Today (December 14, 2022), Google is introducing the Google Search Status Dashboard to communicate the status of Search going forward. This new dashboard will replace the externalization of system disruptions previously found on the Google Search Central Twitter account. The dashboard is a result of two years of work with Site Reliability Engineers (SRE) to create improved ways to make information about major incidents generally accessible and useful. With this new tool, the goal is to make reporting issues quick, accurate, and easy. To access the new Google Search Status Dashboard, click here.
The Google Search Status dashboard is a tool designed to report any widespread issues occurring within the last 7 days. It runs in tandem with Search System Guidelines and SREs' Monitoring and Alerting Mechanisms, flagging any issues that arise. The dashboard has several features such as an RSS feed to subscribe to, a view of historical data, and updates posted by global staff within 12 hours of an incident’s start time. For more information, check out the Search System Guidelines here, the SREs’ Monitoring and Alerting Mechanisms here , the RSS feed here, and View of Historical Data here.
The Google Search Status Dashboard aims to provide detailed updates to users regarding system disruptions or incidents that may impact their sites. In addition to the traditional status update, the dashboard also intends to provide more information about mitigation possibilities. For instance, if a nameserver refuses a connection request from Googlebot, an update may be posted suggesting that changing nameservers could help remediate the issue. Updates will continue until the incident is resolved, which is defined as when engineers have made changes that end the impact on the system. There may still be effects experienced after resolution has been reached as some reprocessing could take time depending on the type of incident. To learn more about how to use the dashboard and for feedback, visit Google Search Central and tweet @googlesearchc (@googlesearchc).
Gary Illyes, a member of the Search Team, recently discussed how Google is changing its algorithm to ensure that content with original research, analysis and opinion will be rewarded. Specifically, he mentioned that content with in-depth information that is well written and independently researched will now gain more visibility. In addition, Gary Illyes also noted that Google has made changes to its algorithm to ensure that webpages with thin and “low-quality” content will be pushed down in the search results. He concluded with a reminder for publishers to continue producing unique and original content as it rewards them more in the long run.