According to a press release , Google has decided to terminate its contract with Appen. For those who are not aware, Appen is an Australian-based company that provides a large number of third-party search quality raters to Google and other tech giants. Search quality raters play an important role in streamlining Google's search results. The search quality raters are not responsible for directly changing the rankings or the positioning of websites in the SERPs. However, they do use specific guidelines to assess search performance. Ultimately, this helps Google understand what content is useful for the audience. Reports suggest that the move to lay off search quality raters will cause Appen a significant revenue loss o f $82.8 million. This move is expected to come into effect on March 19, 2024. Currently, Google employs around 16,000 search quality raters, and those from Appen make up a large portion of this group. It's unclear if Google plans to end contracts with ...