Google Webmaster Central Office-Hours Hangout: Schema Markup, Mobile SEO, and Indexing

TL;DR

Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangouts let webmasters and publishers ask Google’s John Mueller questions about crawling, indexing, schema markup, mobile optimization, and related search issues. In this session, Mueller explains why price rich snippets may disappear when a page marks up many products as though they were one and recommends Chrome’s Mobile Emulator for tracing mobile page elements. Read on for specific guidance about structured data, rankings, links, and JavaScript.

Transcript

JOHN MUELLER: All right. Come everyone to today's Google Webmasters central office hours Hangouts. My name is John Mueller. And I'm a webmaster trends analyst here at Google in Switzerland. And part of what we do is talk with webmasters and publishers like the ones here in the Hangout. As always, before we get started with the normal Q&A, if any of... Read More

Key Insights

• Google Webmaster Central Hangouts are hosted by Google's John Mueller, offering direct access to Google's expertise.
• Schema markup issues, such as improper use on flight comparison sites, can affect rich snippet visibility.
• Google Page Insights can be used to identify improvements for mobile and desktop site performance.
• Internal linking from the homepage can help distribute page rank to new or updated content.
• Mobile rankings use desktop rankings as a basis, with mobile-friendliness as an additional factor.
• Valid HTML code is not a direct ranking factor, but structured data requires correct implementation.
• Negative SEO attacks can be mitigated using the disavow tool, which helps ignore harmful backlinks.
• JavaScript frameworks like Angular and Ember can affect crawling but offer modern web development benefits.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangouts work?

John Mueller hosts the hangouts as a Google webmaster trends analyst and answers questions from webmasters and publishers. New participants can ask questions before the normal Q&A begins, and Mueller may check unresolved issues with the relevant Google team after the hangout.

Q: Why did price rich snippets disappear from flight comparison pages?

Google noticed that some flight comparison pages were marking up many products as though the page represented one specific product. A page for flights to Berlin can contain different flights from different locations, so displaying one price rich snippet would not accurately represent its contents.

Q: Did Google change its structured-data guidelines for flight price snippets?

Mueller said Google had not changed anything specific in its guidelines. The rich snippets team took action because the affected pages’ use of markup did not match the existing expectation that price markup describe one specific product.

Q: Should comparison pages mark up multiple products for price rich snippets?

Price markup intended for a rich snippet should be specific to one product. For pages containing many products, Mueller advised identifying those patterns and omitting the rich-snippet markup from those pages, since a snippet will not necessarily appear.

Q: Can improper product markup affect rich snippets across an entire site?

Yes. Mueller said Google may be unable to isolate only the pages using the problematic setup and could remove that type of rich snippet from the site more broadly. If this happens, the site will probably receive a notification through Search Console.

Q: How can developers locate a mobile issue reported by Google Page Insights?

Mueller recommends opening the page in Chrome’s Mobile Emulator and using its developer tools to inspect the affected element. This makes it easier to identify where a specific div comes from and determine what code needs to change.

Q: Why might Google Page Insights be unable to identify an exact HTML line?

JavaScript can inject an element or otherwise alter it after the original HTML loads. That makes it difficult to map a mobile problem back to one line in the source file, especially on complex pages.

Q: Are JavaScript frameworks such as Angular and Ember bad for SEO?

The existing guidance says these frameworks are not inherently bad, but rendering can make crawling more complicated. Their implementation should therefore be checked to ensure that search engines can access the resulting content.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Google Webmaster Central Hangouts provide a direct line to Google's experts, allowing webmasters to ask questions about SEO, crawling, indexing, and more. Participants can join live sessions, submit questions, and receive tailored advice from Google's John Mueller.

• Schema markup must be used correctly to ensure rich snippet visibility. Incorrect use, such as marking up multiple products on a single page, can lead to issues. Google's guidelines should be followed to maintain rich snippet eligibility.

• Negative SEO attacks, characterized by spammy backlinks, can be countered using Google's disavow tool. This tool helps webmasters ensure that harmful links do not impact their site's ranking, offering a level of protection against such malicious activities.