Google Search Console may soon include an automated action viewer to accompany the manual action viewer. This feature would allow users to see if a Google Search ranking algorithm has negatively impacted their site's performance. Google Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, expressed his support for this idea, stating that it is likely to be revisited by the Google Search team.
However, implementing such a feature presents two key challenges:
- Spamming: Some sites engage in severe spamming. If these sites were informed about what the algorithm identifies as spam, they could adjust their tactics to game the system, which would be detrimental for both searchers and other sites.
- Algorithmic Actions: Unlike manual actions, algorithmic actions cannot be manually lifted. The algorithm doesn't focus on specific sites or have a list of sites added to it. It identifies patterns across content and flags spam accordingly. Thus, there's no way to remove a site from the algorithm's purview.
Sullivan also mentioned the possibility of allowing users to report false spam notifications, which could help improve the automated spam systems. However, this idea presents its own challenges, as spammers could potentially abuse this feature.
In addition to spam, Google has systems that assess the helpfulness, usefulness, and reliability of individual content and sites. Sullivan suggested that Google Search Console could potentially show more of these indicators, while also providing better guidance to help creators. However, this idea also presents challenges, as it could potentially allow the system to be gamed.
Sullivan also hinted at exploring ideas related to small publishers and the use of structured data.
