Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines Glossary

Welcome to the glossary for the Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. This resource is designed to help you better understand the key concepts and terminology used throughout the guidelines document.

I hope you find this glossary helpful, and I encourage you to refer to it whenever you need clarification on a specific term or concept.

The Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines are instructions that Google’s human evaluators, known as Search Quality Raters, use to assess the quality of Google search results pages. These guidelines are available in a PDF document.

Search Quality Raters are third-party workers who evaluate the quality of webpages in Google search results. They perform tasks like entering search queries into Google and using the guidelines to rate the quality of the search results pages.

Raters also use these guidelines to determine if Google’s current or proposed algorithm updates achieve the goal of presenting relevant and reliable results. Google notes that raters do not directly influence the rankings of search results.

1. Search Quality Rating: The process of evaluating search engine results to improve search quality.
2. Page Quality (PQ): An assessment of how well a webpage achieves its purpose.
3. Needs Met (NM): A rating of how well a search result satisfies a user’s query.
4. Main Content (MC): The primary content on a webpage that directly helps the page achieve its purpose.
5. Supplementary Content (SC): Additional content that supports the MC but doesn’t directly achieve the page’s purpose.
6. Advertisements/Monetization (Ads): Content and links displayed for generating revenue from a webpage.
7. Your Money or Your Life (YMYL): Topics that could impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.
8. Lowest Quality Pages: Webpages that are harmful, untrustworthy, or spammy.
9. Harmful to Self or Other Individuals: Content that could cause harm to oneself or others.
10. Harmful to Specified Groups: Content that promotes hate or violence towards specific groups of people.
11. Harmfully Misleading Information: Content that spreads inaccurate or unsubstantiated information that can cause harm.
12. Untrustworthy Webpages or Websites: Webpages or websites that appear deceptive or malicious.
13. Spammy Webpages: Webpages using manipulative techniques or containing low-quality content.
14. Low Quality Pages: Webpages lacking in E-E-A-T or having other undesirable characteristics.
15. Medium Quality Pages: Webpages that achieve their purpose but may lack special qualities.
16. High Quality Pages: Webpages with a high level of E-E-A-T, MC quality, or reputation.
17. Highest Quality Pages: The most authoritative, trustworthy, and satisfying webpages on a topic.
18. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (E-E-A-T): Factors that contribute to a webpage’s trustworthiness and authority.
19. Reputation of the Website and Content Creators: The opinion users and experts have about a website or content creator.
20. Porn Flag: Used to identify pornographic results.
21. Upsetting-Offensive Flag: Used to identify disturbing or offensive results.
22. Not-for-Everyone Flag: Used to identify content that may be unpleasant for some users.
23. Foreign Language Flag: Used to identify results not in the task language or commonly spoken languages in the task location.
24. Did Not Load Flag: Used to identify pages that don’t load or have no content.
25. User: A person who uses a search engine.
26. Query: The words, phrases, or other content a user enters into a search engine.
27. Query Interpretation: The possible meanings of a user’s query.
28. User Intent: The goal a user aims to accomplish with their search.
29. Locale: The language and location for a search task.
30. User Location: The geographic location of a user.
31. Search Engine Results Page (SERP): The page a search engine displays after a user enters a query.
32. Result Block: An individual search result on a SERP.
33. Landing Page (LP): The webpage reached after clicking a link in a result block.
34. Fully Meets (FullyM): A search result that fully satisfies the user’s query by itself.
35. Highly Meets (HM): A search result that significantly satisfies the user’s query.
36. Moderately Meets (MM): A search result that adequately satisfies the user’s query.
37. Slightly Meets (SM): A search result that marginally satisfies the user’s query.
38. Fails to Meet (FailsM): A search result that doesn’t satisfy the user’s query at all.
39. Dominant Interpretation: The most common understanding of a query.
40. Common Interpretation: A frequent understanding of a query.
41. Minor Interpretation: An uncommon but reasonable understanding of a query.
42. No Chance Interpretation: An unreasonable or unlikely understanding of a query.
43. Know Query: A search for information about a topic.
44. Know Simple Query: A search for a short, fact-based answer.
45. Do Query: A search to accomplish a goal or engage in an activity.
46. Website Query: A search for a specific website or webpage.
47. Visit-in-Person Query: A search for a physical location to visit.
48. Explicit Location: A location specified directly in a search query.
49. Helpful Purpose: The intent of a webpage to benefit users.
50. Beneficial Purpose: The intent of a webpage to help users or have a positive impact.
51. Harmful Purpose: The intent of a webpage to damage, deceive, or take advantage of users.
52. Lowest Page Quality Assessment: Factors that justify a Lowest PQ rating.
53. Low Page Quality Assessment: Factors that justify a Low PQ rating.
54. Medium Page Quality Assessment: Factors that justify a Medium PQ rating.
55. High Page Quality Assessment: Factors that justify a High PQ rating.
56. Highest Page Quality Assessment: Factors that justify a Highest PQ rating.
57. Auto-generated Main Content: MC automatically produced with little human effort or oversight.
58. Copied Main Content: MC copied from other sources with little added value.
59. Misleading Title: A webpage title that doesn’t accurately reflect the MC.
60. Stale Information: Outdated or inaccurate content.
61. Unsatisfying Amount of Main Content: Insufficient MC for the purpose of the page.
