How Does Google Make Algorithm Changes?

How Does Google Make Algorithm Changes?

“A typical algorithmic change begins as an idea from one of our engineers.”

“We then implement that idea on a test version of Google and generate before and after results pages.”

“We typically present these before and after results pages to “raters,” people who are trained to evaluate search quality. “

“Assuming the feedback is positive, we may run what’s called a “live experiment” where we try out the updated algorithm on a very small percentage of Google users, so we can see data on how people seem to be interacting with the new results. For example, do searchers click the new result #1 more often? If so, that’s generally a good sign.”