GOOGLE

Google’s Mueller Offers Two Tips for Getting Indexed

Published

3 years ago

May 21, 2021

Google’s Mueller Offers Two Tips for Getting Indexed

Google’s John Mueller answered a question from an e-commerce publisher whose pages were not being indexed. Mueller suggested specific diagnostic tips then recommended the value in promotion for getting a site indexed. According to Mueller, Google sometimes needs encouragement to index an entire site.

Then the site publisher revealed an important detail about the site.

Website Inadequately Indexed

The person asking the question explained the situation of the site not being indexed. They noted how a site colon (site:) search showed only a few pages indexed.

Of interest, is that he was leaving out an important clue about the problem, which was only revealed after John had offered an extensive amount of advice.

John addressed this issue but somewhat dismissed it as an ongoing factor.

Here is the question asked (minus a super important detail):

“So there’s a website… that is taking… longer to index. And the current situation is, I have 170 valid pages in Search Console.

But when I check it through site colon (site:), it just says three, four, sometimes five pages.

So that has been happening for three to four months now.

I’m not sure what the correct way to go from now on.

It’s …an e-commerce website. And it has about less than 500 product pages.”

Google’s Mueller addressed the shortcomings of the site colon search, saying it’s not a diagnostic tool and explained why it’s not good for diagnosing site indexing issues.

Screenshot of John Mueller Offering Site Indexing Advice

Screenshot of John Mueller offering site indexing tips

Mueller:

“So, in general, I would not worry about the difference between a site/colon query shows and what Search Console shows.

In practice, the site/colon query is not meant to be used for diagnostic purposes.

So sometimes you do see quite different numbers.

And for some sites, you see much lower numbers. For other sites you see 100 times larger numbers.

And essentially, the numbers we show in the site query result are optimized for speed and to give (kind of) a sense of the website.
But they’re not optimized to be comprehensive.

So that’s where the Search Console numbers would come in.”

In this next part, Mueller explained the background information about what it takes to index a smaller site (not much but something) and offered encouraging site promotion advice.

But first he suggested specific diagnostic tests.

Mueller:

“I think in general, if you’re talking about a site that is about 500 pages or so and after a period of several months only like 100 are indexed, that seems like something where probably you could do a lot better with minimal extra effort.

So that could be something where, what I would first of all check is just the technical side of things to make sure that technically everything is okay, that the website can be crawled.

There are some website crawling tools available, I think they’re even free for very small websites, where you can check your site to see if it’s crawlable or not.”

Mueller is correct, many site auditing tools offer free versions for smaller sites and that’s something any site should take advantage of.

Google Sometimes Needs a Hint to Encourage Full Indexing

Next Mueller explained why site promotion was important for a smaller site that needs to be indexed, explaining that sometimes Google needs encouragement.

Mueller:

“And if it’s well crawlable then the next thing I would consider trying to figure out is what you can do to promote your website a little bit better.

And that could be something like encouraging users to come to visit, maybe by buying ads, maybe by working together with someone else for a while just to (kind of) get the ball rolling.

It could also be if you’re an e-commerce site or especially if you’re a small local business site, maybe there are local chambers of commerce that would be interested in linking to your website to give you a little bit of extra information.

So that when our systems look at your website, they say, oh this is actually a legitimate small business. We should try to index everything.

Because especially if you’re talking about a smaller website with a couple hundred pages, that feels like something where if we have a little bit of a hint then we’ll go off and get all of that.

If you’re talking about an e-commerce site that has 500,000 pages then obviously (like) if we get all of those pages or not, that’s a totally different story.

But with 500 pages it feels like something that with a little bit of extra incentive to say that we should at least check it out, we should be able to get a significant part of those indexed.”

The Important Detail that Was Left Out

Now we get to the part where the publisher asking the question does the “oh and one more thing” bit and drops a bombshell revelation that should have been mentioned at the very beginning.

The person asking the question next added that search console is reporting several hundred errors that are related to having previously noindexed the site in January.

