Google’s forum carousal in the SERPs has caused worry among SEO experts, leading to concerns that the SERP feature could spread misinformation, specifically among Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) topics.
Lilly Ray, a prominent SEO professional, brought up the issue in an X post:
Ray pointed out that for queries like “weight loss,” a YMYL subject, the SERPs used to prominently feature sources like the CDC and Harvard. YMYL queries, which can have significant impacts on users' lives, require the highest levels of E-E-A-T to prevent harm from spam or misinformation. She also highlighted the same results for the query “payday loans.”
Now, the forum carousal, which features Reddit and Quora, is above those results, leading Ray to ask, “Isn’t this a bit dangerous for Google?”
Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan responded:
Sullivan states that while the forums rank above more authoritative sources, it wasn’t a conscious choice. Google aims to serve relevant content, whether forums, discussions, or resources like Harvard or the CDC.
However, Sullivan also said he would share this feedback with the Google team.
Sullivan also went on to clarify:
This response to X user @sc_kkw saying that searchers should add “forums” to their queries if they want forums in the search results. However, Sullivan reminds us that not all users search this way, and Google is trying its best to serve all searchers.
Ray responded:
Sullivan responded:
Sullivan maintains that Google’s goal is to show relevant content to users, regardless of the source. He alludes that Google may change its systems to filter out more spam or to educate users with disclaimers about forum content. However, there is no concrete plan at this time, though Sullivan “expects we’ll keep looking at how to improve here.”
Forums have gained prominence in the YMYL topics, which has raised concerns in the SEO community. However, this situation also presents opportunities for SEOs to analyze forums and understand the issues that users are interested in, which can help inform their content strategy.
Furthermore, this situation indicates that Google is continuously working to improve its systems and is open to public feedback.
