First introduced into the search results last year, Activity Cards provide people with an easy way to continue previous searches. Typically containing links to your previously visited pages along with the searches you’ve done, they offer an easy way to get back to those new headphones you were drooling over or continue searching for the “right” ones for you. You’re also able to mark a page to add to a collection that you can access at a later time, perfect for having all your favorite recipes in one place!
As of this week, Google has updated activity cards in three focus areas to help you find jobs, recipes, and products more easily in a search.
The product shopping activity card will show you products you’ve been researching even if you were only checking out things like review articles. It will offer you a way to compare a product and make sure you’re getting a good deal.
Recipe activity cards have been updated to provide a boost to more relevant related recipes. Also providing a thumbnail of the delicious options, Google now makes it even easier to find the dish that your tastebuds are craving.
The job activity card will show you the newest most relevant job postings since your last search. That way you’ll be able to explore new opportunities instead of scrolling through the same old job postings over and over.
What does an update like this means from an SEO perspective? The original activity card was more conducive to getting repeat visitors to a website. With the updated cards for the three focus topics, the new features will tend to lead users to move off to other sites – to do more product comparison, jump over to similar recipes, and look at new job listings.
Ultimately, this is a helpful update for the end-user and I expect it may roll out to other search topics and hobbies such as interior design, fashion, beauty, fitness, and photography.