He removed the noindex several months ago from the product pages and left it on what he called “unwanted pages” but that now it keeps failing validation in Google Search Console.

John Mueller said that he believes the transition from noindex to getting content indexed could by the reason for current issues the publisher was having in getting product pages adequately indexed.

He also noted that the validation tool did not reflect Google’s ability to index pages but rather it’s just a way to provide information to the publisher.

Mueller explained:

“So just because the validation fails for that and the other URLs are okay, I don’t think that would be holding your website’s indexing back.

It’s more, Search Console is a little bit confused because you said you fixed the issue but you didn’t really fix the issue.”

Mueller Recommends Site Promotion to Get the Site Indexed

Mueller said that switching the noindex to index could slow the indexing down but that it’s been a couple of months since the noindex was removed. So he returned to recommending that the publisher consider actively promoting the site, including leveraging their social media followers to promote the site.

He reiterated that it doesn’t take a lot to encourage Google to index a smaller website like that.

Site Promotion and Indexing

Google crawls websites through the links that connect one website to another website. And according to Mueller it doesn’t take much in the way of links to get Google to index more of the website.

Citation

Watch Mueller answer question at the 21:14 minute mark

Searchenginejournal.com

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

4 weeks ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

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

Published

5 months ago

February 26, 2024

Max

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

GOOGLE

Google Implements Stricter Guidelines for Mass Email Senders to Gmail Users

Published

6 months ago

February 13, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Beginning in April, Gmail senders bombarding users with unwanted mass emails will encounter a surge in message rejections unless they comply with the freshly minted Gmail email sender protocols, Google cautions.

Fresh Guidelines for Dispatching Mass Emails to Gmail Inboxes In an elucidative piece featured on Forbes, it was highlighted that novel regulations are being ushered in to shield Gmail users from the deluge of unsolicited mass emails. Initially, there were reports surfacing about certain marketers receiving error notifications pertaining to messages dispatched to Gmail accounts. Nonetheless, a Google representative clarified that these specific errors, denoted as 550-5.7.56, weren’t novel but rather stemmed from existing authentication prerequisites.

Moreover, Google has verified that commencing from April, they will initiate “the rejection of a portion of non-compliant email traffic, progressively escalating the rejection rate over time.” Google elaborates that, for instance, if 75% of the traffic adheres to the new email sender authentication criteria, then a portion of the remaining non-conforming 25% will face rejection. The exact proportion remains undisclosed. Google does assert that the implementation of the new regulations will be executed in a “step-by-step fashion.”

This cautious and methodical strategy seems to have already kicked off, with transient errors affecting a “fraction of their non-compliant email traffic” coming into play this month. Additionally, Google stipulates that bulk senders will be granted until June 1 to integrate “one-click unsubscribe” in all commercial or promotional correspondence.

Exclusively Personal Gmail Accounts Subject to Rejection These alterations exclusively affect bulk emails dispatched to personal Gmail accounts. Entities sending out mass emails, specifically those transmitting a minimum of 5,000 messages daily to Gmail accounts, will be mandated to authenticate outgoing emails and “refrain from dispatching unsolicited emails.” The 5,000 message threshold is tabulated based on emails transmitted from the same principal domain, irrespective of the employment of subdomains. Once the threshold is met, the domain is categorized as a permanent bulk sender.

These guidelines do not extend to communications directed at Google Workspace accounts, although all senders, including those utilizing Google Workspace, are required to adhere to the updated criteria.

Augmented Security and Enhanced Oversight for Gmail Users A Google spokesperson emphasized that these requisites are being rolled out to “fortify sender-side security and augment user control over inbox contents even further.” For the recipient, this translates to heightened trust in the authenticity of the email sender, thus mitigating the risk of falling prey to phishing attempts, a tactic frequently exploited by malevolent entities capitalizing on authentication vulnerabilities. “If anything,” the spokesperson concludes, “meeting these stipulations should facilitate senders in reaching their intended recipients more efficiently, with reduced risks of spoofing and hijacking by malicious actors.”