With the new updates in the Google Page algorithm rolling out and the past ones showing their effects on search results, it is important to track such updates and make the required changes to your ecommerce store as per Google ranking factors. Otherwise, it may have a dramatic effect on your website’s authority, ranking on SERPs, and other metrics.
We’ve put together the summary of recent updates which have already been implemented and may be impacting your website’s Google ranking negatively if you allow them to slip past your radar.
- Multitask Unified Model
Multitask Unified Model or MUM is a new Artificial Intelligence technology that Google has developed to improve Google Search users’ query experience. It aims to help the users when there is no straightforward answer to their questions. MUM can even learn from multilingual sources, irrespective of the language of the user’s query so that they get a well-rounded response despite the linguistic barriers (if any) they have. It translates the information for the user promptly.
MUM information is not limited to just written content, it processes images and video content as well to gather relevant information. It can detect the important moments of a product’s video, link an ecommerce image with a user’s search query and include a new ‘Things to know’ section about the question.
Tip: Ensure that you keep MUM technology in mind while creating your website content. Make the videos, alt text of images and all product content as comprehensive as you can for the AI. This will help your ecommerce store appear in more search results.
- Google Product Reviews update
The Product Reviews update isn’t another web core change, instead, it is a deliberate change to target the product reviews and their Google rankings. It is for fighting against thin content, especially hazy product reviews that feel more like sponsored products’ roundups than detailed insight into a specific product or service. Google stated that the product reviewers should offer detailed explanations about all the reviewed items and show that they are adept in that market. This will prevent thin product reviews from ranking on SERPs, prioritizing in-depth and valuable experiences with useful products.
Tip – Ask your product reviewers to provide a deep insight into the product, highlight its USP and show how it competes against similar products. They should provide as much information as possible to prevent your product reviews from being deemed as thin content (the content that has no or little value to the user).
- Google Page Experience algorithm update
The Page Experience changes encompass a brand-new score that is visible through Google Search Console. Any website registered on the Analytics platform can access the same. This score is basically an ecommerce ranking factor and one of the important Google page algorithms. It measures mobile usability, security issues, Core Web Vital (UX design) and the Ad experience of your website. The better your Page Experience score is, the higher your ecommerce website will be able to rank on search results.
Tip: Enhance your customers’ user experience by having an organized and easy-to-navigate website structure, creating an omnichannel experience, offering social proof and more. Your website needs to comply with every element of the Page Experience to be competitive in the search results.
- Link spam changes
The Link Spam update regulates all the content that appears on the search queries in the hope of preventing spammy pages or results from conducting linking spam. It affects the way links need to be tagged on all the content. Therefore, when it comes to both monetizing and promoting your ecommerce website, it is essential to tag your links properly to avoid appearing irrelevant to the algorithm.
Tip: All the sponsored links featured in product reviews will now need to be tagged as rel=” sponsored”. Excessive link exchanges for promoting your ecommerce store’s products might also negatively impact your website’s ranking if they come across as disproportionate or unnatural. Therefore, limit sponsored posts and product reviews coming from other websites to only those that add real value to your potential customers and your link scheme.
Now that you are familiar with the key updates in the Google Page algorithm that are affecting ecommerce websites, it is time to act. If you don’t, your website’s Google rankings may get affected and its domain authority may get devalued.
So, if you want to continue ranking well and driving organic search traffic, it is important to closely monitor your core web vitals and stay well-versed in Google page algorithm updates while putting the user experience at your strategy’s forefront.
