GOOGLE

Google Announces it Uses Spam Fighting AI

Published

4 years ago

May 4, 2021

Google announced the introduction of new artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help fight against a range of spam. Internal estimate calculates that the AI has the ability to block 99% of spam.

Unprecedented Potential to Fight Spam

There are multiple forms of spam that Google fights at different points in which Google interacts with web pages.

What Google has done is to create a spam fighting artificial intelligence that Google describes as providing an “unprecedented potential to revolutionize” spam fighting.

Google specially focused it’s spam fighting algorithms on sensitive searches that were especially important to users like those related to important topics like finding medical testing sites.

“By combining our deep knowledge of spam with AI, last year we were able to build our very own spam-fighting AI that is incredibly effective at catching both known and new spam trends.
For example, we have reduced sites with auto-generated and scraped content by more than 80% compared to a couple of years ago.”

Hacked Site Spam

Spammers will hack a site and add new pages with links to other sites. A widespread site hack that Google warns about is called the Japanese keyword hack because it adds Japanese language pages. It can also takeover your Google search console account.

Google claimed to have caught “most” spam generated by site hacking. AI technology was able to increase Google’s ability to catch it by over 50%.

Three Areas Where Google Blocks Spam

Google published a diagram outlining three levels at which it encounters spam, diagnoses it as spam and then rejects it.

Illustration: Three Area Where Google Blocks Spam

Diagram illustrating where Google AI blocks spam

Where Google Blocks Spam

Crawled Spam
Indexed Spam
Spam Caught by Manual Action

Spam Blocked Before Making it to the Index

Google’s crawler (GoogleBot) is software that crawls the Internet to find web pages to include within Google’s search index in order to show those pages in search results.

The crawler itself can catch spam as it encounters it so that the spam doesn’t make it to the index.

Spam added through the Search Console Request Indexing tool is also caught and discarded before it is included in Google’s search index.

Spam in Search Index Blocked Before it is Ranked

These systems don’t catch all the spam and some spam makes it into Google’s search index. Whenever Google responds to a search query Google will scan web pages that are being considered for ranking in order to find more spam.

Spammy pages that are found at this level is used to create better spam fighting algorithms at the web crawling level.

Where Manual Actions Come From

Google claims that these systems block 99% of spam from reaching users. What makes it through is culled through manual actions.

“We estimated that these automated systems help keep more than 99% of visits from Search completely spam-free.
As for the tiny percentage left, our teams take manual action and use the learnings from that to further improve our automated systems.”

Review Site Spam

Google added low-quality review and shopping sites to the list of sites that are analyzed by their AI tools. Google says it wants to reward content that is in-depth and useful.

“…we wanted to make sure that you’re getting the most useful information for your next purchase by rewarding content that has more in-depth research and useful information.”

Google Spam Fight Enhanced by AI

The AI tools were added sometime in 2020. It’s unclear how much this may have influenced search results but some sites may have received better rankings because of the removal of spam sites that were previously high ranking.

It’s difficult to say from our side how successful Google’s spam fight is. Everyone has an anecdote about a spam site that is getting away with ranking on Google.

Citation

How We Fought Search spam on Google in 2020

Searchenginejournal.com

GOOGLE

Google Warns About Misuse of Its Indexing API

Published

2 months ago

September 12, 2024

Max

Google Warns About Misuse of Its Indexing API

Google has updated its Indexing API documentation with a clear warning about spam detection and the possible consequences of misuse.

Warning Against API Misuse The new message in the guide says:

“All submissions through the Indexing API are checked for spam. Any misuse, like using multiple accounts or going over the usage limits, could lead to access being taken away.”

This warning is aimed at people trying to abuse the system by exceeding the API’s limits or breaking Google’s rules.

What Is the Indexing API? The Indexing API allows websites to tell Google when job posting or livestream video pages are added or removed. It helps websites with fast-changing content get their pages crawled and indexed quickly.

But it seems some users have been trying to abuse this by using multiple accounts to get more access.

Impact of the Update Google is now closely watching how people use the Indexing API. If someone breaks the rules, they might lose access to the tool, which could make it harder for them to keep their search results updated for time-sensitive content.

How To Stay Compliant To use the Indexing API properly, follow these rules:

Don’t go over the usage limits, and if you need more, ask Google instead of using multiple accounts.
Use the API only for job postings or livestream videos, and make sure your data is correct.
Follow all of Google’s API guidelines and spam policies.
Use sitemaps along with the API, not as a replacement.

Remember, the Indexing API isn’t a shortcut to faster indexing. Follow the rules to keep your access.

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

4 months ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:

1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update

Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.

2. Changes to Google Search Interface

Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.

3. New Features and Tests

Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.

4. Search Rankings and Quality

Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.

5. Advice for Content Creators

Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.

6. New Search Features in Google Chrome

Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.

7. New Tests and Features in Google Search

Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.

8. Bing’s New Feature

Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.

9. Local Search Ranking Factors

Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.

10. Google Ads Updates

Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.

These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.

AI

Exploring the Evolution of Language Translation: A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate

Published

8 months ago

February 26, 2024

Max

A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate

According to an article on PCMag, while Google Translate makes translating sentences into over 100 languages easy, regular users acknowledge that there’s still room for improvement.

In theory, large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are expected to bring about a new era in language translation. These models consume vast amounts of text-based training data and real-time feedback from users worldwide, enabling them to quickly learn to generate coherent, human-like sentences in a wide range of languages.

However, despite the anticipation that ChatGPT would revolutionize translation, previous experiences have shown that such expectations are often inaccurate, posing challenges for translation accuracy. To put these claims to the test, PCMag conducted a blind test, asking fluent speakers of eight non-English languages to evaluate the translation results from various AI services.

The test compared ChatGPT (both the free and paid versions) to Google Translate, as well as to other competing chatbots such as Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. The evaluation involved comparing the translation quality for two test paragraphs across different languages, including Polish, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, and Amharic.

In the first test conducted in June 2023, participants consistently favored AI chatbots over Google Translate. ChatGPT, Google Bard (now Gemini), and Microsoft Bing outperformed Google Translate, with ChatGPT receiving the highest praise. ChatGPT demonstrated superior performance in converting colloquialisms, while Google Translate often provided literal translations that lacked cultural nuance.

For instance, ChatGPT accurately translated colloquial expressions like “blow off steam,” whereas Google Translate produced more literal translations that failed to resonate across cultures. Participants appreciated ChatGPT’s ability to maintain consistent levels of formality and its consideration of gender options in translations.

The success of AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be attributed to reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), which allows these models to learn from human preferences and produce culturally appropriate translations, particularly for non-native speakers. However, it’s essential to note that while AI chatbots outperformed Google Translate, they still had limitations and occasional inaccuracies.

In a subsequent test, PCMag evaluated different versions of ChatGPT, including the free and paid versions, as well as language-specific AI agents from OpenAI’s GPTStore. The paid version of ChatGPT, known as ChatGPT Plus, consistently delivered the best translations across various languages. However, Google Translate also showed improvement, performing surprisingly well compared to previous tests.

Overall, while ChatGPT Plus emerged as the preferred choice for translation, Google Translate demonstrated notable improvement, challenging the notion that AI chatbots are always superior to traditional translation tools.

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/articles/google-translate-vs-chatgpt-which-is-the-best-language-translator