During the latest update of the Quality Raters Guidelines (the criteria Google provides to people who assess the quality of websites), the company expanded on negative elements related to EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
The goal of these changes is to be more demanding regarding the authenticity of the company behind the website.
Deceptive Purpose
On top of this, the following paragraph is added[1]:
A webpage with deliberately inaccurate information to promote products in order to make money from clicks on monetized links. Examples include a product recommendation page on a website falsely impersonating a celebrity blog, or a product recommendation based on a false claim of personal, independent testing when no such testing was conducted.
This kind of comment is not new and is directed specifically at companies that work with affiliates. Google is constantly looking for real, first-hand experience with the products being promoted.
In the tourism industry, this is generally not a problem—except for specialized media sites that recommend products and experiences. Ideally, authors should mention their personal experience with the activity. This is why travel blogs can sometimes outrank large media companies, as it’s much easier for them to demonstrate that they were actually at the location.
Deceptive EEAT Content
In this section, Google adds examples of deceptive practices where there is an attempt to demonstrate authority or credentials that the site does not actually possess[2]:
A webpage or website with deceptive business information. For example, a website may claim to have a physical “brick and mortar” store but in fact only exists online. While there is nothing wrong with being an online business, claiming to have a physical “brick and mortar” (e.g. fake photo, fake physical store address) is deceptive.
A webpage or website with “fake” owner or content creator profiles. For example, AI generated content with made up “author” profiles (AI generated images or deceptive creator descriptions) in order to make it appear that the content is written by people.
Factually inaccurate and deceptive information about creator expertise. For example, an author or creator profile inaccurately claims to have credentials or expertise (e.g. the content creator claims falsely to be a medical professional) to make the content appear more trustworthy than it is.
Deceptive Content, Buttons, And Links
Then, it further elaborates on some well-known practices aimed at getting people to take actions that most benefit the website owner[3]:
Pages with deceptively designed buttons or links . For example, buttons or links on pop ups, interstitials or on the page are designed to look like they do one thing (such as close a pop up) but in fact have a different result which most people would not expect, e.g. download an app.
Pages with a misleading title or a title that has nothing to do with the content on the page. People who come to the page expecting content related to the title will feel tricked or deceived.
In the tourism sector, there is no need to resort to these kinds of actions. Companies have enough content and audiovisual resources to generate interest and encourage people to inquire about the product.
Conclusions
Creating high-quality websites remains crucial for achieving good rankings across all search engines. Engaging in practices like those mentioned above might bring short-term benefits, but at the cost of damaging the user experience on the website and, consequently, the perception of the brand.
Do you have doubts about how your website is performing in the eyes of search engines? Request a free SEO audit to get an initial, real assessment of your site.
References:
Search quality raters guidelines (January 22, 2025), PDF
- [1] [2] [3] Google. (2025). Search quality raters guidelines (January 22, 2025), p.37
