Google has been sending notices to publishers with guidelines on how to make their content more discoverable by Google Assistant. These notifications are being distributed via Search Console, which may include email as well.
Currently, Google is reaching out to US-based podcast, recipe, and news publishers who have implemented either AMP or structured data markup. The company has developed Google Assistant “Actions” tailored for these types of content, allowing users to ask the Assistant to retrieve content from these publishers.
To enhance the discoverability of this type of content, Google has automatically generated directory pages with various actions that are linked to finding content from specific sites. These are the commands that can be used within Google Assistant to locate content from your site.
With the appropriate structured data and/or AMP markup, content is already optimized for Google Assistant. Technically, there is no additional action required from the site owner, but there is an extra step available if they wish to customize their actions directory.
Google’s Search Console notifications prompt site owners to claim their actions directory page. By claiming this page, site owners can edit it or unpublish it if they prefer not to have their content accessible through Google Assistant.
Once a directory page is claimed, a publisher can edit their name, description, and logo to be displayed according to their preferences within Google Assistant. If unclaimed, the auto-generated version will still be available, and the actions can still be utilized with Google Assistant.
Here are several examples of the notifications being sent to publishers:
Booyah! pic.twitter.com/GRQXVIxxK7
— lorenbaker (@lorenbaker) January 9, 2018
Whoa… just got this new search console notification I’ve never seen before about making Podcasts more discoverable in Google Assistant pic.twitter.com/PfrMYLkChe
— Dan Shure (@dan_shure) January 9, 2018
Bunch of clients got an email today inviting them to claim a directory page for Google Assistant. This is a new message to me. Haven’t seen it before. pic.twitter.com/3Ecykdz7hX
— Alan Bleiweiss (@AlanBleiweiss) January 9, 2018
