Unless you read SEO industry news and listen to local search podcasts for fun (as we do), you may not know that Google frequently updates their algorithm and implements new technology to improve the search experience.
Some of these updates are behind the scenes, and you may not even notice unless your rankings change. Some are industry-specific or are designed to address certain kinds of search engine spam. Others affect the look and feel of the search results. And then some, like Google MUM, are poised to be game changers.
So, what is Google MUM? What effect will it have on your search engine rankings and the search experience? Read on to find out.
What is Google MUM?
MUM, an acronym for Multitask Unified Model, is an AI-based technology from Google that is designed to understand and address complex search queries. The goal is to reduce the number of queries needed to answer a question by providing as much information as possible on a single page of search results. MUM will accomplish this by doing advanced analysis on the backend as well as through new functionality on the frontend.
According to Google, “MUM not only understands language, but also generates it. It’s trained across 75 different languages and many different tasks at once, allowing it to develop a more comprehensive understanding of information and world knowledge than previous models. And MUM is multimodal, so it understands information across text and images and, in the future, can expand to more modalities like video and audio.”
Some of the key goals of Google MUM include:
Removing Language Barriers
Since MUM is trained in 75 different languages, it will be able to analyze results written in languages other than the language of your original search. It can then use those insights to find the most relevant results in your preferred language.
For example, if you are an English speaker, but there is more information available on a subject in another language, MUM will be able to identify resources from the other language and then provide relevant resources in English.
Google has already started applying the language analysis from MUM to improve searches related to vaccines.
“With MUM, we were able to identify over 800 variations of vaccine names in more than 50 languages in a matter of seconds. After validating MUM’s findings, we applied them to Google Search so that people could find timely, high-quality information about COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.”
Better Understanding of Non-Text Information
Google MUM is multimodal, meaning that it can understand and analyze information from different media formats aside from traditional text.
Through Google Lens, you can already search for images, but this will be expanded so that you will be able to search for images and then refine your search with text.
As Google explains, “Eventually, you might be able to take a photo of your hiking boots and ask, ‘can I use these to hike Mt. Fuji?’ MUM would understand the image and connect it with your question to let you know your boots would work just fine. It could then point you to a blog with a list of recommended gear.”
Google MUM will also be able to analyze video and audio content better. This will allow them to utilize its recommendation system to offer better suggestions on what users should read or watch after viewing a video.
Improving Search Results for Complex Queries
Google understands that users often don’t get enough relevant information on the first search. It can sometimes take multiple queries to refine the search and help the user find the information that they are looking for.
With MUM, Google hopes to not only present more accurate results on the first search, but also provide more search elements to help you find the information you need with fewer searches.
Google is rolling out a redesign to the search page with new functionality including:
- “Things to Know” to make it easier to explore and understand new topics
- Topic zoom functionality, enabling users to zoom in and out of a topic with new features to refine and broaden searches
- New visual results pages, designed for searches that are looking for inspiration and ideas
Photo from Google
How to Adapt Your SEO Strategy for MUM
Don’t Forget About Classic SEO
Even with the changes coming from MUM, search engine optimization is just as important as it has ever been. Google will still need help understanding your website to determine which pages are the most relevant and should be displayed in the search results.
Site architecture, keyword focused content, proper schema, meta tags, and internal linking are essential elements for a properly optimized site. Even though MUM will be able to analyze content, images, and videos like never before, classic search engine optimization is still incredibly important.
The more information you can provide to help Google understand your site, the better your chances are that your content will rank well in the search results.
Create Fresh Content That Answers Customers’ Questions
We have always said that content is king when it comes to pushing your site to the top of the search results. With Google MUM, it is more important than ever that your content follows the customer’s journey and provides answers to common questions.
One of the primary goals of MUM is to reduce the number of queries it takes to find the answer you are looking for, so focused content that answers questions on the first search will be more likely to appear in the first page of the search results.
When writing content for a product or service, consider the types of questions that a user may have when they begin their search and proceed to the buying stage. Then, create well-written, authoritative blog posts that answer those specific questions.
New content should be focused but should also provide opportunities for MUM to identify how your content relates to tangential user searches. This will be important as the topic zoom and “Things to Know” functionality is rolled out.
Add Multimodal Content Such as Images and Videos
Although written content is still key, MUM will be on the hunt for other types of content such as images and videos to add to their new search results pages. With the addition of visual exploration and Lens, images are more important than ever if you want to appear in visual search results.
The images on your site should enhance your content and should have descriptive and relevant “alt” tags to help Google understand them correctly.
With the advanced video analysis functionality and enhanced video recommendations, videos are also becoming increasingly important.
If you aren’t doing so already, you may want to consider adding video marketing to your marketing strategy.
Don’t Fear MUM…Embrace It
Even though MUM will drive a lot of changes to Google’s algorithm and search results, there is nothing to fear.
MUM is designed to make the search results more relevant and useful, so this will only benefit businesses that use honest, white-hat methods to improve their search engine rankings.
Just continue creating authoritative content, add optimized images and useful videos to appear in visual searches, and make sure your site is properly optimized.
These methods have been the foundation of our website marketing strategies all along. The only difference is that MUM will place greater importance on these ranking factors.
Not sure if your site is ready for MUM? Contact the digital marketing experts at New Plains Media at grow@pioneermedia.me to find out how we can help your business take advantage of the SEO changes coming from this latest Google update.
