Any SEO worth their salt this month will be talking about Google MUM. The Multitask United Model is the powerful follow up to BERT, the language model released by Google in 2019. Predicted to be 100x more powerful than BERT, MUM has raised the stakes and demonstrates Google’s continued commitment to AI investment.
MUM is similar to BERT in that it’s a language model, however, instead of having to do one task after the other, this one can multitask and handle tasks simultaneously. Google MUM can read text, understand the content of text, develop a deeper meaning of that text and then bring in video, audio and other text to enrich the experience. By layering insights from over 75 languages to answer complex search queries, it’s no wonder search marketers are
How will MUM impact everyday search?
The aim of MUM is to allow the searcher to gain the most information with fewer queries. Creating a rich content result that brings in text, video, audio and possibly even the use of
Google Lens. Searchers will be able to see all of the information relevant to the query as well as off-shoots from it, all in one place. For the user, this is a time-saving, effective way to gain the knowledge they need. But what about those of us concentrating on SEO?
From search to knowledge
The introduction of MUM points towards what search marketers have known for a long time. Google wants to provide the answers to questions themselves, rather than offering searchers an array of possible options from external websites. It’s no secret that Google is investing very heavily in AI and we expect they are moving towards a fully AI powered search experience in the future. In short, this takes away the idea of Google being used for ‘search’ – it’s more apt to see it as a presentation of it’s own knowledge.
When will Google MUM hit the search results?
As always, we don’t have a definitive answer but it’s fairly clear that Google is testing MUM at the moment before the official launch. Once it is introduced we may start to see a very different search result that will force all marketers to rethink how they approach web content.
What can I do to prepare for Google MUM?
Currently, we focus on creating content that answers a query better than the competitor. However, if Google can already answer this question with it’s own knowledge – it might be time to shift our focus to polishing our brand, product and service offering. Businesses need to find ways to stand out for the crowd and tempt users based on the brand position, rather than putting all of their eggs in one ‘search result’ basket.
Structured data will always be important for SEO but with a new language model, it’s even more imperative to let Google know exactly what’s on your page.
Want to know more about Google MUM or how our expert SEO team can help future proof your online content? Get in touch with the Search Consult team today.
