🔍 Dive into Google's new passage based indexing

Oct 19, 2020

Good morning Search Marketer, let's parse some Google-ese.

Among the announcements from its SearchOn event last week, Google said it will begin passage based indexing later this year. "Our new algorithm can zoom right into … one passage" on a page that answers the question a searcher is asking, Google explained.

Some of Google's language around the change is a bit confusing and sounds like Google will be indexing passages on pages: e.g. "now [we are] able to not just index webpages, but individual passages from those pages."

However, we got clarification on how this all works. As Barry Schwartz notes in his coverage on this new algorithm, passage based indexing is a ranking change, not an indexing change.

Google is still indexing full pages and Google's systems will also consider the content and meaning of passages when determining what is most relevant versus previously we were largely looking at the page overall, a Google spokesperson told us.

Barry shares more important details about how passage-based indexing works, so be sure to read his article. Google says it will impact roughly 7% of search queries across all languages to start.

Also check out our roundup of Google's SearchOn announcements and Greg Sterling's closer look at how Google Search is going deeper into the 'real-world' with Busyness, Duplex and AR in Maps.

Ginny Marvin
Editor-In-Chief

P.S. If you've got questions about Google's mobile indexing — what it means for desktop sites, etc. — check out our FAQ: All about the Google mobile-first index. If you've still got questions or we've missed anything, let me know at gmarvin@thirddoormedia.com.

Social Short

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Search Shorts

Out of stock but really in stock, you got a problem.

Out of stock but in stock. Google Merchant Center updated its rules and said free standard listings allow merchants to show out of stock products to users. To ensure good user experience, Google will now preemptively disapprove free standard listings for products that are marked as out of stock in the product data in Merchant Center, but are in stock on their landing pages.

No more mixed messages on HTTPS. Emily Stark from Google said, "After a very long gradual rollout, mixed content is no longer really a thing in Chrome: any http:// subresources on https:// pages will be either upgraded to https:// or blocked.

M-dot mobile only indexing. Google's John Mueller said, "If the m-dot & desktop are properly connected, then that's not something to worry about (previously the same would be the other way around anyway)."

State AGs to go their own way on Google. State Attorneys General will reportedly pursue their own antitrust case against Google rather than join the coming federal action. Many legal observers fear the federal action is being hastily brought for political reasons. In fact, the election is a wild card that could alter the trajectory of any antitrust actions against Google. Regardless, the company appears in for a protracted antitrust fight on multiple fronts.

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