SEO Wash-up Monday 12th April

Google Updates

Google is rolling out the “about this result” snippet feature – They are rolling out a new feature for its search results snippets that show more information about a search result. Users saw that Google had been testing this back in 2019 and last year 2020, but it seems that they have decided to launch it in BETA mode for now.

You can use this feature by clicking on the three dots in the search result snippet and Google shows you more information ‘about this result’. By doing so, it shows you information about the website from Wikipedia if it is available. They mention that when available, users will be able to see a description of the website from Wikipedia, which provides free, reliable information about tens of millions of sites on the web.

Although Wikipedia is an open editing model that relies on thousands of global volunteers to add content, these descriptions will provide the most up-to-date verified and sourced information available on Wikipedia about the site. So if it’s a website you haven’t seen or heard of before, the additional information can give you context or peace of mind. However, if a specific website does not have a Wikipedia description, Google will show the searcher additional context that may be available, such as when Google first indexed the site.

Chrome data has been added to Google search console discover performance report – The search giant has said that they are adding Chrome data to their Google Search Console Discover performance report. Previously, this report only included data from the Google home page and Google Search app but now, it will include data Chrome users see when they open a new tab on Chrome mobile.

Google has mentioned that this is a gradual rollout, this data will gradually appear in your site’s Search Console Discover performance report. Which means that your website reported traffic levels may rise from where they were.

Google my business adds guidelines for co-working spaces – They have added one line to their Google my business guidelines around co-working spaces. So, if your business is out of a co-working space it must have signage, accept customers and be staffed to be eligible to have a Google my business listing with a co-working address. Google specifically has three rules for co-working spaces to be eligible to have a Google My Business Listing:

1. Signage that is clear and visible of the business name.
2. The business needs to be able to accept customers at that location during business hours.
3. The business must be staffed during business hours.

Google tests compare search results – Google has been testing a method to compare the set of search results it gives you after you enter a query. Google lets you select a number of search result snippets and compare them.

Google displays stars with reviews in local knowledge panel – The search giant now shows actual stars in the reviews section of the local knowledge panel reviews area. There has been screen shot showing this on social media for you can replicate it for some businesses.