you?
There has been a veritable avalanche of AI-generated online content since the dawn of ChatGPT, and many have turned to machine learning tools to try to make a quick buck from Google search traffic. Sites like the aptly named Robots.net are designed to produce articles targeting popular search terms, attempting to divert traffic from legitimate critics and journalists. These articles are compiled from the real work of product reviewers and buying guide editors, pulled from dozens of reputable sites, and aggregated into something the AI thinks will please Google. Algorithms trying to satisfy algorithms… it's a strange world, isn't it?
You'll notice that I haven't linked Robots.net despite our usual practice of linking directly to other news sites when we reference them, which is, somewhat funny, for SEO reasons. I particularly don't want Google's all-seeing algorithm to think that we here at TechRadar are in any way associated with that kind of AI-created nonsense, but you can check it out for yourself if you want; It's kind of depressing.
As the reach of AI expands, researchers warn that many Internet users have already noticed “a torrent of low-quality content” that “continues to drown out any kind of useful information in search results.” I can't say I disagree, and AI programs arguably have a much greater ability than human writers and editors to “game the system” when it comes to SEO, so there is a clear danger that Things are only going to get worse.
Of course, Google is not going to stand still. Fighting AI spam is a major priority for the tech giant right now, although some have questioned Google's sincerity on the matter — understandable, given Google's own forays into using AI for search results. But I'd like to believe that the powers that be at Google know that people don't want content written by bots, for bots. Hopefully in the near future there will be changes that ensure the articles you get when searching for the 'best budget gaming PC' are written by humans, for humans.
