Starting January 2024, Google Search Console will stop tracking the search results of products within the “Performance” reports and also within the Search Console API. Clicking on the search appearance filter will no longer provide a link to the product results page for websites with product pages.
According to Google, “Earlier this year, Search Console split the Product results search appearance into two: Merchant listings and Product snippets. As a result, in January 2024 we’ll stop reporting the Product results search appearance, both in the Performance report and the API.”
Google is referring to the initial appearance of Merchant listings and Product snippets in Google Search Console back in March. The newly created Merchant listings and Product snippets search appearances can be viewed in two locations within the Search Console:
- Report charts with merchant listings and product snippets reports superimposed
- Performance report via a filter or in the search appearance tab
Website owners and SEO specialists highly value Google Search Console enabling them to understand how their sites are performing within searches on Google. It has the Performance Report section that explains specific clicks, impressions, as well as search average positions for the site. Product searches will generate an additional segment within the search appearances where you’d be able to monitor and analyze how qualified your website is for appearing in product search lists.
However, the omission of product results may cause problems for some e-commerce firms whose business models are based on this platform to track their operations within the web. Companies used to assess the effectiveness of their product-based pages by measuring them with old versions of Search Console including visibility and interactivity.
According to Google, this change is linked to a change in strategy and efforts towards simplifying metric reporting. The company proved that it could adapt to the new demands of webmasters by designing a user-friendly interface.
This has been a subject of discussion in the digital space as some people are worried about issues such as search optimization involving e-commerce. Therefore, in such a situation businesses will not be able to efficiently develop the strategy due to lack or poor product-related data access.
However, Google has promised users that other key indices such as clicks, impressions, and average positions will remain accessible even though they will not give any product-related results (based on the performance report). Subsequently, the company strongly advised other site managers and marketers to search for alternative tools or analytics setups to replace the lacking product details in the Search Console.
Undoubtedly, the digital landscape will keep changing. This, it becomes important for businesses to come up with new survival tactics. These modifications to the Google Search Console show how crucial it is to keep a tab on emerging analytics tools as well as other developments in the eCommerce industry.
Google’s recent decision to remove product performance from search console data is a clear illustration of the current shift in search console priorities. Nonetheless, businesses dependent on this kind of platform will certainly have need of alternatives to enable a successful enhancement of their e-commerce operations.
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