Google has updated its Search Central documentation to provide clearer guidance on implementing Product markup and generating structured data with JavaScript.
These updated guidelines can help ecommerce sites optimize product listings for shopping results.
New Best Practices
1. Recommendations For Product Markup
To improve the accuracy and reliability of product information in search results, Google recommends including Product markup directly in the initial HTML of your pages.
Google says this ensures product details are readily available to web crawlers.
The new text in Google’s documentation reads:
“If you’re a merchant optimizing for all types of shopping results, we recommend putting Product structured data in the initial HTML for best results.”
2. JavaScript-Generated Markup: Proceed With Caution
While Google continues to support JavaScript-generated markup for e-commerce sites, the updated documentation now includes an important caveat.
Google advises websites to ensure their servers can handle increased traffic from Google’s crawlers.
This is because dynamically generated markup can potentially lead to less frequent and less reliable crawls by Google’s shopping-specific crawlers.
This is particularly relevant for time-sensitive product information such as availability and pricing.
Ecommerce sites relying on JavaScript for product information may need to reassess their implementation.
The new text in Google’s documentation reads:
“For JavaScript-generated Product markup: Be aware that dynamically-generated markup can make Shopping crawls less frequent and less reliable, which can be an issue for fast-changing content like product availability and price. If you’re using JavaScript to generate Product markup, make sure your server has enough computing resources to handle increased traffic from Google.”
See also: Preparing For The Feedless Future With Google Merchant Center Next
Looking Ahead
Store owners and SEO professionals working with ecommerce sites should take note of these new recommendations and consider adjusting their structured data implementation strategies accordingly.
For more detailed information, refer to the updated documentation on product markup and generating structured data with JavaScript.
Featured Image: IB Photography/Shutterstock
