Earlier in 2021, Google announced a search redesign using a new algorithm named MUM (Multitask Unified Model).

For SEOs, it is always good to know the mechanisms used by the search engine giant. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to adapt your SEO strategy to the ranking criteria established by Google. As a result, your website will perform better and rank higher in the SERPs.

This article provides you with a complete guide to Google MUM. Learn about its main characteristics and how it impacts your website’s SEO.

What is Google MUM

MUM stands for Multitask Unified Model, an algorithm introduced by Google in May 2021 to improve search results. According to Google, it’s a new AI model built on the same transformer system as BERT, although it is 1000x more potent. In this sense, we can see it as a significant update of BERT.

MUM is a powerful language modal. As the name hints, it’s multimodal and multitasks. It can search through 75 languages and understand and translate the information across texts, images, videos, and audio to answer complex questions. All at once!

With the emergence of MUM, Google has a more comprehensive understanding of information and world knowledge than ever before.

How is MUM different from BERT?

The main differences highlighted by Google between BERT and MUM are precisely those mentioned above. In short, we can underline that:

• MUM is multilingual and can process up to 75 languages. The answer it provides is not limited to the user’s language.
• It has a better understanding of the information than BERT in different forms of media (text, image, video, audio).

These points and the multitasking capability make MUM a far more powerful instrument than BERT.

For example, let’s say a user searches for the query “What is the name of the tower in Paris with a restaurant at the top?” In this case, BERT would analyze the keywords and try to find the most relevant content that matches the search intent. However, the result might not be accurate as the query is quite specific and requires contextual understanding.

On the other hand, MUM can understand the context of the query more comprehensively and provide a more accurate answer. MUM can analyze various forms of media such as images, videos, and audio and provide a more complete understanding of the information. So, for this query, MUM can not only provide the name of the tower (Eiffel Tower) but also provide additional information such as images of the tower, its history, and the restaurant located at the top. This is because MUM can process different forms of media and provide a more exhaustive and accurate answer to the user’s query.

How can MUM affect SEO?

Now that you know what Google MUM is all about, let’s see how it can affect SEO. We also highlight some best SEO practices you need to keep in mind with this algorithm.

How MUM being multilingual can influence SEO?

MUM’s ability to process and understand multiple languages can greatly reduce language barriers between websites and users. This means that if your site’s content meets the user’s needs, it can be displayed in the SERP in a language other than the one offered on your site. As a result, you will be competing for rankings not only in your language but also in the other 75 languages supported by MUM. This implies that language may no longer be a significant ranking factor, as MUM can provide users with relevant content in their preferred language regardless of the language used on the website.

Featured Snippets with MUM

MUM’s ability to process different forms of media means it can have a significant impact on featured snippets. This is because MUM can analyze and understand the content in a more comprehensive way, making it more likely to provide a more accurate and complete answer for featured snippets.

This means that websites that use multimedia content to provide answers to user queries could have an advantage over those that rely solely on text-based content. As a result, website owners may need to rethink their content strategy and consider incorporating more multimedia elements to optimize for featured snippets under the MUM algorithm.

Do we have to change the way we create SEO content?

Knowing that MUM has a better understanding of the context, search intent, and long-tail search, you can figure out that you should keep focusing on these points when creating your SEO content.

Although you should continue optimizing your texts with relevant keywords, today, with Google MUM, exploring your audience queries is more important than ever. Investigate your audience’s search intent. What kind of concerns do they have, and how do they search for them? The more you know about your audience, the easier it will be for you to create content that increases your website traffic.

In addition, you should keep in mind that creating content for your audience is not only about the information you provide but also the way you deliver it. Make it easy to consume with proper use of headers, visually appealing lightweight images, and fast page loading speed. As you know, Google is putting a big emphasis on the user experience.

Authority & links:

Now that Google searches an infinite number of websites in different languages to provide search results, it will be essential to continue working on building a solid site authority. The links pointing to your content, whether they come from text, image, video, or audio media, can be important trust and authority signals.

As you can see, you should follow the very same SEO practices that have always been recommended. Nevertheless, knowing how Google MUM works, we’ll give even more attention to the User Intent.