Connect with us

GOOGLE

Google Encourages to Differentiate Your Site

Published

on

google site differentiation 5de65adb5f175

A publisher tweeted a question to Google’s John Mueller about commodity content. John Mueller’s response gave the general direction of what to do when your site content is the same as the content on competitor sites. But his advice is applicable to any site that wants to be better than their competition.

Here is the question:

“Hi,
@JohnMu

I have a govt job site where content is almost similar to all other sites (Job Details, Notification etc).

How Google looks such kind of sites?”

What is Commodity Content?

Commodity content is content that is used across a wide range of sites. For example, content that is pulled by a feed by an affiliate can be seen as commodity content. In the example above, it’s government jobs that are available.

There are many solutions for pulling a feed and automatically displaying the information on a website. It can help a publisher scale their publishing while also automating it.

The downside is that these solutions are available to other publishers as well.

How to Publish Commodity Content and Rank

Google’s John Mueller answered,

“It doesn’t matter what kind of site, ultimately you need to find a way to differentiate yourself, especially when it comes to “commodity content”.

What would make your site the objective best result by far for your preferred queries? Just being the same as others doesn’t cut it.”

What Differentiates Websites?

What makes one site different from another? Creating a comparison report is something every publisher should do before committing a single line of code.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, either. It could be a simple list of positive and negative qualities expressed by competitors.

Examples of Questions to Help with Differentiation:

  • What do competitors do right?
  • What do competitors do poorly?
  • What is missing from competitor sites?
  • What kinds of visitors are competitors targeting?
  • Do the competitors have authority?
  • What makes the competitors authoritative?

What is Website Differentiation?

Although differentiation is defined as being different, differentiation isn’t just about being different. Adding features, images and so on are superficial ways to differentiate a site.

For example, just because the popular kids are wearing specific kinds of clothing, wearing those clothes won’t make a kid popular.

In my opinion, if a publisher wants to truly differentiate themselves, what really helps is to focus on what will make the site more popular.

Google tends to rank sites that users want to see. Why do people prefer some sites over others?

  • One answer is because popular pages tend to answer questions faster or solve problems in an efficient manner.
  • Another answer is convenience.
  • Another answer is because the site reflects the site visitor. In some way the site might communicate the goals and aspirations of the site visitor.

All of the above circles back to knowing your site visitor.

Understanding People Makes a Site Different

Differentiating your site is, in my opinion, about understanding the people who are making those search queries and addressing all of the underlying aspirations and goals inherent in the question they are asking.

  • The person shopping for shoes is shopping for more than just something to wear on their feet.
  • The person looking for a government job aspires to something greater than employment.

Google is ranking web pages based on more than keywords and links. It is increasingly ranking sites because they solve a particular question or problem in a way that pleases the user. All of that neural matching, rank brain and natural language processing is about understanding users and what they want.

Anything that communicates what users expect to see should help move rankings in the right direction. Anything that stands in the way will move the rankings down.

The truth underlying Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines is that Google is circling around  the user, not the keywords.

Remember how it’s superficial who think that wearing cool-kid clothes makes a kid cool? All of the hand waving about E-A-T and tying that to author biographies is superficial and misses the point.

This is what is at the top of the Search Quality Raters Guidelines:

“0.1 The Purpose of Search Quality Rating
Good search engines give results that are helpful for users in their specific language and locale.

0.2 Raters Must Represent the User”

This is not some vague Kumbaya “make awesome content” advice. I’m being straightforward and pragmatic: Users are the new ranking factors. Strategizing around them will help you find solutions related to differentiating your site that truly set you apart.

So when you make your list about the things competitors are doing right, do it from the point of view of what they are doing right for users. Then make a list of all the things the competitors are doing wrong for users.

What you discover may be important to your SEO checklist of things to do.

More Resources

Searchenginejournal.com

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address

GOOGLE

Google Warns About Misuse of Its Indexing API

Published

on

By

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.

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Continue Reading

GOOGLE

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

Published

on

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.

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Continue Reading

AI

Exploring the Evolution of Language Translation: A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate

Published

on

By

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

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Continue Reading

Trending