New Reports in Google Search Console, Outranking Reddit & Improving Bounce Rate

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General SEO

Google Search News Recap July 2024

Google’s John Mueller covered the latest updates on AI overviews, structured data for e-commerce sites and more. I’ve summarised the main points below with some personal perspectives.

1. AI Overviews - show roughly 7% of the time now, down from 11% (probably while Google scrambles to make them better). You can prevent Google from showing your site content in overviews here, but be warned, this will take you out of the Featured Snippets too.
2. Search Console - a new performance report for merchant listings and a new way to set up shipping and returns information (both covered below).
3. SEO Starter Guide - Google halved their guide and now ranks #1 for “SEO”. I covered this back when it ranked #3 for “SEO”. The takeaway here is to prioritise helpfulness and intent over everything else. Or… remember that big Google data leak that verified how Google adjusts search results rankings based on user click behaviour (NavBoost). What if the only reason their rankings improved was that everything Googled “SEO” and clicked their results after they saw the story? Unlikely perhaps, but it reminds me of that experiment Rank Fishkin did in 2014 to get to #1 by manipulating clicks.
4. Mobile indexing - Google now exclusively crawls and indexes all sites with Googlebot Smartphone. If your site's content is not accessible at all on a mobile device, it will no longer be indexable (this is different to mobile friendliness).
5. Product structured data - there are two main classes of product structured data: Product snippets: For product pages where people can't directly purchase the product - more options for specifying review information, pros and cons, etc. Merchant listings: For pages where customers can purchase products from you. Google has split its product structured data documentation to make it easier to digest.

Watch the full recap Below:

Ecommerce SEO

New Performance Report in Search Console for Merchant Listings

A new report allows you to see the performance of your merchant listings in the Google Search Image tab. This feature lets you filter images that appear in Google Images with a product label overlay (indicating they can be purchased).

The report displays key information such as availability, pricing, brand, and more - particularly useful for ecommerce sites - providing valuable data for image search analysis. Now, you can better understand how your product images are performing and optimise them to improve visibility and sales.

Ecommerce SEO

Easier Shipping & Returns Setup in Search Console

Google has introduced a new method to simplify adding shipping and return information through Google Search Console - designed to help merchants specify shipping and return details, enhancing your Google Search listings.

There are several ways to provide Google with your shipping and return details. Here's the order of precedence:

1. Product-level feeds submitted in Merchant Center
2. Return settings in the Content API for Shopping
3. Settings in Merchant Center or Search Console
4. Organisation-level markup
5. Product-level merchant listing markup

To configure these details in Search Console, go to Settings, then Shopping, and under shipping and returns. Here, you can specify delivery time, shipping cost, return window, and return cost. This setup will improve your product listings in Google Search, potentially increasing visibility and traffic.

Follow this guide on how to add, edit or delete policies in search Console.

Content SEO

Why Do Anonymous Redditors Outrank Experts?

An SEO on LinkedIn questioned why an anonymous user on Reddit can outrank a credible website. Google's response sheds light on search rankings and why Reddit content can sometimes outrank expert articles.

Question:

If we search for ‘best product under X amount,’ we see, let’s say, PCMag and Reddit both on the first page. PCMag is a reliable source for that product, while Reddit has UGC and surely doesn’t guarantee authenticity. Where do you see this in terms of credibility? In my opinion, Google must be focusing more on this, especially after the AI boom, where misinformation can be easily and massively spread. Do you think this is an important factor in rankings anymore?"

Google’s John Mueller addressed this by explaining:

Both are websites, but also, they’re quite different, right? Finding the right tools for your needs, the right platforms for your audience and for your messages – it’s worth looking at more than just a simplification like that. Google aims to provide search results that are relevant & useful for users, and there’s a lot involved in that."

Regarding user-generated content (UGC) on platforms like Reddit, the relevance and usefulness of the content can outweigh the lack of author credibility.

For example, hands-on product reviews from real users on Reddit can be highly valuable and relevant to other users, sometimes more so than professional reviews.

This does not invalidate the importance of professional reviews. Both types of content have value, and Google's algorithms consider various factors such as relevance, user experience, cultural and language nuances, and current trends play a role.

?? Takeaway

1. Relevance and Usefulness: Google's priority is to provide search results that are most relevant and useful to users.
2. Multidimensional Factors: Rankings consider various factors, including content type, user engagement, and the specific needs of the search query.
3. User-Generated Content: Platforms like Reddit can rank highly because their content can be highly relevant and helpful, even if the authors are anonymous.

Technical SEO

Advice on Ranking for Unwanted Keywords

If you’ve got a site that ranks for unrelated keywords that you don’t want to target, Google suggests making any ambiguous content and titles clearer.

In response to álvaro Pichó Torres on LinkedIn, John Mueller explained that if your site ranks for unwanted queries, you can either ignore it or try to improve the content. He stated:

Sometimes pages rank for unexpected things, you can't prevent it, and that won't negatively affect the rest of your site.

If you noindex or robots.txt disallow the page, it won't appear for normal searches either. I'd just ignore it or make the title/description a bit clearer if they're ambiguous.

?? Takeaway: If you want to block a page from indexing completely, noindex is the way to go. However, it’s often better to refine your content to avoid unwanted rankings.

Content SEO

Tips For Reducing Your Bounce Rate

In this blog, Amelia Willson runs through 12 reasons your website can have a high bounce rate, along with tips on improving this.

Tips such as reworking your title tag and meta description to ensure it accurately matches the page’s content and making your content easier to read by:

• Breaking up text with white space.
• Writing in shorter sentences.
• Avoid overwhelming readers with ads (I’ll add intrusive email sign-ups to the list here).

It’s worth a read if you struggle with high bounce rates or low engagement rates!

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