Google Search Quality Team - Commission Based Reviews

[CarlosFernandes]

I have been busy this past week writing articles for various sources about the recent update on Google. A number of people contacted me about the analysis I was doing and the report.

Some were members of the Google Search Quality Team.

I knew manual reports were done before - but after the documents they showed me regarding the reports they do and the compensation for doing the reports - I am left in a state of being pretty shocked.

May be I have been naive for all these years but  I didn't realize that;

1. Google outsourced the review and reconsideration requests to individual reviewers for a compensation

2. Google's position in terms of checking qualification and experience of these "reviewers" was very insufficient at best,

The three contacts I spoke to who had done reports had very little training or experience. I went through the GSQT REVIEWERS PDF (a very long and thorough document) that I was sent - with them.

We went together through some sites I wanted them to review and their comments that came back were quite astounding to say the least and would have made many of you Mozzers laugh.

Obviously I don't want to post said document online here....

BUT, I wanted to know if:

a) any Mozzers had ever been part of such a group - the GSQT

b) had any dealings with them - in terms of having your website reviewed and known about it.

I knew about this group way back - like in 2005 or 2006 or sometime around then -  I was told at time it was stopped and Google had stopped paying these sub contractor reviewers.

Please don't get me wrong here...  totally on board with manual reviews...

I would just prefer them done by a trained team that possibly worked for either a professional company that maintain high quality review testing and standards - or for that matter GOOGLE employees that were trained. I just am a little unsure of them being done by individual subbies that get paid for the amount they do.  What if that subbie has got some skin in the game for a particular keyword?

What if their knowledge about certain aspects isn't up to par or not tested on a regular basis. This space is always changing and as you guys ./ girls on this forum know - it can change pretty quick.

I just would want all websites to be judged fairly and equally by a group trained EQUALLY and to the same standards. I don't care if this is a G team or not - I just want it to be a team that is trained equally and trained continuously as opposed to paying outside people based on numbers of reviews done.

When the livelihood of a small business is the balance I don't want a commission hungry toe rag with one years experience being the gate keeper for me or any of our clients.

Carlos

[CarlosFernandes]

Just for clarification - the outsource individuals I had heard about back in 2004-2006 were in the  EWOQ team.

FYI: http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/006791.html

I had thought that outsourcing the reviewing  had stopped though many years ago and the manual reviewing was done internally by GOOGLE now.

The documents (PDFs and such) that I was sent tonight by these reviewers was dated 2012. They are very lengthy documents on what to look for and what to penalize for.

My conversations with said reviewers were quite amazing. Their lack of knowledge on what to look for and what constituted gaming the system (GH / BH as opposed to natural links etc) was at  best laughable.

It just bothers me that a company that is one of the largest on this planet cannot have a team in house that is continually trained on reviewing and tested regularly.

Reviewing is important. It is necessary. It is critical for good search results.

All I ask that it is done equally, fairly and by a company that is tested regularly for quality standards themselves and not commission based individuals. [falls off soap box - but then watches the Mayweather fight again :)]

Carlos