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Google Confirms May 2020 Core Algorithm Update Rolling Out Today

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google confirms may 2020 core algorithm update rolling out today via mattgsouthern

Google’s Danny Sullivan has confirmed that a core algorithm update is rolling out today – May 4, 2020.

The update will officially be known as the “May 2020 Core Update.”

Google has been one step ahead of the SEO community when it comes to naming these updates, as the company now defaults to a generic Month/Year naming pattern.

Otherwise, I would wager we’d all be tempted to refer to this as the “May the Fourth” update – or something to that effect.

Update 3:52 p.m.: The May 2020 Core Update is now rolling out.

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Second Core Update in 2020

This is Google’s second confirmed update of 2020 so far, with the first one launching back in January.

Feels like a lifetime ago considering how the world has changed between then and now.

With that said, this effectively answers any questions about whether Google will pause core updates amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The answer is: no.

Although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and throughout this post I will explain why.

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The Purpose of Core Updates

Broad core updates are designed to produce widely noticeable effects across search results in all countries in all languages.

Sites will inevitably notice drops or gains in search rankings when a core update rolls out.

Changes in search rankings are generally a reflection of content relevancy.

Meaning if content has gained relevancy since the last update it will be moved higher up in rankings. The opposite is also true.

Then there’s newly published content that didn’t exist at the time of the last update. That all has to be reassessed against previously existing content.

To put it simply, rankings can move around quite a bit.

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With this being the first update since the pandemic, the May 2020 Core Update has the potential to be especially volatile.

First Core Update Since COVID-19

The last core update was launched in the second week of January 2020.

At the time, coronavirus and COVID-19 were hardly on anyone’s radar. Now that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The world quickly changed when coronavirus was declared a pandemic, which came with significant shifts in users’ search behavior.

Earlier today Google said there has never been so many searches for a single topic as there have been for COVID-19.

COVID-19 has changed what people need from Google’s search results.

Whether it’s seeking information about the virus itself, or places offering remote services, or where to buy much needed products online.

There are many things gaining relevancy that weren’t as relevant to searchers before.

Conversely, categories that were once highly relevant aren’t being searched for as much.

For example – searches related to travel, tourism, live entertainment, and in-person events are all down. Just to name a few.

With the May 2020 Core Update, Google is faced with the unique challenge of catching up with how the world is searching.

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Over time, we will see if people are finding it easier to access the information they need through Google Search.

Boon to SEO Job Market?

If the May 2020 Core Update ends up being as potent as it has the potential to be, it could be a good thing for SEOs.

It’s no secret that, amid the economic downturn, companies are laying off staff and clients are pausing services.

Services provided by SEOs are especially valuable any time an algorithm update occurs.

The more volatile the update, the more valuable those services become.

That means SEOs may soon find themselves in a position where there’s a significant rise in demand for their work.

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Will be interesting to see how many companies suddenly have room in their budget for SEO when the May 2020 Core Update fully rolls out.

 May 2020 Core Update: What to Do

Google’s guidance regarding this update remains exactly the same as all core updates in the past.

Historically, Google has always said there’s nothing to “fix” if rankings drop after a core update.

Rather, site owners are routinely advised to make their content the best it can be.

I interpret that as meaning: strive to make each piece of content the most holistic resource on the web for a user’s specific query.

There are many other interpretations of Google’s advice on how to deal with the impact of a core update.

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Here are some of the best resources we’ve published on this subject in the past:

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

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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.

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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

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Google Implements Stricter Guidelines for Mass Email Senders to Gmail Users

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Beginning in April, Gmail senders bombarding users with unwanted mass emails will encounter a surge in message rejections unless they comply with the freshly minted Gmail email sender protocols, Google cautions.

Fresh Guidelines for Dispatching Mass Emails to Gmail Inboxes In an elucidative piece featured on Forbes, it was highlighted that novel regulations are being ushered in to shield Gmail users from the deluge of unsolicited mass emails. Initially, there were reports surfacing about certain marketers receiving error notifications pertaining to messages dispatched to Gmail accounts. Nonetheless, a Google representative clarified that these specific errors, denoted as 550-5.7.56, weren’t novel but rather stemmed from existing authentication prerequisites.

