What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really build your own website to master SEO effectively?

John Mueller Feb 17, 2022 ★★★

It is strongly recommended for people learning SEO to create their own website to test and validate what they learn, and to understand the real difficulty of SEO tasks. This makes it easier to understand practice versus theory.

Can you test SEO techniques that violate Google's guidelines without risk?

John Mueller Feb 17, 2022 ★★★

Testing SEO techniques, even those that go against Google's guidelines, is acceptable on your own site to verify their impact, as long as you accept the consequences. The problem arises when these techniques are applied to client sites that are payin...

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Should you encourage 'sneaky' SEO experimentation to develop better expert-level skills?

John Mueller Feb 17, 2022 ★★

SEOs who test 'sneaky' techniques to learn develop technical understanding that remains useful in a legitimate professional context. Once established in a real company, they can leverage these technical skills while avoiding the problematic aspects.

Content AI & SEO

Should you really ask every SEO question without fear of looking foolish?

Gary Illyes Feb 17, 2022 ★★

It is important that SEO beginners feel free to ask even the most basic questions. Google encourages an inclusive approach where all questions are legitimate, because everyone has to start somewhere.

Domain Age & History

Does Google's cache really update automatically when you change a page?

Google Feb 15, 2022 ★★

When a web page is updated, Google's cache updates automatically over time to reflect the new content of the page. You can speed up this process by using the Remove outdated content tool.

Domain Age & History Content Web Performance

Does Google really conduct a human review of every delisting request?

Google Feb 15, 2022 ★★

All delisting requests are manually reviewed by at least one Google reviewer who evaluates the public interest of the information against the rights of the individual under applicable law.

Search Console

Can Google actually delete content directly from your website servers?

Google Feb 15, 2022 ★★★

Even though Google can remove links to content from its search results pages, only the website owner can delete content from their site. Google does not remove content at the source.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Does Google really apply different delisting rules depending on where users are searching from?

Google Feb 15, 2022 ★★

Google respects the territorial scope of data protection laws. In the European Union, URLs are removed from Google search versions in countries that enforce European legislation, but not from services in countries that do not apply this legislation.

AI & SEO Domain Name

Does GDPR delisting really work completely, or is Google still hiding your URLs from some searches?

Google Feb 15, 2022 ★★★

When a URL is delisted under the right to be forgotten, it no longer appears in search results for queries related to the person's name. However, these URLs can still appear in Google results for other search queries.

Content Domain Name

Why does Google reject delisting requests submitted with search links instead of direct URLs?

Google Feb 15, 2022 ★★

To submit a delisting request, you must provide the specific URL of the page in question and not the Google search link, because Google is unable to examine search links.

Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Should You Really Optimize Your Code-to-Text Ratio to Improve Your SEO?

John Mueller Feb 14, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller and Gary Illyes reminded on Reddit that the "Code-to-Text" ratio (the volume of text displayed on the page compared to the volume of source code) is not an SEO criterion: "The code-to-text ratio is not and has never been a ranking factor...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Search Console

Can You Safely Change Your Title Tags Every Day Without SEO Risks?

John Mueller Feb 14, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that there is no particular problem with modifying a Title tag every day if necessary. However, Google is not guaranteed to pick up this tag daily in its latest version in the SERPs. According to John...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

Should You Really Update Your Content Publication Dates to Improve SEO?

John Mueller Feb 14, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller stated on Twitter that it's acceptable to modify the publication date of content, such as a blog post, only if the content has undergone a significant modification: "When you write something new, or significantly change something existin...

Content Discover & News AI & SEO Social Media

Does Google Really Index Modern JavaScript Properly? Here's What You Need to Know

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★★

The claim that using JavaScript prevents you from being found in Google Search is no longer true. This belief was valid 5 to 10 years ago, but no longer matches the current reality of Google's capabilities.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is Shadow DOM really holding back your multi-search engine visibility?

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★

Although Google Search manages Shadow DOM, other search engines may encounter difficulties with this technology. Technical solutions such as pre-rendering may be necessary to ensure maximum compatibility.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Are SEO technical fundamentals really as critical as everyone claims they are?

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★★

Title tags, meta descriptions, canonical URLs, real links with href attributes, heading structure, and sitemaps remain fundamental technical elements for SEO. Their absence or poor implementation can harm site discoverability.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure Search Console

Is your technical SEO slowly degrading without ongoing maintenance?

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★

Technical SEO aspects naturally degrade over time if nobody pays attention to them. Framework migrations, style system changes, or updates can break SEO configurations if developers don't understand their importance.

Content AI & SEO Redirects

Does Google really penalize you for breaking heading hierarchy, and why does it matter?

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★

The structure and order of heading tags must be respected. Style system modifications can disrupt this hierarchy if it's maintained only for visual appearance without semantic consideration.

Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Pagination & Structure

Does Google really believe SEO and accessibility are one and the same thing?

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★★

Good SEO and accessibility practices converge toward the same objectives: clean DOM, optimal performance, understandable content. Optimizing for search engines simultaneously improves user experience and accessibility.

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance Search Console

Does Google really always reward superior content in rankings eventually?

Martin Splitt Feb 09, 2022 ★★

If you create content that is genuinely better than anything else out there, Google's algorithm will eventually recognize it and reward it in terms of ranking. This process may take time, but quality is ultimately valued.

Algorithms Content AI & SEO