Google Publishes Best Practices Guide for Ecommerce
Google added a new section of their developer pages focused on best practices for ecommerce websites. The new pages are aimed at developers but are equally useful to any ecommerce site publisher that sells products online.
Best Practices for Ecommerce
The goal of the new guide is show how to make your products visible not just in Google Search but through any of Google’s search products that surfaces products for shoppers.
There are seven brand new pages that concentrate on the following topics:
- Where ecommerce content can appear on Google
- Share your product data with Google
Available options for sharing product data with Google - Include structured data relevant to ecommerce
Ecommerce structured data tips - How to launch a new ecommerce website
- Designing a URL structure for ecommerce sites
How to optimize URL structure - Help Google understand your ecommerce site structure
How to create the best site navigation structure - Pagination, incremental page loading, and their impact on Google Search
User experience patterns that help Google show products
Where Ecommerce Content Can Appear on Google
Google is commonly considered as mostly a Search Engine. But Google is comprised of many services that are tightly bound to the mobile phone as well as desktop apps, but primarily the mobile experience.
Many of these services show users products in contexts outside of the search engine, at the very moment that the consumers are interested in those products.
Google calls services “surfaces,” where they surface content and products to users.
Google lists six important surfaces:
- Google Search
- Google Images
- Google Lens
- Google Shopping tab
- Google My Business
- Google Maps
Google recommends creating content specific for each of those six contexts:
“Some of these surfaces support multiple ways in which content can be displayed”
Share Your Product Data with Google
This section shows different ways to provide product information to Google, including structured data and product feeds to Google’s Merchant Center, so that Google can show it to shoppers in the appropriate moments.
This section also describes all the ways this information is used to benefit ecommerce sites.
Include Structured Data Relevant to Ecommerce
This section lists eight important structured data that ecommerce sites should be aware of and use.
Help Google Understand Your Ecommerce Site Structure
This is an overview of site architecture that helps Google find all the important site content.
According to Google:
“Google tries to find the best content on your site by analyzing the relationship between pages based on their linkages.
This means navigation structures on your site (such as menus and cross page links) can impact Google’s understanding of your site structure.”
How to Launch a New Ecommerce Website
A step by step overview of what to do when launching an ecommerce website. The document itself serves as an overview with links to more in depth content covering all the details.
The rest of the sections offers overviews of the technical aspects of a successful ecommerce website, from the design and coding perspective.
Advanced SEO for Ecommerce
This is a useful guide that is aimed at developers but can be useful to site owners with some technical understanding.
It offers a useful overview of important points to understand for a successful ecommerce presence in search.
Citation
Best Practices for Ecommerce in Google Search
Google Warns About Misuse of Its Indexing API
Google has updated its Indexing API documentation with a clear warning about spam detection and the possible consequences of misuse.
Warning Against API Misuse The new message in the guide says:
“All submissions through the Indexing API are checked for spam. Any misuse, like using multiple accounts or going over the usage limits, could lead to access being taken away.”
This warning is aimed at people trying to abuse the system by exceeding the API’s limits or breaking Google’s rules.
What Is the Indexing API? The Indexing API allows websites to tell Google when job posting or livestream video pages are added or removed. It helps websites with fast-changing content get their pages crawled and indexed quickly.
But it seems some users have been trying to abuse this by using multiple accounts to get more access.
Impact of the Update Google is now closely watching how people use the Indexing API. If someone breaks the rules, they might lose access to the tool, which could make it harder for them to keep their search results updated for time-sensitive content.
How To Stay Compliant To use the Indexing API properly, follow these rules:
- Don’t go over the usage limits, and if you need more, ask Google instead of using multiple accounts.
- Use the API only for job postings or livestream videos, and make sure your data is correct.
- Follow all of Google’s API guidelines and spam policies.
- Use sitemaps along with the API, not as a replacement.
Remember, the Indexing API isn’t a shortcut to faster indexing. Follow the rules to keep your access.
This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update
Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:
1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update
Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.
2. Changes to Google Search Interface
Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.
3. New Features and Tests
- Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
- Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
- Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.
4. Search Rankings and Quality
- Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
- Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.
5. Advice for Content Creators
- Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
- Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.
6. New Search Features in Google Chrome
Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.
7. New Tests and Features in Google Search
- Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
- Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.
8. Bing’s New Feature
Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.
9. Local Search Ranking Factors
Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.
10. Google Ads Updates
- Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
- Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
- tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
- WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.
These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.
AI
Exploring the Evolution of Language Translation: A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate
According to an article on PCMag, while Google Translate makes translating sentences into over 100 languages easy, regular users acknowledge that there’s still room for improvement.
In theory, large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are expected to bring about a new era in language translation. These models consume vast amounts of text-based training data and real-time feedback from users worldwide, enabling them to quickly learn to generate coherent, human-like sentences in a wide range of languages.
However, despite the anticipation that ChatGPT would revolutionize translation, previous experiences have shown that such expectations are often inaccurate, posing challenges for translation accuracy. To put these claims to the test, PCMag conducted a blind test, asking fluent speakers of eight non-English languages to evaluate the translation results from various AI services.
The test compared ChatGPT (both the free and paid versions) to Google Translate, as well as to other competing chatbots such as Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. The evaluation involved comparing the translation quality for two test paragraphs across different languages, including Polish, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, and Amharic.
In the first test conducted in June 2023, participants consistently favored AI chatbots over Google Translate. ChatGPT, Google Bard (now Gemini), and Microsoft Bing outperformed Google Translate, with ChatGPT receiving the highest praise. ChatGPT demonstrated superior performance in converting colloquialisms, while Google Translate often provided literal translations that lacked cultural nuance.
For instance, ChatGPT accurately translated colloquial expressions like “blow off steam,” whereas Google Translate produced more literal translations that failed to resonate across cultures. Participants appreciated ChatGPT’s ability to maintain consistent levels of formality and its consideration of gender options in translations.
The success of AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be attributed to reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), which allows these models to learn from human preferences and produce culturally appropriate translations, particularly for non-native speakers. However, it’s essential to note that while AI chatbots outperformed Google Translate, they still had limitations and occasional inaccuracies.
In a subsequent test, PCMag evaluated different versions of ChatGPT, including the free and paid versions, as well as language-specific AI agents from OpenAI’s GPTStore. The paid version of ChatGPT, known as ChatGPT Plus, consistently delivered the best translations across various languages. However, Google Translate also showed improvement, performing surprisingly well compared to previous tests.
Overall, while ChatGPT Plus emerged as the preferred choice for translation, Google Translate demonstrated notable improvement, challenging the notion that AI chatbots are always superior to traditional translation tools.
Source: https://www.pcmag.com/articles/google-translate-vs-chatgpt-which-is-the-best-language-translator
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