Moreover, Google has verified that commencing from April, they will initiate “the rejection of a portion of non-compliant email traffic, progressively escalating the rejection rate over time.” Google elaborates that, for instance, if 75% of the traffic adheres to the new email sender authentication criteria, then a portion of the remaining non-conforming 25% will face rejection. The exact proportion remains undisclosed. Google does assert that the implementation of the new regulations will be executed in a “step-by-step fashion.”

This cautious and methodical strategy seems to have already kicked off, with transient errors affecting a “fraction of their non-compliant email traffic” coming into play this month. Additionally, Google stipulates that bulk senders will be granted until June 1 to integrate “one-click unsubscribe” in all commercial or promotional correspondence.

Exclusively Personal Gmail Accounts Subject to Rejection These alterations exclusively affect bulk emails dispatched to personal Gmail accounts. Entities sending out mass emails, specifically those transmitting a minimum of 5,000 messages daily to Gmail accounts, will be mandated to authenticate outgoing emails and “refrain from dispatching unsolicited emails.” The 5,000 message threshold is tabulated based on emails transmitted from the same principal domain, irrespective of the employment of subdomains. Once the threshold is met, the domain is categorized as a permanent bulk sender.

These guidelines do not extend to communications directed at Google Workspace accounts, although all senders, including those utilizing Google Workspace, are required to adhere to the updated criteria.

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Augmented Security and Enhanced Oversight for Gmail Users A Google spokesperson emphasized that these requisites are being rolled out to “fortify sender-side security and augment user control over inbox contents even further.” For the recipient, this translates to heightened trust in the authenticity of the email sender, thus mitigating the risk of falling prey to phishing attempts, a tactic frequently exploited by malevolent entities capitalizing on authentication vulnerabilities. “If anything,” the spokesperson concludes, “meeting these stipulations should facilitate senders in reaching their intended recipients more efficiently, with reduced risks of spoofing and hijacking by malicious actors.”

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Google’s Next-Gen AI Chatbot, Gemini, Faces Delays: What to Expect When It Finally Launches

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Google AI Chatbot Gemini

In an unexpected turn of events, Google has chosen to postpone the much-anticipated debut of its revolutionary generative AI model, Gemini. Initially poised to make waves this week, the unveiling has now been rescheduled for early next year, specifically in January.

Gemini is set to redefine the landscape of conversational AI, representing Google’s most potent endeavor in this domain to date. Positioned as a multimodal AI chatbot, Gemini boasts the capability to process diverse data types. This includes a unique proficiency in comprehending and generating text, images, and various content formats, even going so far as to create an entire website based on a combination of sketches and written descriptions.

Originally, Google had planned an elaborate series of launch events spanning California, New York, and Washington. Regrettably, these events have been canceled due to concerns about Gemini’s responsiveness to non-English prompts. According to anonymous sources cited by The Information, Google’s Chief Executive, Sundar Pichai, personally decided to postpone the launch, acknowledging the importance of global support as a key feature of Gemini’s capabilities.

Gemini is expected to surpass the renowned ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, and preliminary private tests have shown promising results. Fueled by significantly enhanced computing power, Gemini has outperformed GPT-4, particularly in FLOPS (Floating Point Operations Per Second), owing to its access to a multitude of high-end AI accelerators through the Google Cloud platform.

SemiAnalysis, a research firm affiliated with Substack Inc., expressed in an August blog post that Gemini appears poised to “blow OpenAI’s model out of the water.” The extensive compute power at Google’s disposal has evidently contributed to Gemini’s superior performance.

Google’s Vice President and Manager of Bard and Google Assistant, Sissie Hsiao, offered insights into Gemini’s capabilities, citing examples like generating novel images in response to specific requests, such as illustrating the steps to ice a three-layer cake.

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While Google’s current generative AI offering, Bard, has showcased noteworthy accomplishments, it has struggled to achieve the same level of consumer awareness as ChatGPT. Gemini, with its unparalleled capabilities, is expected to be a game-changer, demonstrating impressive multimodal functionalities never seen before.

During the initial announcement at Google’s I/O developer conference in May, the company emphasized Gemini’s multimodal prowess and its developer-friendly nature. An application programming interface (API) is under development, allowing developers to seamlessly integrate Gemini into third-party applications.

As the world awaits the delayed unveiling of Gemini, the stakes are high, with Google aiming to revolutionize the AI landscape and solidify its position as a leader in generative artificial intelligence. The postponed launch only adds to the anticipation surrounding Gemini’s eventual debut in the coming year.

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