The podcast "Search Off the Record" features John, Gary, and Lizzi discussing the intricacies of Google Search and its occasional issues. They focus on the Google Search Status Dashboard, a tool that tracks the health of Google Search and communicates any problems.
The dashboard provides status information on systems powering Google Search, showing issues that affect many sites or users. It also lists the latest ranking updates relevant to website owners. Users can subscribe to an RSS feed for notifications about issues and updates.
Lifecycle of an Issue
When an issue is detected, the Search Relations team and Search engineering team work together to resolve and communicate it through several stages:
- Detection and Initial Response: The Search Relations team monitors Google Search systems and updates the dashboard if a widespread issue is detected.
- Investigation: Search engineering teams investigate the root cause of issues.
- Follow Up: Regular updates are provided about the issue, including its scale, affected regions, and progress towards fixing it.
- Mitigation or Fix: An issue is considered fixed when changes are made that end the impact. The Site Reliability Engineering team attempts to mitigate the issue by reducing its scope or providing workarounds.
Status Definitions
- Available: The system is working and available.
- System Information: Updates or changes to a system (e.g., ranking updates, Googlebot crawling over HTTP/2).
- System Disruption: Degraded system performance due to a common third-party issue.
- System Outage: The system isn't functioning largely, affecting many sites or users.
FAQs
- Issue Noted: The Search Relations and engineering teams resolve and communicate the issue.
- Update Noted: Follow the provided link for more information and guidance.
- Ranking Updates: Latest updates relevant to website owners are listed.
- Unlisted Issues: Contact the Google Search Central help community or visit the Google Search help forum.
- Past System Statuses: Available on the Summary and History page for 5 years.
Listen to the full podcast to know more about the Google Search Status Dashboard.
