What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really use the HTML loading attribute to optimize lazy-loading?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★

The HTML loading attribute can be used to implement lazy-loading. It works in all modern browsers and older browsers simply ignore it, making it safe to use without any risk of regression.

Domain Age & History Images & Videos

Do you really need to migrate your images to WebP and AVIF to boost your SEO?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

Google recommends using appropriate image formats based on content type. Traditional formats include JPEG, PNG and GIF, while more recent formats such as WebP or AVIF offer better performance.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos Web Performance Search Console

Should you really automate image compression for SEO success?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

It is recommended to compress images as much as possible without losing more quality than what is acceptable for your site. Once ideal parameters are found, automating the conversion and compression process is possible.

Domain Age & History Images & Videos Pagination & Structure

Should you really enable lazy-loading on every single below-the-fold image?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

For images that are unlikely to be immediately visible when the page loads (below-the-fold), use lazy-loading to delay their loading until they are likely to become visible. This reduces unnecessary data transfers.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos

Is lazy-loading all your images actually hurting your SEO performance?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

Don't use lazy-loading for all images because this technique has drawbacks for images that are immediately visible (above-the-fold). It should be reserved for images below the fold.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos

Are images really the main bottleneck killing your site's performance?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

Images often constitute a significant portion of a website's total download weight and are frequently the cause of major slowdowns. They can negatively impact loading speed and cost time and money during downloads.

Domain Age & History Images & Videos Web Performance

Are poorly configured images really harming your SEO through layout shifts?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

If images are used incorrectly, they can cause layout shifts when they appear on the site and move elements around, which degrades user experience.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos

Should you really manually verify automatic image compression results for your website?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★

After automating image compression, you must always verify the results. Some images may appear lower quality than desired and require manual adjustment of compression parameters.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos

Does image quality really need to adapt by screen size for SEO success?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

Serve images of different sizes and quality levels depending on the user's device. Small screens can receive smaller and more compressed images, while large screens receive higher quality images.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos Mobile SEO

Do you really need picture and srcset to optimize responsive images for SEO?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★★

To implement responsive sizing, use the HTML picture element or the srcset attribute on image elements. The browser will automatically choose the best image for the device, and Google Search will use the fallback image (the one defined in the src att...

Domain Age & History Images & Videos Mobile SEO

Should you declare alternative image versions using structured data to boost Google's indexing?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★

It is possible to add structured data to inform Google Search of other available image versions when using responsive sizing with picture or srcset.

Domain Age & History Structured Data Images & Videos Mobile SEO Pagination & Structure

Should you really be using the HTML loading attribute for lazy-loading in 2024?

Martin Splitt Jul 02, 2024 ★★

The HTML loading attribute can be used to implement lazy-loading. It works in all modern browsers and older browsers simply ignore it, making it safe to use without any side effects.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos

Is topical relevance becoming an outdated SEO criterion?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★★

Google now evaluates multiple dimensions beyond thematic relevance: accuracy, reliability, freshness, and usefulness of results. Topical relevance was the major challenge in the early days but is no longer sufficient.

AI & SEO

Is E-E-A-T really a ranking factor or just an SEO myth?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★★

E-E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, then Experience added) comes from the Search Quality Rater Guidelines and serves to measure quality in experiments, not as a direct ranking signal in the algorithm.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content

Did Google really struggle to understand linking words like 'not' in search queries?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★

Historically, prepositions and linking words like 'not' in search queries were extremely difficult for Google's systems to process. Transformer models and BERT enabled major advances in natural language understanding.

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO International SEO

Is Google really optimizing for your search segment, or sacrificing it for others?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★★

Google uses large-scale aggregate metrics to evaluate overall performance, but also identifies specific search segments that perform well or poorly, because improving one search can degrade fifty others.

AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Does Google really apply a balance principle between different site types in its search results?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★★

Google's systems verify that there is no disproportionate bias toward certain site types: encyclopedias vs blogs, large institutions vs small sites, fresh content vs permanent content, social media vs other sources.

Content AI & SEO

Is your long-tail keyword strategy already outdated since natural language understanding arrived?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★

19 years ago, a query longer than 4 words was considered long. Today, Google regularly handles queries of 10 to 20 words or more thanks to advances in natural language understanding.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO International SEO

Does Google really favor promoting quality over penalizing mediocrity?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★★

Most of Google's systems seek to identify and promote good content rather than demote it. Demotion systems are reserved for specific cases such as web spam or malicious sites.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Does Google Really Design Featured Snippets Around Semantic Understanding Rather Than Keyword Matching?

Elizabeth Tucker Jun 27, 2024 ★★

Featured Snippets were developed approximately 10 years ago to solve the problem of matching answers rather than keywords, particularly for queries like 'how tall is Barack Obama'.

Content Featured Snippets & SERP