What does Google say about SEO?

Should You Worry About Google's Lack of Transparency on Algorithm Updates?

Google May 14, 2024 ★★

Google has defended itself against criticism regarding the lack of transparency surrounding algorithm updates. The Mountain View company responded to critics by explaining that updates are often minor adjustments that don't require specific communica...

Algorithms E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should you avoid the word "news" in your domain name to prevent SEO penalties?

John Mueller May 14, 2024 ★★★

On Google Webmaster Help, John Mueller responded to a question from a webmaster wondering whether using the word "news" in their site name could be detrimental in terms of SEO and rankings. Answer: "from a Google Search perspective, there's no proble...

Content Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Does Google's Reputation Abuse Policy Actually Target Links or Just Content?

Danny Sullivan May 14, 2024 ★★★

In a post on X, Danny Sullivan indicated that the site reputation abuse policy had nothing to do with created links, but concerned only content: "it's about content that abuses a site's reputation."

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam

Is old content really killing your search rankings?

John Mueller May 09, 2024 ★★★

Google does not penalize old content. Traffic decline on older pages is not a signal that Google considers your site low-quality. It's more of a strategic issue than a direct SEO factor.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Can old content still rank well despite its age?

John Mueller May 09, 2024 ★★

Reference or academic content is by nature old because it is based on long-term studies. This does not mean it is less true or less useful for users.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Should you really fix broken links in your older content?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★

Google recommends fixing broken links in old content even if it dates back several years. This improves user experience by allowing visitors to find where resources have been moved.

Domain Age & History Content Links & Backlinks

Should you really update all your old content for SEO?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★★

You shouldn't automatically update all your old content. Some older blog pages still contain valid best practices, and modifying them could render the information factually incorrect.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Why does Google discourage crypto-redirects for your site migrations?

John Mueller May 09, 2024 ★★

Crypto-redirects (banners indicating that a page has moved) should only be used as a last resort, when it is technically impossible to implement a proper 301 redirect from your content management system.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Redirects

Should you really add warning banners to your older content pieces?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★

Placing banners on old blog articles allows you to inform users that the content may be obsolete, that certain links may no longer work, or that more recent resources are available.

Domain Age & History Content Discover & News AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you really let your old articles stay with their original mistakes?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★

For product or feature announcements, you must preserve the original content with its publication date. Retroactively modifying these contents would make the information incorrect and misleading.

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce AI & SEO

Should you really delete outdated content instead of simply marking it as deprecated?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★★

When a feature is removed, it's preferable to delete the associated documentation and redirect to a page explaining what happened rather than leaving the outdated content with a warning.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO PDF & Files

Is using the canonical tag as a hidden redirect costing you your SEO rankings?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★★

The canonical tag should only be used for equivalent content. Using it as a disguised redirect toward enriched or different content is not best practice.

Content Crawl & Indexing Redirects

Should you really stop adding dates to your titles just to make them look fresh?

John Mueller May 09, 2024 ★★★

Artificially adding 'updated for 2024' to titles without real content changes is misleading and appears as clickbait. This practice is not recommended.

Content AI & SEO

Should you redirect or create an explanatory page when discontinuing a tool?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★

When a tool or feature is removed and multiple alternatives exist, creating an explanation page with the available options is preferable to a direct redirect to a single alternative.

Domain Age & History Images & Videos Redirects

Is auditing your documentation regularly really essential to maintain strong SEO performance?

Lizzi Sassman May 09, 2024 ★★

Implementing automatic reminder systems to periodically audit existing content allows you to verify that advice remains current and that links work properly.

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files

How Can You Actually Recover Your Traffic After Google's Helpful Content Update?

John Mueller May 07, 2024 ★★

On X, John Mueller shared some insights for recovering visibility after an update with a negative impact, particularly the Helpful Content Update, which takes more time than other updates. As usual, the famous Google employee advised affected site ow...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Discover & News Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Why is Google admitting its own limitations with hreflang, AI, and migrations—and what should you actually do about it?

Gary Illyes May 07, 2024 ★★★

In a post shared on LinkedIn, Gary Illyes addresses several different topics. He notably admits his frustration with the hreflang tag, which indicates a site's language and regional variants, saying he's very open to finding a better solution, provid...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure Redirects Social Media International SEO

Does Google Merchant Center crawling count against your SEO crawl budget?

John Mueller Apr 30, 2024 ★★★

On X, Christian Radny asked SEOs a question: "Does Merchant Center exploration (automatic updates) count towards crawl budget?". John Mueller responded: "Of course, it's a load on your server. The goal is to avoid breaking your server due to high loa...

Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO

Are Optimized Anchor Texts Still Essential for SEO in 2024?

John Mueller Apr 30, 2024 ★★

User Ionut on X asked John Mueller if the guidelines regarding link best practices were still valid today, particularly concerning anchor text. He explains that he tends to use generic words like "here" or "read more". John Mueller responded by stati...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you still optimize meta descriptions for SEO in 2024?

John Mueller Apr 25, 2024 ★★

Meta descriptions are not considered a major SEO factor by Google. Google's own team places little importance on meta description optimization because Google often generates its own content excerpts for snippets.

Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO