It is pointed out that the deterioration of Google search quality is the result of a change in leadership
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Google has dominated the web search market for many years, but research has shown that the quality of Google searches has been deteriorating year by year. British journalist Edward Zitron explains in his newsletter why the quality of Google searches has deteriorated.
The Man Who Killed Google Search
https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/
Ben Gomes, who served as head of Google's search division from 2018 to 2020, has been a core member of Google since its early days and was involved in designing the search engine.
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Gomes improved the algorithm, called ' PageRank ,' to run on multiple machines rather than a single one to improve the relevance of search results, allowing Google to efficiently crawl and index vast amounts of web pages.
In addition, Gomes introduced improvements to the Google search algorithm called the 'Panda Update' to make it harder for low-quality content to appear at the top of search results. The Panda Update, introduced in 2011, removed copy content and ad-driven sites from Google search results. Gomes became head of Google's search division in 2018.
However, Google's advertising and finance teams were stymied by sluggish search revenue and declared a 'Code Yellow' in February 2019. 'Code Yellow' is an internal term used at Google to indicate a situation that could have a significant impact on the business, such as not meeting revenue targets or encountering major technical issues. The advertising team argued that changes should be made to increase search engagement, even at the expense of user experience.
In response, Gomes, who said that Google's philosophy is to 'deliver the best information to users,' refused to accept that engagement would be increased at the expense of user experience, and tried to come up with a policy to protect the neutrality and quality of search results. However, Google's management ultimately decided to support the ad team's argument.
As a result, Gomes was fired as head of Google's search division in June 2020 and replaced by Prabhakar Raghavan. Raghavan served as head of Yahoo!'s search division from 2005 to 2012, and before joining Yahoo!, he was involved in research and development of search algorithms at IBM. However, Zitron questions Raghavan's ability, citing the fact that Yahoo!'s search market share had declined significantly between 2005 and 2012.
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After Gomes was fired, he was transferred to the education division, effectively demoting him. By this time, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had both left the company, and Zitron claims that at this point, Google's management shifted from a 'user-first' approach to a 'growth-first' approach.
Raghavan set a policy of prioritizing the growth of advertising revenue, and implemented various measures such as displaying shopping ads in search results and changing the algorithm to favor SEO. In addition, Raghavan changed the UI of the search results to blur the distinction between advertisements and search results. At this time, the idea of changing the label of advertisement to a less conspicuous design was realized under Raghavan's initiative.
In addition, Raghavan increased the number of YouTube videos displayed in search results. YouTube is already a subsidiary of Google, and video advertising is its main source of revenue. By displaying YouTube videos in search results, it will be possible to direct users to YouTube and increase advertising revenue.
Although Raghavan's policies were favorable to advertisers, there was criticism that original content and highly specialized information were being neglected, and that user convenience and experience were being sacrificed. Zitron argues that Raghavan's appointment as head of search was a symbolic event that shifted Google's philosophy from 'user first' to 'advertiser first.'
On the social news site Hacker News, gregw134, who was a Google search engineer from 2019 to 2023, testified, 'Many veteran engineers were outraged at Gomes' dismissal as head of search at the time. However, from what I've heard, the bigger turning point was in 2016 when Amit Singhal, who was head of Google search before Gomes, left the company. He was arguing that machine learning should be reduced and made understandable by human engineers.'
On the other hand, some people pointed out that Zitron's tone was heavily biased, saying, 'The papers that Raghavan wrote at IBM were excellent, and he is an excellent engineer and is by no means an advocate of growth. There is a problem with the way he writes, which seems to put all the responsibility on Raghavan.'
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