Google tells E-commerce sites to use ‘Unavailable Request Indexing’ tool before Black Friday
Hi folks, I have again come up with a new update from Google. Being a part of the web world, you must remember that in the mid of October, Google temporarily suspended the ‘Request indexing’ feature from Google Search Console. I also wrote an article on the same you can read it if you haven’t. What another update Google brings for the ‘unavailable request indexing’ tool for its users? This is your question no! Well, recently, Google has announced for e-commerce sites to use the ‘Unavailable Request Indexing’ tool prior to Black Friday. You know what interesting thing is, the company has also launched a list of SEO tips for e-commerce sites before getting ready for the upcoming Black Friday sales day.
Now Why Google has said so? What is the purpose behind this announcement? Do you want to know? Keep your eyeballs here and read the article till the end.
Let’s jump in.
Before Black Friday, E-commerce sites should use ‘Unavailable Request Indexing’ tool
The holiday and festival seasons are at a peak for many merchants with special sale events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Considering this thing in mind, a few days ago, Google lists a bunch of SEO tips for e-commerce sites to get ready for the upcoming Black Friday sales. However, the one tip which Google emphasizes is to use the request indexing tool. I already told you in the introduction that Google temporarily suspended this tool without informing users when it will come back again.
In case you don’t know what exactly the purpose of Google to suspend the request indexing feature then there was some bug issue problem occurring due to which Google had to take this step.
So every digital marketer should remember to use the request indexing tool before Black Friday sales get started.
Purpose of Google to launch SEO tips for merchants
Well, there is no defined purpose which Google announced on its site. But what we got to know is that Google wants merchants to help it highlight your sales events by providing landing pages with relevant content and high quality images. Due to this reason, Google has announced a bunch of SEO tips for merchants to follow.
Don’t you know what tips Google released for users? Our next section will talk about this only.
What are the SEO tips Google listed for e-commerce sites?
Guys, there are six tips which Google released for e-commerce sites. Have a look and read them one by one-
1. Create the page before main sale
The first tip which Google listed for e-commerce sites is creating the page as early as possible. It means you need to create page before the sale so Googlebot gets enough time to discover and index the page. But make sure you don’t block Google from crawling the URL. You can use Google URL Inspection Tool to check this.
2. Use a recurring URL, not new
For each event, you no need to use new URL rather you can make use of frequently occurring URL for your site. Give the landing page of recurring events a meaningful URL that reflects the event that is used each year. The best example for using URL could be – sale/black-Friday, and not/sale/2020/black-Friday.
3. Always follow standard SEO best practices
To follow SEO best practices for your landing pages, you can find it on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) starter guide. Here you will get to learn all the relevant tips which are essential for you to follow.
4. Add relevant and high quality images
You all know that Google always prefers high quality images and content. So why use low and hazy images and penalize your site. You must provide a static image with an up-to-date representation of your sale. Try to trim image boarders and ensure that the image is of high-quality. For more tips you can visit Google Images Best Practices Guide.
5. Link to the landing pages from your home page
With this tip, you must increase the page prominence, and help users and Google find your site landing page as quickly as possible.
6. Get your landing pages crawled
This is the important tip that Google especially talked about. Google says, “After you have tested your structured data for validity, ask Google to recrawl your page to get your content updated more quickly. You can also follow the crawling guidelines which Google released for you.
Note: as of publication this tool is undergoing maintenance, but we hope to have it up-and-running again soon.
Well, John Muller of Google says that there is time, and no need to worry.
Final words
At the end of this article, I want to tell you that this update from Google is very beneficial for every E-commerce site. Well, Google has not yet revealed when it will make the request indexing feature available again for webmasters. However, every e-commerce site owner must use the ‘unavailable request indexing’ tool before the starting of Black Friday sales. Moreover, follow the guidelines which Google released for you.
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