SEO Wash-up Monday 20th December 21

Google Update

Google search console’s core web vitals report has added granular scores – Back in May 2020, Google search console added a core web vitals report to replace the speed report. Now the report shows more granular scoring data on a URL group basis under the “example details” section on the right bar after you click on a specific URL group in the report.

Google has been testing a larger font in the mobile search bar – Google is testing a larger font and larger search bar in the mobile search interface. There has been chatter and screenshots shared on social media about this. Although I cannot replicate this.

Google Merchant Center now allows one feed for all countries – Google has announced that you now only need a single feed to push all your products from your website to Google Merchant Center no matter how many countries you support. Before, you had to push a feed to show in one of two country groups, now you just need one feed.

Google mentions that the Merchant Center has been updated to make it easier for businesses to show products in multiple countries. Before the Merchant Center allowed products to show in one of two country groups. Google is merging the country groups into one global list, allowing you to more easily show products in all supported countries, the company explained.

An example is, products from a feed with a country of sale of Germany, previously would only be able to show to countries in Group A (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and United Kingdom).

1. If you are targeting multiple countries at the feed level, this will make it easier to use just one feed per language for all countries. When adding additional countries to your feed, you will now see the entire list of countries where your products can show.
2. If you are using the shipping attribute to target additional countries, your products may start showing in additional countries. In addition to allowing you to specify shipping costs at an individual product level, the shipping attribute also allows you to specify countries where individual products should be shown.

Bing

Microsoft is using new credit card ads on Bing – Microsoft has announced that they have a new ad format on Bing Search using the Microsoft Advertising network. The new format is called credit card ads and is now an open beta for US and Canadian advertisers that      credit card companies can use to advertise on Bing.

Microsoft mentions that the Credit card ads are intent-triggered rich placements that provide your real-time information to consumers and inspire action, all with no keywords required. They show up on the Bing search results page alongside mainline text ads.

Furthermore Microsoft mentions that the credit card ads are dynamically generated based on the data you specify in your feed file, which contains your business data, such as the card issuer, annual fee, and any sign-up bonus. The more details you provide in the feed file, the more information Microsoft Advertising can include in your ads.