Search Engine Recap - Week 34 (2024)

This week brings a new Google crawler, challenges with URL parameters, and discussions around the use of SEO tools. Here is an overview.

Google Introduces New Crawler

Google has rolled out a new crawler named Google-CloudVertexBot, specifically designed to serve Vertex AI clients.

This bot differs from Google’s traditional crawlers by targeting domains based on requests from site owners to gather data for Vertex AI applications.

The bot operates under strict verification and quota rules, focusing primarily on advanced website indexing.

It’s not intended for general public crawling but rather for specific AI-driven tasks. Website owners can identify this crawler via updated Google documentation.

Google Questions the Use of Automated SEO Tools

Martin Splitt from Google’s Developer Relations recently questioned the relevance of some recommendations from automated SEO audit tools, noting that many are outdated or irrelevant for modern SEO.

For instance, while suggestions like improving the text-to-code ratio or minifying CSS and JavaScript can enhance user experience, they don’t directly impact rankings.

Martin Splitt advised SEO professionals to cross-reference these tool recommendations with Google’s official documentation, which provides a more reliable foundation.

The discussion highlights the importance of distinguishing between truly effective SEO tactics and those that are either outdated or misleading.

SEO tools are valuable, but to get the best results, they often require the experience and expertise of someone who works with SEO daily.

John Mueller Addresses Issues with Inaccurate Product Prices

In a recent office hour session, Google’s John Mueller addressed the issue of inaccurate product prices in search results.

He recommended that retailers use Google Merchant Center feeds to ensure accurate pricing, as relying solely on structured data isn’t enough.

Mueller also pointed out that currency discrepancies in rich results can occur if Google’s systems treat regional pages as duplicates.

To avoid this, retailers should differentiate content across regions and use the Merchant Center for precise pricing data.

Google Warns About Issues with URL Parameters

Finally, Google Analyst Gary Illyes continues to warn about the problems caused by URL parameters, which can lead to inefficient crawling and indexing.

He explained that adding unnecessary parameters to URLs can create multiple versions of the same content, wasting crawl budget and potentially overloading servers with bogus URLs.

Illyes recommends using robots.txt to effectively manage these parameters, especially for large domains like e-commerce platforms, to prevent crawling issues and ensure proper indexing.

Takeaways and Recommendations

Week 34 brings us both the introduction of a new crawler and several valuable insights from Google’s analysts.

Martin Splitt’s concerns about the automated use of SEO tools are particularly relevant. Many rely too heavily on these tools’ recommendations without applying the necessary context and experience.

That’s why SEO tools are most effective when used in collaboration with experts who are fully up-to-date with modern SEO developments. This approach allows you to stay significantly ahead of your competition.

If you need help understanding SEO tools or generally improving your performance in search engines, reach out to Bonzer. As a specialized SEO agency, we work every day to elevate the most ambitious companies to the top of search results.