What does Google say about SEO? /
This category compiles all official Google statements regarding its ranking algorithms and their successive updates. Algorithms form the foundation of the search engine and determine website visibility in search results. Here you'll find Google communications about Core Updates, those major algorithm refreshes deployed several times yearly, alongside historical algorithms such as Panda (content quality), Penguin (link spam), Hummingbird (semantic understanding), and artificial intelligence innovations like RankBrain and BERT. SEO professionals will discover official positions on recent thematic updates including the Helpful Content Update, designed to reward genuinely useful content for users, and Spam Updates targeting manipulative practices. Understanding Google's official statements about these algorithms is crucial for anticipating ranking fluctuations, adapting SEO strategies to search engine evolution, and aligning practices with official recommendations rather than relying on speculation or misinformation. This resource helps practitioners distinguish between confirmed algorithmic factors and industry myths, enabling data-driven optimization decisions. Whether responding to sudden traffic changes or planning long-term SEO strategies, these official declarations provide the authoritative foundation needed for effective search engine optimization in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
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★★★ How Do Redirects Actually Impact Your Core Web Vitals Scores?
John Mueller indicated during a webmaster hangout that redirecting one URL to another will also transfer the Core Web Vitals scores (LCP, FID, CLS) before they are recalculated for the new URL......
John Mueller May 31, 2021
★★ Should you report spammy sites in Google search results?
If a clearly spammy site or one that violates the guidelines appears in the results, Google recommends reporting it through the spam report form. These reports help improve the detection algorithms....
Google May 27, 2021
★★★ How is Google’s AI revolutionizing spam detection?
Google heavily relies on artificial intelligence for automatic spam detection, combined with manual actions. The results of manual actions are then fed back into the algorithms to improve large-scale ...
Google May 27, 2021
★★★ Should You Already Be Optimizing Your Site for Google's MUM Algorithm?
Danny Sullivan explained on Twitter that the MUM algorithm had not yet been integrated into Google's query analysis system, but that when it is, there will be official communication about it......
Danny Sullivan May 25, 2021
★★★ Does Google Really Detect PBNs Automatically or Can They Still Work?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that PBNs (Private Blog Networks) "were fairly obvious to detect. (...) There's nothing new about them, they're just link schemes like others have been for many years...
John Mueller May 25, 2021
★★ Do You Really Need to Achieve All 3 Core Web Vitals Scores to Improve Your SEO Rankings?
The past week has brought its usual harvest of information about the Core Web Vitals / Page Experience project, not always very precise: first of all, Jeffrey Jose (Google) indicated during GoogleI/O ...
John Mueller May 25, 2021
★★★ How does mobile-friendliness affect your SEO right now?
In 2014, Google announced mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal, marking the beginning of the consideration of user experience in its algorithm....
Jeffrey May 18, 2021
★★★ Does Having Content Above the Fold Really Matter for Your Rankings?
John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that if a web page doesn't offer content "above the fold" (visible without scrolling), this could pose a problem for SEO. Not all content needs to be ...
John Mueller May 17, 2021
★★★ How Can You Tell Google Core Updates Apart from Daily Algorithm Changes?
Danny Sullivan confirmed on Twitter that Google has not implemented any "core update" (major algorithm update) since the one on December 4th. This does not mean, of course, that there have been no alg...
Danny Sullivan May 17, 2021
★★★ Is Page Load Time Really a Decisive SEO Factor for Your Google Ranking?
John Mueller, Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt (the stellar team from Google Zurich) imagined in one of their "Search off the record" podcasts a search engine named Steve that they would create from scra...
John Mueller May 10, 2021
★★★ Do Images Really Improve Your Pages' SEO Rankings?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that adding images to a web page doesn't automatically give it a "bonus" in terms of SEO. A web page with images is not necessarily ranked better than the same page w...
John Mueller May 10, 2021
★★★ Does Googlebot Actually Collect Core Web Vitals Data During Crawling?
This week's update on Core Web Vitals... 🙂 John Mueller reminded us on Twitter that while the Googlebot returns a majority of useful information to the algorithm during its crawl, this won't be the ca...
John Mueller Apr 26, 2021
★★★ Does the HTML <abbr> Tag Really Improve Your SEO?
John Mueller was asked whether Google takes into account the HTML <abbr> tag, which is used to indicate an abbreviation or acronym. His answer was clear: it's No....
John Mueller Apr 26, 2021
★★ Why does Google consistently refuse to detail its ranking algorithms?
Google generally does not comment on questions about specific ranking algorithms. The focus should be on what is useful for the user rather than on algorithmic factors....
Google Apr 22, 2021
★★★ Should you really check the Webmaster Guidelines before every SEO update?
To determine if an SEO practice is acceptable, you must first check if it adheres to the Webmaster Guidelines. This is the main criterion for avoiding manual or algorithmic actions....
Google Apr 22, 2021
★★★ Should You Split Your YMYL and Non-YMYL Content Across Two Separate Websites to Improve Your SEO?
We're familiar with the concept of "YMYL: Your Money, Your Life" sites and their significance, particularly during recent Google "core updates," in the realm of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Tr...
John Mueller Apr 19, 2021
★★★ Do Core Web Vitals Really Take 28 Days to Impact Your SEO Rankings?
John Mueller explained in a webmaster hangout that Core Web Vitals "scores" (LCP, CLS, FID) would not be calculated in real-time (unlike filters such as Panda or Penguin, for example) starting next Ma...
John Mueller Apr 19, 2021
★★★ Is UX really a Google ranking factor or just a side effect?
Google does not have a pure 'user experience' ranking factor, but rather elements related to it: the page layout algorithm (meaningful unique content above the fold vs. ads) and Core Web Vitals (loadi...
John Mueller Apr 16, 2021
★★★ Are Expired Domain Redirects Really Ignored by Google?
Buying expired domains and redirecting them to your site is an old tactic that Google can recognize. By default, Google's algorithms try to ignore these redirects. If it’s too integrated into the site...
John Mueller Apr 16, 2021
★★ Can we really control the appearance of sitelinks in Google?
Sitelinks appear algorithmically based on user needs, not through specific markup. This is not something that can be directly optimized or forced to appear. If Google shows sitelinks, one can then con...
John Mueller Apr 16, 2021
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