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Google Turning Off Some Image And Video Sitemap Extensions They Say It's To Avoid Clutter

author image Written by: Rabije Gashi Corluka           Categories - In The News

Some of the image and video sitemap extensions will no longer be available on Google.

The company decided to turn off the use of these extensions after evaluating the tags and decided to sunset them on August 6, 2022. The documentation for the removed tags and attributes has already been deleted, according to Google.

To avoid confusion – image and video sitemaps will still be a part of the specs, but these specific tags won’t anymore.

Why Is Google Deprecating The Tags?

Because they’re declared to be outdated and can no longer be of use. Google determined that the value of the information passed through these tags and attributes no longer justifies using them.

However, the search engine mogul hasn’t offered any specifics as to why the value of tags was evaluated in the first place.

Upon evaluating the value of the Google sitemap extension tags, we decided to officially deprecate some tags and attributes, and remove them from our documentation. – stands in the official statement.

Gary Illyes from Google said they are removing the support for the tags so they can simplify sitemap extensions and help reduce the complexity of your codebases by making sitemaps “less cluttered in general.

What Is Being Removed?

These are the discontinued tags and attributes within image sitemaps:

  • <image:caption>
  • <image:geo_location>
  • <image:title>
  • <image:license>

These are the deprecated sitemap video tags and attributes within video sitemaps:

  • <video:category>
  • <video:gallery_loc>
  • autoplay and allow_embed of the <video:player_loc> tag
  • <video:price> tag and its attributes
  • <video:tvshow> tag and its attributes

So, Now What?

There is no need for panic. Google said that you don’t need to rush and take immediate action. You can leave these tags and attributes in place, but in the future, Search Console might warn that support is no longer offered.

So, if you use these tags or attributes, just make sure to update and use Google’s best image and video practices.

Tags - In The News, seo tips, Technical SEO

Rabije Gashi Corluka

Rabije always enjoyed finding different angles to a story, so it’s not surprising her curiosity influenced a move to a new continent, widening her perspective. She enjoys hearing people's stories and learning about different cultures and places - but most of all, she loves putting her thoughts on a piece of paper. Her love for writing led to her studying Journalism and PR, but she actually became a storyteller during her radio-hosting era. Now, she uses her skills, experience, and love for writing to help your brand stand out.

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Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines Update

 08/01/2022

Google’s search quality raters guidelines are freshly updated. The search engine refined its YMYL content and added extra clarifications on low-quality pages, among other things, Search Engine Land reports.

Here’s what’s new:

  • Updated language to align with the newly published Search Quality Rater Guidelines: An Overview
  • A refined YMYL that focuses on topics requiring extra accuracy to prevent harm
  • Low and Lowest Page Quality sections are more clear now and emphasize that E-A-T types and levels depend on the page’s purpose
  • The language used in the document is more applicable for all device types (new screenshots, updated examples, etc.)
Read More: Google Updates Its Rich Results Content Guidelines

YMYL Topics

What is YMYL short for? The acronym stands for ‘Your Money, Your Life’ and is a description of a specific kind of content. This refers to content that can persuade a reader to decide something related to their money – or their life. It means that that particular content can harm someone. For example, content about what to do during an earthquake, vaccines, etc.

In the previous document, Google had these topics broken down into seven categories. Now – there are no such categories. Instead, the Quality Rater Guidelines now define YMYL by what harm can it cause to the reader and others around him.

These topics can impact health, financial stability, the safety of people or the well-being of society. As Google states, that can happen because:

The topic is harmful or dangerous (criminal acts, violent extremism, etc)
The topic can cause harm because it’s not trustworthy and accurate (health, investing money, voting rights, etc.)

Also,  Google added a new table of fresh examples that clarify this more:

Photo Source: Screenshot of Google’s Guidelines linked in the text

Low-Quality Pages,  E-A-T & YMYL

How do you know if your page is labelled as ‘low quality? According to the new document, you get a low rating if a page has one or more of these:

  • An inadequate level of E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) for the purpose of the page
  • The quality of the main content is low for the purpose of the page.
  • There is an unsatisfying amount of helpful MC (main content) for the purpose of the page.
  • The title of the MC is exaggerated or shocking – so no clickbait!
  • The Ads distract from the MC  or interferes with it
  • Not enough information about the creator of the main content for the purpose of the page – no good reason for anonymity
  • Negative reputation of the website or MC creators
AI-Generated Content Against Google’s Guidelines

A lack of E-A-T could potentially mean a low-quality rating, and that low-quality and harmful pages can happen on any type of website. That’s why more information about the creator is a good thing, especially for YMYL content where E-A-T  is critical.

Google Updates FAQ Rich Result Guidelines
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Google Releases A New Product Reviews Update

 07/29/2022

The fourth version of the product review update is currently in the process of rolling out. Google released a new search ranking algorithm update named – you guessed it – the July 2022 Product Reviews update, and announced the new version on Twitter:

As mentioned, this is not Google’s first rodeo when it comes to product review updates: the first one launched in April 2021, the second one in December 2021, and the last one launched in March 2022.

Read More: Another Search Ranking Update In The Making?

The Update

As usual, the main focus of the update is on reward content that is unique, creative, and factual instead of being a boring template. The better the product review – the higher the ranking. This of course doesn’t mean the “template” content will be sanctioned or punished whatsoever – think of it as a point-based rewards system. Google is just rewarding content that is better than the rest, as harsh as that might sound.

Read More: Customers Want To See Bad Reviews, Too!

What’s new about the update is that nothing is actually new. It seems like Google is now just making minor adjustments, unlike what they did in March when they were full-on inspecting every little thing.

It will take around two or three weeks for the update to fully roll out.  Since these updates can be big, don’t be surprised if you notice some volatility in ranking.

How To Not Be Negatively Impacted By This Google Update?

Follow Google’s list of best practices. Here are some of them:

  • Flex the expertise – offer expert knowledge about products
  • Show what’s the product like, how to use it, say something interesting about it, valuable information people can use
  • Let your readers know why this product is better than the competition’s one
  • Go in-depth and do research – what are your main selling points? What piece of information would convince your readers to buy the product?
Read More: Google Updates Its Rich Results Content Guidelines

Be original and creative, don’t just put in the specs – no one cares about those – at least not so bad to make the buy. You must offer value and a good reason your product deserves to be in their hands. Do your best, follow Google’s best practices and get a reward with each product review update. The devil really is in the details!

 

Update from the future: High volatility was noticed on August 6th, leading the SEO community to think about how the tremors have something to do with this update. Read more about it here. 

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