Mueller Discusses Site Traffic and Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals Score Depends on Traffic
Google calculates a websites Core Web Vitals score from actual site visitors who have opted-in for Chrome to measuring the various page experience metrics.
Google Search Console does not show CWV scores for pages that have not met with minimum traffic thresholds.
The person asking the question may be concerned that a publisher with more traffic will have an advantage over a site with less traffic and presumably not pages that are scored for page experience metrics like Core Web Vitals
How Important is Traffic to Core Web Vitals?
The question is based the fact that CWV scores are only computed for sites that have opted-in Chrome users visiting web pages.
This is the question:
“Let’s say the Core Web Vitals values of my website are quite good compared to my competitors.
However my traffic is much lower than my competitors.
How important is site traffic together with Core Web Vitals in the search results? …Can a website with good Core Web Vitals beat the competitor website with millions of visitors in the search results?”
John Mueller answered:
“So, for Core Web Vitals, the traffic to your site is not important as long as you… reach that threshold that we have data for your website.
Like, if we don’t know anything about your website then obviously we don’t know that maybe it’s a really fast website.
…The data that we use in search is from the Chrome User Experience Report which is aggregated from users that are… opted in to this kind of metric system. That’s essentially what we require.
And then, that’s kind of the baseline. …We have data for your website, we know that users are seeing a fast website.
It doesn’t matter if millions of users are seeing that or just… I don’t know… thousands of users are seeing it.”
John Mueller follows up the above answer by stating unequivocally that the number of visitors is not a factor for Core Web Vitals.
He explained:
“So, just… kind of the pure number of visitors to your site is not a factor when it comes to core web vitals and generally not a factor for ranking either.
The other thing that I do need to mention here is that Core Web Vitals, the Page Experience, is at the moment not an active ranking signal.
So we announced that for May, that kind of one aspect.”
Next, Mueller emphasizes that content relevance is more important than Core Web Vitals scores.
“And the other thing is that relevance is still by far much more important.”
John Mueller Downplays Ranking Effect of Core Web Vitals
In the next part of his answer, John Mueller downplays the ranking effect of Core Web Vitals.
John Mueller:
“So just because your website is faster with regards to Core Web Vitals than some competitors doesn’t necessarily mean that come May you will jump to position number one in the search results.
We still require that relevance is something that should be kind of available on the site. It should make sense for use to show the site in the search results because, as you can imagine, a really fast website might be one that’s completely empty. But that’s not very useful for users.
It’s useful to keep that in mind when it comes to Core Web Vitals. It is something that users notice. It is something that we will start using for ranking. But it’s not going to change everything completely.
So it’s not going to… destroy your site and remove it from the index if you have it wrong. It’s not going to catapult you from page ten to number one position if you get it right.”
Core Web Vitals are Important
Even though Core Web Vitals ranking effect might not be so great, it’s one of the few known ranking factors that Google is okay with publishers having an influence over.
Thinking beyond search ranking effect, a quality web page that presents no friction to users may experience more page views and user satisfaction. That’s important, regardless of whether there’s a (small) ranking boost associated with Core Web Vitals.
Citation
Watch John Mueller discuss Core Web Vitals at about the 23:30 minute mark.
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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