What is SafeSearch?

Introducing SafeSearch

SafeSearch is a filtering technology developed by search engines like Google to block inappropriate or explicit content from search results. It is designed to be a tool that parents, teachers, and adults can use to protect children from seeing explicit content online.

This technology works by automatically filtering out websites and images that contain certain keywords or phrases associated with adult content. This means that when someone searches for something using a safesearch-enabled search engine, they won’t see any inappropriate content in the results.

How does it work?

This filtering is based on algorithms designed to detect potentially dangerous content, such as profanity, violence, and explicit sexual images or text. The filtering process also applies to advertisements and sponsored links that appear alongside search results. At the same time, SafeSearch also helps ensure that all results are accurate and relevant. By blocking inappropriate content, it helps maintain an effective level of quality control for search results.

Since the search engine filters out certain results, it can limit the visibility of sites that contain inappropriate or malicious content. This means that if a site is found to have such content, it may be filtered out from search results, making it difficult for users to find it. Additionally, since SafeSearch is an opt-in feature, sites that do not enable it may be at a disadvantage compared to those that do.

Benefits

• Reduced competition. By filtering out inappropriate content, SafeSearch ensures that your site is not competing with the same pages and images. This gives your site an advantage in the SERPs.
• Increased visibility. SafeSearch makes it easier for your site to be found by potential customers. This can help increase your website’s visibility and lead to more conversions.
• Brand reputation. By ensuring that your site does not contain any inappropriate content, you are showing potential customers that you are a reputable company who follows best practices. This can help build customer trust and loyalty, leading to increased sales and revenue.
• Improved User Experience. It helps to provide users with a more pleasant online experience. Without having to worry about seeing inappropriate content, users are more likely to stay on your site and explore further.
• Overall, SafeSearch is an essential tool for anyone looking to maximize their website’s performance in the SERPs.

SEO impact

Google claims that the risk of being filtered out of the search results is mainly related to pages that walk a fine line between explicit and classified content, as well as topics that are sexually explicit or refer to violence and cruelty. Such pages – by default links, videos and images – do not appear in the search results for a given query if the searcher has enabled the SafeSearch filter.

The result of filtering the page from the search results by Google SafeSearch is a decrease in traffic from a given key phrase. Various types of websites in the field of aesthetic medicine showing the effects of surgery in the vicinity of intimate places in photos, shops with gadgets and erotic lingerie, and many other types of websites are also exposed to hiding in the results due to SafeSearch filtering.

How to set a SafeSearch filter?

To enable SafeSearch, you need to sign in to your Google Account and then go to the Search Settings page. In the “SafeSearch Filters” section, check the “Enable SafeSearch Filter” option. Just click “Save”.

Tips

• If your child uses a computer, tablet or smartphone, be sure to set up Google Safe Search on each device. Even if you have enabled parental controls that prevent you from visiting certain websites, some search terms will still display pornographic content. Therefore, check what your child is searching for on the Internet.
• If you use more than one browser, you must set the filter on each of them. Additionally, if you have multiple Google accounts, be sure to turn on SafeSearch for each. Thanks to this, your child will not accidentally see something they shouldn’t.
• If you activate YouTube SafetyMode, this filter will also be activated.

What is SafeSearch’s margin of error?

This filter does not work perfectly and sometimes it does not detect all dangerous content. It also works the other way around – it happens that a website is considered harmful, although it only refers to a certain topic. If you already post adult content, add it to a specific category.

Turning off the filter

As with enabling, you must have a Google account to remove the filter. Just find the “Search Settings” tab – there you will find the “Turn off SafeSearch filter” option (it can also be completely removed in this way).

How to avoid Google filtering a website?

Although it may sound trivial, the best method is to avoid creating ambiguous content. However, a good method is to protect the content against infringement, e.g. consent acceptance, age verification.

Wrapping up

Safesearch is an important part of maintaining a safe and secure online environment while also making sure that only appropriate content appears in search engine results. This helps to ensure that websites and content are seen and ranked fairly, and can help improve SEO performance.

So as long as you’re running with family-friendly settings, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits that come with searching the web without worrying about unwanted surprises! Search engines will not index any site with explicit content unless they know that it’s intended for adults 18 years of age and older who want to see adult content.