Google Introduces Two New Best Practices for Product Markup

Google has recently updated its Search Central documentation, introducing new best practices for ecommerce sites looking to optimize their product listings through Product markup. The two key recommendations revolve around the use of HTML for Product markup and a cautious approach to JavaScript.

1. Product Markup in Initial HTML

Google emphasizes the importance of placing Product markup directly in the initial HTML of webpages. This ensures that product information like availability, price, and other details are quickly and reliably accessible to Google’s crawlers. By doing so, ecommerce sites can improve the visibility and accuracy of their products in shopping-related search results.

Google’s updated guidance specifically states:
“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.”

This recommendation aims to ensure that product data is immediately available during Google’s crawl, reducing the risk of missed or delayed indexing of critical product details.

2. JavaScript-Generated Markup: Use with Caution

While JavaScript-generated Product markup is still supported, Google warns ecommerce sites about potential risks. Dynamically generated markup can lead to less frequent and less reliable crawls by Google’s shopping-specific crawlers. This poses a problem for time-sensitive product data, such as real-time availability and price changes.

For ecommerce websites relying on JavaScript for generating product data, Google advises ensuring that servers are adequately equipped to handle increased traffic from Google crawlers. The updated guidance reads:
“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.”

Impact on Ecommerce Sites

These updates provide clearer direction for ecommerce websites aiming to maximize their visibility in Google Shopping results. Sites that rely heavily on JavaScript for their product listings may need to reconsider their implementation to avoid potential indexing delays. Prioritizing the inclusion of Product markup in the initial HTML will help ensure that Google’s crawlers capture accurate and up-to-date information.

As the ecommerce landscape becomes increasingly competitive, following Google’s latest best practices will enable sites to maintain optimal search performance and provide timely, reliable product information to consumers.

Conclusion

By updating its guidelines, Google continues to support ecommerce platforms in refining their approach to structured data, ensuring more effective indexing of product details. As a result, these new best practices serve as a valuable resource for ecommerce merchants to boost their product visibility and search engine performance.