Google For Developers | Swipe Insight

Google Updates Image SEO Best Practices to Recommend Consistent URLs for Images

21 days ago

Google updated its Image SEO best practices, emphasizing the need for consistent image URLs across larger websites. The key change advises that if an image appears on multiple pages, it should be referenced with the same URL to optimize Google's crawl budget. This approach allows Google to cache the image, reducing the need for repeated requests. Using the same URL conserves resources, ensuring efficient crawling and indexing, which is crucial for managing large sites.

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Google corrects Google News crawler documentation error regarding publisher preferences

1 months ago

SEO

Google updated its Google News crawler documentation to clarify that publisher crawler preferences for Googlebot-News do not influence the News tab in Google search results. The News tab shows results from eligible publishers complying with Google's policies. The changelog corrected an error stating that crawling preferences affected the News tab and removed the misleading section. The updated description specifies that preferences only affect Google News.

Google updates documentation for Google-Extended user agent and product token description

1 months ago

SEO

Google updated the documentation for the Google-Extended user agent, enabling publishers to control if their data is used for AI training. The product token description was clarified based on feedback. The crawler preferences for the Googlebot-News user agent were corrected, clarifying they do not affect the News tab on Google. The updated documentation offers a clearer explanation of the user agent's purpose and the effects of blocking it.

Google updates Merchant Center documentation on energy efficiency and certification

1 months ago

Google Merchant Center SEO

Google updated its Merchant Center documentation by removing the EnergyConsumptionDetails properties and providing an alternative for the certificationIdentification property. The hasEnergyConsumptionDetails remains backwards compatible for existing implementations. The update aims to enhance energy efficiency documentation, as the EnergyConsumptionDetails type is replaced by the more robust Certification type, announced in October 2024.

Google to Drop Support for Special Announcement Structured Data by July 2025

1 months ago

SEO

Google will stop supporting the Special Announcements structured data type by July 31, 2025. This data type was introduced in April 2020 for COVID-related announcements and never evolved beyond that purpose. It allowed local businesses to communicate changes like store hours but remained a beta feature throughout its existence. Users can keep this data on their sites without negative effects, but it will not impact Google Search.

Google Expands Availability for Structured Data Carousels in EEA Countries

1 months ago

SEO

Google updated the structured data carousels (beta) documentation to include current interest forms and supported query types, reflecting the feature's current state. The feature is in beta and may change. Businesses in the EEA can fill out interest forms for ground transportation, hotels, vacation rentals, local businesses, flights, and shopping queries. This feature is available only in EEA countries on desktop and mobile devices.

Google Discontinues AI While Browsing Feature

2 months ago

SEO

Google has discontinued its AI while browsing feature, previously known as SGE while browsing, without providing specific reasons. The feature aimed to help users engage with long-form content by offering an AI-generated list of key points and links to relevant sections of articles. It also included an Explore on page function to show questions answered in the article. This removal marks a shift in Google's strategy regarding AI integration in its search ecosystem.

Google Expands Education Q&A Carousel to Include Spanish and Vietnamese Languages

2 months ago

SEO

Google has updated its education Q&A documentation to support Spanish and Vietnamese, expanding this feature to more users. The education Q&A carousel is designed for education-related topics and is accessible on desktop and mobile when searching for academic content. Users can trigger it with math or science queries. This expansion reflects Google's efforts to enhance accessibility for non-English speaking students and educators.

Google Adds Required returnPolicyCountry Field to Return Policy Examples

2 months ago

Google Merchant Center SEO

Google has updated its return policy code examples in the Merchant Center documentation by adding the required `returnPolicyCountry` field for the `MerchantReturnPolicy` schema. Merchants must include this field to comply with Google's requirements. The change is noted on Google's documentation update page, emphasizing the necessity of this field for proper indexing of product information.