In this post, we will discuss the Google MUM Algorithm—what exactly MUM is, its purpose, why Google released it, why it was needed, how it relates to Semantic SEO, and how we can improve our SEO strategy by utilizing MUM’s features.
First, as we all know, Google itself mentioned in its article that MUM is 1000 times more powerful than BERT. And this is absolutely true. As I mentioned in my previous post about BERT, it understands query context better in both directions—from right to left and left to right.
But what does MUM actually do? The MUM algorithm understands the entire journey from A to Z. It comprehends what a user might need when searching for a query. Let’s try to understand this with an example.
MUM was specifically designed to handle complex queries—those queries that involve multiple tasks. For instance, if I need some information, I usually perform multiple searches to get a complete answer. Along with that, MUM can understand and generate content in 75 different languages, which is a massive leap for Google. It doesn’t just understand different languages but also grasps their context to provide results.
I read an article stating that MUM is particularly useful for health-related topics because it effectively covers different medical terms. So, for the health niche, understanding MUM is crucial.
Another key point about MUM is that it is multimodal. This means it can process multiple types of data at once, such as text, images, and videos. If, for example, my laptop breaks and I take a picture of it, then search on Google along with the question, “How to fix it?”—Google will simultaneously understand the image and my query to provide a solution.
Now, let’s try to understand its real impact through an example.
Before the Google MUM update, Google struggled to provide complete information for complex searches.
Let’s say I want to drive from Kohat, Pakistan, to Istanbul, Turkey, and my intent is:
"How to plan a road trip from Pakistan to Turkey?"
Before MUM, I had to perform multiple searches, such as:
“Pakistan to Turkey road route map”
“Visa requirements for driving from Pakistan to Turkey”
“Weather conditions on the Pakistan-Iran border”
“Best road trip car for long journeys”
“Driving experience of people who traveled this route”
Here, the challenge was that I had to conduct multiple queries to get complete information. But after the release of MUM, Google handles this differently.
Please check the first comment for the in-depth details with example.
seo semanticseo digitalmarketing contentmarketing googleupdate topicalmap onpageseo topicalauthority
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