GOOGLE

Google: Site Quality Can Cause Loss of Rich Results

Published

3 years ago

October 28, 2021

Google’s John Mueller answered a question about a site that lost it’s rich results display and wanted to know why Google took them away and if the rich results would ever return.

The question was asked at the 52:26 minute mark of the Google After-hours hangout.

But because it was a two-part question, the answer wasn’t given to this second part until after John finished answering the first part. So the answer comes three minutes later at the 55:19 minute mark.

Rich Results Removed After Site Redesign

There are many anecdotal reports of site redesigns that go bad, work out great or turn out neutral with no change in rankings.

This is a question about a site redesign that coincided with a loss of rich results.

They tested their schema markup to see if there was a technical problem but the markup passed all the tests.

It’s hard to fix something when you don’t know what is wrong, so the person asking the question just wants an idea of what direction they should go with this.

Google’s John Mueller Discussing Rich Results

Screenshot of Google's John Mueller discussing reasons why a site may lose their rich results This is the question, part two of a two-part question:

“Another customer they just redesigned their website. It’s still the same CMS and content.

And after that, all of our FAQ schemas stopped being displayed in Google Search results.

And this is three months old now and we still are not there., even everything being passing on the rich results test and inspection tool.

Why did that happen and when should I expect to see FAQ being displayed again or if it will ever be?”

Loss of Rich Results Might be Coincidental

John Mueller answered the question, at one point suggesting that it’s possible that changes on the site might not have caused the loss of rich results.

But he also mentions re-evaluating the site for quality.

John Mueller answered:

“I think there are two things that might have happened… It’s hard to say offhand.

One is that we might have re-evaluated the quality of your website overall at about the same time that you made those changes.

It’s probably more of a coincidence if that were the case.

But it could be that we kind of like are not that convinced about this website anymore.

And if we’re not convinced about the website, then usually we don’t show any rich results. And that would include the FAQs.”

Site Quality Can Affect Rich Results Eligibility

That is a useful insight, that something about a redesign could trigger a re-evaluation of site quality.

That’s something that is not widely known and can be useful for diagnosing why a rich result stopped showing.

John Mueller Hack for Rich Results Quality Check

John next suggested a way to check if the rich results are missing because of a technical issue or because Google is “not convinced” about the site.

Mueller continued:

“So one way to kind of double-check that is if you do a site query for these individual pages, do the rich results show up there or not?

If they do show up there then that means technically we can recognize them but we don’t want to show them.

So that’s kind of a hint that maybe from a quality point of view you need to improve things.

If they don’t show up with a site query then that means more that there’s still something technical which is broken with regards to that.”

There is No Fixed Delay After a Redesign

After a site is redesigned, if everything otherwise stays the same then Google generally will crawl it like usual and there shouldn’t be a disruption if any, as the old site is gradually replaced in Google’s index by the new site.

Mueller finished his answer:

“So it’s not that there is a fixed delay, after restructuring of a website, for us to start showing them again.

It’s more like… maybe there was coincidentally weird timing or maybe there’s a technical issue.”

Regarding the site query test he suggested, Mueller cautioned that it’s not absolutely reliable.

He said:

“Yeah, it’s not 100% perfect. But it works for a lot of these cases when it comes to rich results.”

The Site Query Hack

A site query is a search that looks like this:

site:example.com Example Keywords

A site query doesn’t use Google’s regular ranking algorithm. It’s not known what it uses but it is known that it’s not the same as a regular search query, which is the case for all of the advanced search queries. It’s just a simple search of a single website.

It’s not every day that Mueller offers a convenient way to check what’s wrong with a site. Although he did say that it’s not 100% though.

The important takeaway is that site quality can be the reason why rich results don’t show on Google. What might be interesting is to check if the rich results show on Bing, because Bing also has rich results.

Citation

Poor Site Quality Can Cause Rich Results Removal

Watch John Mueller provide reasons for losing rich results at the 55:19 minute mark (part of two-part question from 52:26 minute mark)

Searchenginejournal.com

GOOGLE

Google Warns About Misuse of Its Indexing API

Published

1 month ago

September 12, 2024

Max

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.

GOOGLE

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

Published

4 months 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

8 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