SEO News Updates for March 2022
With the weather warming up, we’re starting to see more spring cleaning! Our SEO news updates for March are showing it’s out with the old, in with the new, with some much-needed reorganisation along the way too. If you’d like to keep up to date on all the changes happening in the world of digital marketing, follow Uprise Up on Twitter: @upriseUPSEM.
Google’s Retiring the URL Parameter Tool
On the 28th March, Google announced it is going to be retiring its URL parameters tool in April. This tool basically allowed you to block Google from indexing specific URLs on your website.
However, they have stated that currently only ‘1% of the parameter configurations currently specified in the URL parameters tool are useful for crawling’, and that Google has become more advanced in deciding which parameters are actually useful on a site. It is this perceived lack of value for both Google and Search Console users that will see us saying goodbye to the parameters tool in the next month.
This removal shouldn’t affect websites negatively and there isn’t anything you need to do in preparation. Moving forwards, Google’s crawlers will learn how to automatically deal with URL parameters, so you won’t need to specify the function of URL parameters on your site.
Google Search Rolling out more Visual Search Interface on Mobile
Google is trialling a new mobile search interface using images to provide a richer visual representation in SERPs for select mobile search content (try searching ‘hand tattoos’ or ‘game room design’ on your mobile).
It will be really interesting to see the impact this has on click through rates and site traffic levels as Google is yet to specify if the layout of this new grid means there will now be two position one results, or whether one result will still retain the position one ranking. Either way, this new visual layout is definitely something to look out for, as there may possibly be a more even split between the two top ranking positions.
Structured Data Report Update
Towards the end of the month, Google updated Search Console to add more context to its (as you can see in the before and after image below). This update won’t affect the number of errors received, but the error title will provide more details, allowing you to identify where the errors are straight off the bat, saving you time and speeding up the process of locating and fixing your site’s structured data.
This will be impacting:
- All Search Console rich result status reports
- Search Console URL inspection tool
- Rich Results Test
This means all open issues that refer to nested properties will automatically be closed, and you’ll see new open issues with the additional context on the missing information. It’s also important to note that this update will not affect the number or how errors are detected, it will only enhance how they are reported.
Further Rollout of Product Review Update
As of March 23rd, Google began to rollout the third version of its search ranking algorithm update targeting product review related content. This update comes after the major update in April 2021 that focussed on the promotion of high-quality reviews and the subsequent December 2021 update.
This most recent update is focussed on providing users with in-depth, authentic content reviews that distinguish themselves from the other standard templated information users commonly come across.
Google are considering factors such as actual product use, unique information not provided by the manufacturer, informal competitor comparisons and in-depth details (such as pros and cons). This will make it easier for Google to get top quality purchasing advice for its consumers and will give a boost to creators who ensure optimal reviews.
If you offer product review content on your website, it’s definitely worth taking note of these ongoing product review updates. For advice on publishing high quality reviews, check out Google’s Guidelines.
Did we miss any SEO news updates for March?
If there was anything else that happened in March that you think was noteworthy, or if you’ve got some thoughts you’d like to share on current SEO developments, we’d love to hear from you!
Feel free to tweet us at upriseUPSEM, email us at hello@upriseup.co.uk , or simply send us a message through our contact page.
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