KRAWL | April 2022

Welcome to KRAWL (Keywords, Rankings, Algorithms, Websites & Links): the newest QC SEO newsletter. We’ll be sharing all things SEO including core updates, small shifts and breaking news along with how that affects your rankings.

Imagine Searching For Things You Can’t Type – Well, Now You Can!

Google has been working on a new way for users to start their search journey. This time, it is not focused on keywords. Instead, this feature is directing its attention to photos using Google Lens.

Let’s say you have found a pair of shoes that you absolutely adore, but the colour just isn’t doing it for you. That is where the Google Lens Multisearch Feature comes to play. Simply take a photo of those shoes and add the colour you would like to see them in, into the search bar.

Once you have placed your colour into the search, Google will then find shoes online that look like your new favourite pair in the colour you want. This will be shown to you in an image-focused feed that you can scroll through until you find your favourite pair.

The Lens Multisearch Feature is a new technology that can adapt and shape itself into endless things. However, the most important component right now is search intent. This can only be learned from by users like us by taking note of we click on after searching for specific images paired with specific words.

If this feature were to be part of Google’s Core the things we could do would be amazing! Imagine loving the pattern you see on your friend’s wall, and wanting to buy them something for their home that matches that – you can! Looking for care tips for a specific plant, but not too sure what it is? Take a photo.

While the possibilities are endless, the main focus, for now, is shopping. However, we are extremely excited to see where this goes.

What does this mean for SEO?

When adding imagery to your website, adding detailed and descriptive titles, captions, filenames, and alt-text are important. And, most importantly, high-quality images that load quickly are a must.

Automatic Business Updates Using AI & ML

During the pandemic, many businesses changed the way they operate, including the hours they are open.

Google took note of this and reacted in an extremely innovative way, implementing new technologies and merging multiple sources of data.

Depending on the last time your Google My Business profile had been updated and the response Google can find from users utilising tools such as Google Maps, Google will suggest changes.

These findings are paired with the imagery they have from your location – including signs that state your hours of operation. Of course, they take into consideration the findings submitted from real people, including their Local Guides.

Once all of this data is compiled into something actionable, a machine, that allows for very natural over the phone conversations, will get in touch with the business owner. This AI technology is known as “Google Duplex”.

What does this mean for SEO?

First and foremost, Google predicts this technology will help it update the hours of 20 million businesses worldwide within the next six months. Now, that is a pretty drastic change!

While it is always highly recommended that businesses do their best to enhance their local SEO by using Google My Business themselves, this is just a little something to help us along the way.

The big kicker here is: “how else can this technology be used?”.

We are excited to see how AI and Machine Learning work together to make our lives easier and help us serve our clients the best results possible and ultimately climb the SERP by providing valuable content to our users.

Thank you for joining us for our first edition of KRAWL. We look forward to sharing ground-breaking news, incredible insights, and top tips each month.

Until next time!