Google adds tools to help forums and social media platforms rank higher in Search results

We know that a lot has been going on in the world of SEO and there is a common feeling that the latest round of Google updates has done something that has completely changed how we look at the search results in general. It was earlier thought that when you see forums ranking in the search results, those SERPs are considered weak and people can target them in order to rank their websites. However, the latest Google updates have made sure that that is no longer the case because Google literally placed the forums above the websites that were ranking and told everyone that they prefer to see forums on top of these search results.

While many are still in denial, the latest tool release from Google has cemented this idea. Google just announced earlier this year that they are releasing an update “that would highlight posts from discussion boards like Reddit, Q&A sites like Quora and social media platforms in its search results. The feature, which first arrived on mobile, was launched to desktop users earlier this month along with other search changes”. It is clear from the latest update that Google now prefers user-generated content over “SEO-optimized junk” as some like to call it.

In a statement, it is said that “Google is giving websites hosting first-person perspectives the ability to signal to the search engine how their data is structured so their content will be featured both accurately and “as complete as possible” in Google’s Search Results”.

With the help of its new ProfilePage markup, “any site where creators post content will be able to showcase their creators’ profiles directly in Google Search results, including information like their name, handle, profile photo, follower count or the popularity of their content. Both Google’s Perspectives feature and its Discussions and Forums feature can make use of this type of markup.

Apart from that, the DiscussionForumPosting markup will help Google to better recognize the conversations that are coming from any online forum or discussion site around the web. While Google can already identify a number of top forums, like Reddit, in its Search Results, this markup would allow other, smaller sites to be better indexed, categorized, and ranked by Google’s new algorithm, as well.”.