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Google has quietly updated its structured estimated salary (occupation) data page with subtle changes that make the information more relevant and easier to understand. The changes show how the site can be analyzed for weaknesses and subsequently improved.
Subtle word changes make all the difference
The art of writing is something SEO should consider now more than ever. It’s been important for at least the last six years, but in my opinion it’s never been more important than it is today because of the accuracy of natural language queries for AI Reviews and AI Assistants.
Three conclusions about the content
- The words used on a page can subtly affect how the reader and machine understand the page.
- Relevance is usually understood as whether a website matches the user’s search query and the user’s intent, which in my opinion is an outdated way of thinking about it.
- A query is just a question and the answer is never a website. The answer is generally a paragraph on a website.
Google’s update to their “Structured Estimated Salary (Occupation) Data” website offers a look at how Google has updated one of its websites to be more accurate.
There were only two changes that were so seemingly minimal that they didn’t even merit a mention in the documentation changelog, they just updated it and went live without any notice.
But the changes make a difference in how specific the page is about the topic.
First change: Content focus
Google calls “enriched search results” different search experiences, such as the recipe search experience, the event search experience, and the work experience.
The original version of the “Structured Data on Estimated Salary (Occupation)” documentation focused on discussing work experience search results. The updated version has completely removed all references to work experience and is now more specifically focused on “estimated high salary result” which is more precise than the less precise phrase “work experience”.
This is the original version:
“Estimated salaries may appear in work experience on Google search and as an enriched salary estimate result for a specific occupation.”
This is the updated version:
“By adding structured occupation data, your content is eligible to appear in the estimated salary rich result of Google search results:”
Second change: refreshed and simplified image
The second change refreshes the example image.
Change has three significant qualities:
- It precisely models the search result
- Complies with the removal of “work experience”
- It simplifies the message
The original image contained a screenshot of a laptop with a search result and a close-up of the search results. The image looks more pleasing on the product page than on the information page. Someone has spent a lot of time creating an attractive image, but it is too complex and ignores the number one rule of content, which is that all content must convey a message quickly.
All content, whether text or image, is like a glass of water: the important part is the water, not the glass.
A screenshot of an attractive but slightly less effective image
The image that replaced it is literally an example of a really rich result. It’s not fancy, but it doesn’t have to be. He just has to do the work of communication.
Screenshot of Google’s Better Images
The second thing this change accomplishes is that it removes the phrase “work experience” and replaces it with a sentence that is consistent with the apparent goal of making this page about structured occupation data.
This is the new text:
“By adding structured occupation data, your content is eligible to appear in the estimated salary rich result of Google search results:”
Third change: Replace the confusing sentence
The third edit corrected a sentence that was grammatically incorrect and confusing.
Original version:
“You must include the necessary properties for your content to be eligible to display Google’s work experience and rich results.”
Google corrected the grammar error, made the sentence specific to the ‘estimated salary’ rich result, and removed the reference to work experience, bringing it more closely in line with the rich results of estimated salary.
This is the updated version:
“You must include the required properties for your content to be eligible to appear in the estimated salary result.”
Three examples for updating web pages
At one level, the changes were literally about defocusing one theme and strengthening something else. On another level, it is an example of providing a better experience to users through more precise communication. Writing for people is not only a creative art, but also a technical one. All writers, even novelists, understand that the art of writing is technical because one of the most important factors is communicating ideas. Other issues such as comprehensiveness or elegance are not as important as the communication part.
I think the changes that Google has made fit in with what Google means when they say content is for people, not search engines.
Read the updated documentation here:
Structured data on estimated salary (occupation).
Compare that with archived original version.
Featured Image Shutterstock/Lets Design Studio