62. Distracting Ads or Supplementary Content: Ads or SC that disrupt the usage of MC.
63. Deliberately Obstructed or Obscured Main Content: MC that is hidden by Ads or other elements to mislead users.
64. Mixed, But With Some Redeeming Qualities: A webpage with both high and low quality aspects.
65. Nothing Wrong, But Nothing Special: A webpage that achieves its purpose but has no special qualities.
66. Inadequate Level of E-E-A-T: A lack of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness relative to the topic.
67. Mildly Negative Reputation: A somewhat unfavorable reputation based on user reviews and other credible sources.
68. Very Negative Reputation: An extremely unfavorable reputation based on extensive evidence from credible sources.
69. Very Positive Reputation: An excellent reputation based on recommendations from experts and other authoritative sources.
70. Clear Non-Porn Intent Queries: Searches that are clearly not seeking porn.
71. Possible Porn Intent Queries: Searches that may or may not be seeking porn.
72. Clear Porn Intent Queries: Searches that are explicitly seeking porn.
73. Misspelled Queries: Queries containing misspelled words or phrases.
74. URL Queries: Queries that contain a full or partial URL.
75. Broad Queries: Queries that cover a wide topic without being specific.
76. Specific Queries: Queries that seek precise information about a narrow topic.
77. Unusual Queries: Rare or strange queries that don’t have a clear interpretation.
78. Unlikely Queries: Queries that don’t match the assumed location or language of a user.
79. Sensitive Queries: Queries about delicate topics that should be handled carefully.
80. Controversial Queries: Queries about divisive or widely debated topics.
81. Recent Information Queries: Queries seeking current or time-sensitive information.
82. Online Reputation Research: Searching online for information about a website or content creator’s reputation.
83. Expertise: A high level of knowledge or skill in a particular field.
84. Everyday Expertise: Knowledge gained through daily life experiences.
85. Formal Expertise: Knowledge obtained through professional training or education.
86. Time-Sensitive Queries: Queries that require current or frequently updated results.
87. Dictionary or Encyclopedia Results: Results that provide definitions or overviews of a topic.
88. Authoritative Sources: Highly trustworthy and reliable sources of information.
89. Clickbait: Content designed to attract attention and encourage clicking, often at the expense of quality or accuracy.
90. Online Scams: Fraudulent schemes designed to trick users for financial gain.
91. Website Reputation: The overall opinion users and experts have about a website.
92. Content Creator Reputation: The overall opinion users and experts have about an individual author or creator.
93. Customer Reviews: Feedback and opinions about a product or service posted online by users.
94. Informational Queries: Searches that seek information or answers to questions.
95. Transactional Queries: Searches that indicate an intent to complete an action, like making a purchase.
96. Navigational Queries: Searches that seek a specific website or webpage.
97. Quality of the Main Content: An assessment of the MC’s accuracy, comprehensiveness, and overall value.
98. Inaccurate or Misleading Information: False or deceptive content that can misinform users.
99. Unsupported Conspiracy Theories: Explanations that lack evidence and promote mistrust without justification.
100. Lowest Quality Justification: The rationale for assigning the lowest rating to a webpage.
101. Webpage Purpose: The reason or reasons why a webpage was created, such as to inform, entertain, sell products, or share personal experiences.
102. Beneficial Webpages: Webpages that are created to help or benefit users, rather than to manipulate search rankings or deceive users.
103. Page Quality Rating Considerations: The various factors that contribute to assessing the overall Page Quality (PQ) of a webpage, such as Main Content quality, website reputation, and E-E-A-T.
104. Lowest Quality Pages: Webpages that fail to achieve their purpose due to significantly lacking E-E-A-T, having harmful or deceiving content, or other severe issues.
105. High Quality Pages: Webpages that excel in achieving their purpose, with high-quality Main Content, positive reputation, and a high level of E-E-A-T.
106. User Interaction: The ways in which users engage with search results and webpages, such as clicking, reading, watching, or navigating through content.
107. Positive Reputation: A favorable assessment of a website or content creator based on recommendations, awards, reviews, or other credible sources.
108. Negative Reputation: An unfavorable assessment of a website or content creator based on critical reviews, poor customer experiences, or other credible sources.
109. Reputation Research: The process of investigating the online reputation of a website or content creator using reviews, references, news articles, and other credible sources.
110. Content Creator: The individual or organization responsible for creating the Main Content on a webpage.
111. Lowest Quality Justification: The reasoning behind assigning the lowest Page Quality rating to a webpage, based on specific issues or problems identified.
112. Discover-Learn Intent: A type of search query where the user seeks to learn or discover new information about a topic.
113. Website Maintenance: The ongoing process of keeping a website up-to-date, functional, and secure, which can influence its perceived quality and trustworthiness.
114. Shopping Queries: Search queries that indicate a user’s intent to research or purchase products online.
115. E-A-T and YMYL: The relationship between E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics, which require a higher standard of accuracy and reliability.
116. Intermediary Pages: Webpages that primarily serve to direct users to other content, rather than providing substantial value on their own.
117. Webpage Functionality: The technical performance and usability of a webpage, including factors such as load speed, mobile responsiveness, and ease of navigation.
118. Search Quality Evaluator: A person who assesses the quality and relevance of search results based on the Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.