What does Google say about SEO? /
E-commerce represents a critical domain within search engine optimization where Google's official statements provide essential guidance for SEO professionals and online merchants. This category encompasses all official positions and recommendations from Google regarding the optimization of online stores, product pages, marketplaces, and shopping platforms. The stakes are high: proper product data structuring, customer review management, category page optimization, out-of-stock handling, duplicate content issues across product variants, and content strategies for product descriptions. Google has established specific guidelines for product Schema.org markup, user review quality standards, and online shopping experience requirements. Understanding Google's official stance on these topics enables SEO practitioners and e-commerce managers to avoid penalties, maximize visibility in organic search results and Google Shopping, and improve conversion rates. Google's declarations regarding merchant sites evolve continuously, particularly with the integration of new display formats and the growing importance of user experience signals in ranking online stores. This knowledge base helps navigate the complex landscape of e-commerce SEO, from technical implementation to content quality standards expected by Google's algorithms.
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★★ Does a zero review count hurt your product page's search rankings?
It's not a problem if the review count is zero—it's completely normal for new product pages that don't have reviews yet. This property is often empty and set to 0 initially. It simply means there's no...
Lizzi Sassman Apr 12, 2023
★★★ Can you use third-party reviews to power product rich results on Google?
For products, it is acceptable to use review data and ratings from third parties for rich results. The reviews must be visible on the page and relevant to the specific product, not to a generic produc...
Lizzi Sassman Apr 12, 2023
★ Should You Really Use AI to Create SEO Content in 2024?
John Mueller doesn't like artificial intelligence when it comes to content creation. This is evident from his latest tweets. Examples: "Summit Gupta: Should we now use ChatGPT to publish content on ou...
John Mueller Apr 11, 2023
★★★ Does Google offer a button to force massive reindexing of a website after a redesign?
There is no button to request massive reprocessing of an entire website. This happens automatically over time. You can use a sitemap to signal changes (done automatically by e-commerce platforms), or ...
John Mueller Mar 09, 2023
★★★ Is infinite scroll killing your e-commerce indexation on Google?
Infinite scroll creates difficulties for search engines because they must simulate scrolling (via viewport expansion). This is not efficient and can prevent content indexation. It is strongly recommen...
John Mueller Mar 09, 2023
★★★ Should You Use Product or LocalBusiness Structured Data for a Service-Based Website?
John Mueller answered a question about which structured data to implement on a website offering services whose prices may vary depending on the quote. Google's emblematic figure recommends not using s...
John Mueller Feb 20, 2023
★★ Do you really need to request removal of redirected URLs from Google's index?
After moving content with 301 redirects, there is no need to request the removal of old URLs from the index. This happens automatically over time. If old URLs appear in specific searches, this is norm...
John Mueller Jan 31, 2023
★★ Why settle for Google-only Schema.org when Bing, Yandex and other search engines are already exploiting it?
Schema.org markup is used by search engines beyond Google. It is therefore useful to consult the schema.org website to understand the broader range of structured data available for e-commerce sites....
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★★ Does Google really require GTIN, MPN, or brand identifiers to rank your products in search results?
Eligibility for many merchant experiences requires providing product identifiers such as a GTIN number, an MPN number, or a brand and product name. The more you can provide, the better. A SKU is not a...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★★ Does Google really want you to display higher prices in your structured data?
If your site uses complex pricing models not supported by Google, you must simplify the price data provided to Google. For example, provide the price for a quantity of 1 even if discounts are offered ...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★★ Is it really necessary to maintain product data in both Schema and Merchant Center?
Google recommends providing product data through both structured data on web pages and via the Google Merchant Center feed whenever possible. This combined approach delivers the best results for eligi...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★ Should you abandon Merchant Center for structured data in e-commerce?
Although structured data currently supports fewer functionalities than a Google Merchant Center feed, the gap is gradually narrowing as new capabilities are added to structured data over time....
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★ Should you really overestimate shipping fees to please Google Shopping?
As with prices, it may be necessary to simplify the shipping information provided to match what Google supports. When in doubt, it's safer to overestimate shipping costs to avoid surprising customers ...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★★ Why does Google Search Console actually catch errors in your product structured data that other tools miss?
Google Search Console includes a merchant listings report that displays detected issues in product structured data relevant to shopping experiences. The URL inspection tool allows you to verify whethe...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★ Are strong product identifiers really the key to multi-merchant matching in Google Shopping?
The multi-merchant Shopping knowledge panel displays multiple sellers of the same product. This matching is more reliable if a strong product identifier is present on your product pages, allowing Goog...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★ Should you really use a site: query to verify your price data is showing up correctly?
To verify whether your listings have been correctly annotated with shipping costs, use a site: query to see your products in search results and examine how they're displayed....
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★ Do you really need to stack three layers of product data to impress Google?
To get started, it is advisable to begin with structured data on web pages, then add an automatic Google Merchant Center feed that creates a feed from page content, and finally move to a high-quality ...
Alan Kent Jan 17, 2023
★★★ Should You Add Multiple Supplier Links to Boost Your Google Rankings?
Alan Kent (Google) explained on Twitter that, in an article describing a product, linking to multiple suppliers/vendors offering that product could give a slight "boost" to the page in terms of rankin...
Google Jan 16, 2023
★★ Does Google's algorithm really recognize authoritative content as easily as it claims?
It is easy for Google's algorithm to recognize that official product documentation is relatively authoritative on a subject. The Search Console Help Center has no visibility problems in search results...
Josh Cohen Jan 12, 2023
★★★ Is latency really killing your conversions and SEO performance?
Latency issues on product pages can lead to a drop in user retention and diminish SEO performance. Google observes that users quickly leave pages that take too long to load....
Martin Splitt Dec 29, 2022
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