With the world of SEO forever changing and fast-moving, it is essential to have your finger on the pulse of the latest developments in the industry. That’s why we recently attended the esteemed Search Central Live event in Jakarta – a flagship event by the Google Search Central team.

Search Central Live Jakarta 2023 provided an excellent opportunity to learn about Google’s new features and recommended best practices. The event was attended by professionals from all around the region and certainly had a buzz as SEO specialists were keen to learn the latest on industry best practices.

Here, we wrap up the key highlights of this industry-leading event:

Key learnings from Google’s latest search resources and updates

Staying up to date with the latest developments in Google Search is essential in today’s digital age. With advancements in technology, understanding what’s new can be a daunting task. However, there are key learnings that can be gained to make your online experience more effective.

• Google search status dashboard

The Google search status dashboard is a valuable tool for webmasters to monitor real-time issues or disruptions that may affect Google Search and related products like Image Search and Video Search. By using this dashboard, webmasters can explain potential drops in traffic and indexing during Google service issues.

• Ranking updates

Google frequently updates its search algorithms and ranking signals to produce more authoritative, relevant, and useful results for searchers. The ranking updates page documents these changes and explains the rationale behind Google’s evolving search quality benchmarks. Studying these updates can provide insight into the factors that may influence rankings, such as page speed, mobile-friendliness, secure HTTPS, and more.

• Guidance on AI-generated content

As AI models grow more advanced in generating synthetic text, imagery, and other content, Google has published guidance on how such AI-generated content will be handled in Search results. The guidelines caution against auto generated content lacking originality or adding little value to users. Google advises focusing on creating high-quality, helpful content manually.

• Easy to access search quality user report 

Webmasters can now report potential spam, misinformation, or other low-quality pages directly to Google via the Search quality user report tool. This helps Google’s search quality evaluators investigate pages that may be violating search guidelines or undermining the relevancy of results. Pages confirmed to violate policies may be demoted or removed from results.

Human touch in content remains crucial to thrive in the digital age, despite the rise of AI

Google has been at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution for years, constantly pushing the envelope regarding AI technology. Their extensive background in AI applications, such as natural language processing and image recognition, sets them apart from other tech companies.

During the AI discussion session, Google revealed that its ranking algorithm is trained using human-generated content and gives priority to users rather than search engines. The machine learning algorithm excels in identifying web content that caters to user preferences.

This machine learning model is intelligently designed to comprehend content in a manner that aligns with human reading patterns. Google’s ranking algorithm can detect the natural flow of content discussions, contextual understanding, and depth of information provided.

Consequently, content that is deemed valuable and user-centric is highly regarded, increasing its chances of securing top rankings in Google search results. This highlights the paramount importance of maintaining a human touch in content creation, even in the face of widespread AI-generated content.

“While AI technology greatly aids content creation, integrating a human touch ensures the content delivers genuine value to readers rather than misguiding them.”

In summary, the Search Central Live Jakarta 2023 event provided invaluable insights into Google’s latest advancements in search technology and best practices guidance. While artificial intelligence increasingly aids content creation and search relevancy, Google still prioritises human-generated content that provides true value to users.

By staying updated on Google’s evolving search quality benchmarks and focusing on optimised, engaging content, sites can better meet user needs and potentially improve search visibility. The key is balancing emerging AI capabilities with timeless content marketing fundamentals – creativity, strategic thinking, and genuine human connection. Leveraging both will be vital for search success in 2023 and beyond.

Are you intrigued by the SEO insights from Search Central Live Jakarta 2023? There’s more valuable content coming your way courtesy of M&C! Keep an eye out for our upcoming SEO thought leadership series, where we’ll be debunking common SEO myths. Discover effective strategies to boost your website’s search rankings and stay ahead in the digital landscape. Stay tuned to M&C’s blog updates for all the latest tips and trends.