What does Google say about SEO?

Is the meta rating tag really useful for flagging explicit content?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

Google recommends adding the 'rating' meta tag to any page containing explicit content. It's one of the signals used by Google's systems to identify pages with explicit content.

Domain Age & History Content

Should you really isolate adult content in a subdomain or separate folder to protect your main domain?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

Google recommends separately grouping explicit pages from non-explicit pages using subdomains or folders, in addition to adding metadata.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Should you allow Googlebot to fetch your video files to improve their search visibility?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

For sites hosting adult content, allowing Googlebot to fetch video files helps Google understand the content and deliver a better user experience. Google may limit or prevent video discoverability for videos that cannot be fetched.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files

Should you really disable age verification for Googlebot?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

Google recommends allowing Googlebot to explore content without triggering age limits by detecting Googlebot requests and providing unrestricted content. This allows Google to better understand pages and read metadata.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is your site being secretly filtered by SafeSearch? Here's how to find out

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★

To check if an entire site is identified as explicit, use the 'site:yoursite.com' search operator with SafeSearch enabled. If the site doesn't appear in the results, Google is filtering the site when SafeSearch is activated.

Why does Google really enforce a 2-3 month waiting period before reconsidering a SafeSearch classification?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★

If a site has been incorrectly categorized by SafeSearch, you must wait at least two to three months after following optimization recommendations before you can request a review for re-examination.

AI & SEO Local Search

Are Google's content policies really a game-changer for organic visibility?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★

Following Google's search content policies can help maximize your content's reach by ensuring it is not reprehensible or offensive.

Content AI & SEO

Can SafeSearch really blacklist an entire mixed website that's poorly configured?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

If a website hosts both explicit and non-explicit content without implementing SafeSearch recommendations, Google's systems can filter the entire site when SafeSearch is activated, even if some pages contain no explicit content.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

How does SafeSearch actually filter explicit content from your search results?

Google Nov 01, 2023 ★★

SafeSearch relies on automated machine learning systems and various other signals to identify explicit content, including words on the hosting web page and those contained in links pointing to it.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Does the way you produce content really matter to Google?

John Mueller Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

Google focuses on content quality rather than how it's produced. This philosophy has guided Google since its inception and continues today, including for AI-generated content.

Content E-commerce AI & SEO

Can Google's helpful content system really distinguish editorial intent?

John Mueller Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

The helpful content system is a filter designed to ensure that users find content created primarily for people, rather than content created mainly for ranking in search results.

Content

Does Google really publish all the quality signals that matter for your rankings?

John Mueller Nov 01, 2023 ★★

Google extensively documents how its systems determine page quality, regardless of whether content is AI-generated or not. This information is available in Search documentation and quality rater guidelines.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO PDF & Files

Is robots.txt really enough to control crawling on specific sections of your website?

Gary Illyes Nov 01, 2023 ★★

By using robots.txt, publishers can define controls over the crawling or processing of specific areas of their website.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Can you really block Google Extended to prevent your content from training Bard and Vertex AI?

Gary Illyes Nov 01, 2023 ★★★

With the Google Extended user agent and robots.txt, web publishers can manage whether their sites help improve Bard and Vertex AI, including future generations of models that power these products.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO

Do responsible crawlers really respect robots.txt, or is it just a polite suggestion?

John Mueller Nov 01, 2023 ★★

Responsible crawlers on the web have respected the robots.txt protocol for decades. This protocol is based on a human and machine-readable text file, offering definitive access control for any crawler that chooses to comply with it.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files

Do meta robots tags really give you precise indexation control?

John Mueller Nov 01, 2023 ★★

Meta robots tags are machine-readable elements added to web pages that specify what can be done with the content. For example, noindex indicates that the page's content should not be indexed for public search results.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Are CMSs really integrating new SEO options as fast as Google claims they do?

John Mueller Nov 01, 2023 ★★

Content management systems and hosting platform providers such as WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace are extremely fast at integrating new options that allow website owners to specify their preferences.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should You Really Shorten Your Recipe Pages to Rank Better on Google?

Danny Sullivan Oct 31, 2023 ★★

On X, a user complained about recipe sites that publish overly long recipes where information is difficult to find, solely to rank well. In response, Danny Sullivan stated that he is well aware of this issue, and he recommends that content creators e...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Do Structured Data Really Boost Your Site's SEO Rankings?

Danny Sullivan Oct 31, 2023 ★★★

Nothing particularly new, but since Danny Sullivan spoke at length on this subject: a reminder! He stated that structured data markup has nothing to do with rankings, and therefore will not improve your rankings. If you violate schema guidelines, it ...

Domain Age & History Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

Does Google Search Console really improve your content's reach and visibility?

Google Oct 31, 2023 ★★

Google Search Console provides information that allows you to improve the reach and relevance of your content. The tool enables you to identify improvement opportunities by analyzing your pages' performance.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console