I don’t know if it’s a reaction to increasing pressure from webmasters for more feedback and interaction, or just something that was in the works all along, but Google’s Adam Lasnik told Google Webmaster Help forum members last night that additional help was on the way… in the form of more Google employees participating in the forum. He didn’t say who or how many, but he did say that these aren’t “customer service” folks hired just to chat in forums:

Over the next weeks, you’ll start to slowly but surely see posts from Googlers who are new to the Group. What’s notable is that these aren’t customer service folks we’ve newly hired for this role; these are experienced Google Search Quality team members who came up to me and Vanessa Fox asking to spend part of their work time participating here.

This can only be seen as good news and I’m glad that Google is bumping up their level of interaction. To date I haven’t been that impressed with Google’s feedback. Sure… you’ve got Matt Cutts and the couple of regular forum participants in the Webmaster Help forum. But almost every other Google interaction is done via email (and it’s usually an automated email at that).

It’s critical for companies that wield the power that Google commands to have open, constructive dialogs with the people that depend on their services. And while I’d hate to suggest that webmasters “depend” on Google, the fact of the matter is that they do. At the same time, Google depends on webmasters and I’m happy to hear that the communication between the two groups is being taken to “the next level”.

In addition to more Google forum members, Lasnik said the Webmaster Help forum Googlers have been getting special training on ways to reach that next level. Time will tell if that training has paid off. But I for one am excited about the prospect of an even better Google Webmaster Help forum.

If you’re not a member of the group, drop by and join. It sounds like things are about to get much, much better.

Via Search Engine Watch